The Editor,
Re. “Todd wants World Mental Health Day” (The Tri-City News, June 20).
I wholeheartedly agree with Carol Todd that Oct. 10 should be proclaimed World Mental Health Day. Accordingly, I am urging every reader of The Tri-City News to sign her petition online.
The stigma associated with mental illness continues to cripple many sufferers with a heavy burden of shame, ultimately rendering them less apt to seek professional intervention and treatment.
As their illnesses fester, these individuals can, for instance, end up taking sick leave and going on long-term disability from their jobs, potentially lowering our country’s GDP. Afterwards, when their mental health has snowballed to a breaking point and their physical health starts to deteriorate, their subsequent hospitalization can tax our health care system.
Alternatively, these individuals could simply wind up on our streets, where they can increase crime rates and policing costs.
Ultimately, the necessary revenue will be billed to you, the taxpayer.
Although designating a World Mental Health Day will not solve the complex problems that stigma engenders, it stands as one bold step towards a brighter future — a future where we, the afflicted, could be regaling our friends and coworkers with stories of panic attacks and psych ward visits, for instance, all without suffering any wounds to our dignity.
Think about it: your brain — despite its vast complexity and unparalleled intellectual abilities — is still a bodily organ. Why should it alone enjoy complete immunity to any possible disease or malfunction? Why do a minority of our 21st century society continue to discriminate disorders of the brain as “illegitimate” in contrast to ailments affecting other organs?
Society needs to change. World Mental Health Day would pave the way towards a more enlightened and compassionate future.
Peter Toth, Port Coquitlam
