Depression, addiction on the rise
Online poll looks at effects pandemic has had on Canadians' mental health status
Canadians are reporting symptoms of depression at an alarming rate during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing sevenfold from two per cent prior to March 2020 to 14 per cent in December.
Furthermore, stresses related to COVID are having a disproportionate effect on those with a history of mental-health or substance-use issues: Nearly half of those with past substance-use disorders, for example, reported moderately severe to severe depression symptoms since March 2020.
These are among the findings of a Leger poll that looked at the mental-health and substance-use aspects of the pandemic.
The online poll, commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), and released Wednesday, interviewed slightly more than 4,000 Canadians aged 16 and older over two time periods — Oct. 13-Nov. 2, 2020, and Nov. 19-Dec. 2, 2020.
It found that only about 42 per cent of Canadians said their mental health was very good or excellent. According to Statistics Canada, 67 per cent of Canadians made the same claim in 2019.
“That's such a wide gap, it tells us that something is going on there,” Ed Mantler, the MHCC's vice-president of programs and priorities, said on Tuesday.
“The fact that fewer Canadians feel their mental health is strong or excellent doesn't necessarily mean that they're experiencing a mental illness,” he said. “They may be experiencing sadness or anxiety that are completely normal reactions to what's happening around us. But we do know that those who report severe symptoms of depression in particular have increased substantially.”
Mantler notes that the escalation in people reporting severe depression and increased suicide ideation has not been matched by a similar spike in people seeking treatment.
“Less than a quarter of them are accessing services,” he says, citing stigma and discrimination as possible explanations, as well as the disruption by the pandemic of traditional treatment methods.
“Provinces and territories are making online and virtual services more available, and Health Canada has made the Wellness Together portal available, but not everyone knows about those yet.”
The report revealed that of the Canadians who have sought treatment during the pandemic, one-fifth reported finding access difficult.
Canadians ranked their finances as their greatest pandemic stressor, with 14 per cent saying it was their top worry, followed by social isolation (12 per cent) and the health of family members (11 per cent) or themselves (10 per cent).
About one-quarter of Canadians, meanwhile, reported moderate or severe anxiety symptoms during the pandemic. Among those with past substance-use or mental-health disorders, that figure was nearly twice as high. And while almost two-thirds of Canadians indicated they felt they could deal with stresses related to COVID, that figure is considerably lower that the 83 per cent of Canadians who, two years ago, described their ability to handle unexpected and difficult problems as either good or excellent.
Mantler notes, too, that the study's data supports the notion that a “shadow” or “echo” pandemic of mental-health and substance-use issues will outlast the viral pandemic itself.
Louise Bradley, president and CEO of MHCC, says she's distressed by the “hidden crisis” among those with serious mental illness whose needs risk being overshadowed by the “widespread malaise” affecting Canadians in general. She worries that those with the greatest needs will fall between the cracks.
“Normally, a high tide rises all boats, but in this case there's a risk of drowning out the needs of those with histories with mental-health and substance-use disorders,” she said in a statement. “… I applaud initiatives like Wellness Together Canada, but if there was ever a time to increase funding for mental health and substance use, and reap the dividends, that time is now.”
The study also shows greater substance use by Canadians, with nearly one-third of people who consume alcohol reporting increased use during the pandemic and one-fifth reporting high-risk use. Similarly, two in five respondents who use cannabis reported increased consumption and problematic use.
Suicide ideation, according to the poll, has nearly doubled, from Statistics Canada's reported three per cent in 2019 to more than five per cent last fall.
“Almost a year into the pandemic and many Canadians are feeling the strain and some are using substances to deal with the stressors in their lives,” said CCSA CEO Rita Notarandrea in a statement. “… We want people to know that, whatever their circumstances, support is available.”