Need a Source? CAMH experts available for Mental Health Week 2015

News provided by

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Apr 30, 2015, 01:12 ET

TORONTO, April 30, 2015 /CNW/ - One in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem each year, one in 10 men will struggle with depression, and more than three times as many men as women will die by suicide. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is proud to support Canada's national Mental Health Week, May 4-10, 2015, which encourages people from all walks of life to learn, reflect and engage others on issues related to mental illness.

Dr. David Goldbloom, psychiatrist and Senior Medical Advisor at CAMH, and Dr. Paul Kurdyak, psychiatrist and Director of Health Systems Research, are available to speak about men's mental health – this year's theme - and the correlation between physical and mental illnesses.

Mental illness often goes undetected or untreated in men due to an additional pressure associated with stigma. Men may be reluctant to seek help because they feel it is 'unmanly' to admit that they are struggling, and neglect the resources available to help them. "The big message here is that men need to think about their mental health, too," says Dr. Goldbloom. "Like other illness, the earlier you get help for psychiatric illness like depression or stress, the better."

There is also an important relationship between chronic physical and mental illnesses, with a significant percentage of people with medical condition also struggling with a mental disorder. "We know that those who struggle with something like heart disease, which is prevalent in North America, in combination with an untreated mental illness are less likely to make a full recovery," says Dr. Kurdyak. "Mental and medical illnesses are not the same, but there is certainly a complex interplay between the two that needs to be addressed in how we deliver care."

About CAMH
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. For more information, please visit www.camh.ca.

SOURCE Centre for Addiction and Mental Health