High School Students Mark Mental Health Week with Stop The Stigma

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It's Mental Health Week (May 1 to 7, 2011)!

We're marking the week with students at Catholic High Schools throughout Toronto. It's a special partnership we've formed with the Toronto Catholic District High School, called Stop The Stigma

It's all about getting young people to learn and talk about mental health - signs and symptoms, how to get help, how to help a friend - because we know that early intervention makes a world of difference when it comes to mental illnesses. 

Stop The Stigma is also spurred on by some worrisome facts: 

 

  • suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people (aged 15 to 34), second only to car accidents; 
  • early signs and symptoms of psychosis and other mental illnesses typically begin around age 14 or 15; and
  • three out of four young people with a mental health problem don’t get the help they need.

 

More than 11,000 students will take part in  this year, adding to the more than 15,000 who came together to Stop The Stigma last year. 

All of us could learn from the tremendous work these young people are doing for Mental Health Week. Why not join with them? Take some time this week to learn about depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses and talk to your friends and family about what you learn. Together, we can stop the stigma.