A new mental health profile of Lambton County paints a picture of a mostly resilient, mentally healthy community, although there are still pockets of vulnerability.
Lambton Public Health conducted a phone interview with 800 local residents, and gathered input from focus groups, those using mental health services, Bluewater Health and other community partners.
Seven of ten people describe their mental health as "excellent" or "very good." One in five adults say they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition while emergency department visits for mental illness are highest among youth ages 15-24.
Young adults, people living in low-income households and people with chronic illnesses are less likely to report good mental health.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade says they now have a road map for future action.
"I think it highlighted for us the need to focus on mental health promotion," says Dr. Ranade. "That includes the idea of keeping people mentally healthy as well as addressing mental illness. That was a really important thing to come out of this report. It's important to focus just as much on keeping people well, as on treating people who are not well."
Dr. Ranade isn't surprised with the results of the study.
"We have a very mentally well population that is on par with Canada and Ontario. We have a very resilient community in terms of mental well-being and that's even higher than Ontario and Canada. But there are pockets of people who are not experiencing the same level of well-being. We need to pay special attention to youth between 15 and 24 who are experiencing lower levels of mental well-being and greater burden of mental illness."
52% of school-aged youngsters said their top stressor was school related, 28% said parents and family stress them out the most, while 12% said their biggest worry were friends and fitting in.
