Mental Health
Mental wellness is the ability to feel, think and act in ways that allow us to enjoy life and rebound from the challenges we face. An important piece of mental wellness is the relationship between protective factors (e.g. healthy relationships) and risk factors (e.g. poor health), and their impact on individuals, families, and the community.
Mental wellness promotion is linked to physical and overall mental health, along with the social determinants of health, with wide benefits across our communities.
To build mental wellness in Niagara it’s important we promote positive mental health through strengthening the ability to enjoy life, deal with life events, enhance emotional well-being and spiritual values, and foster social connections and respect for culture, equity, social justice and personal dignity. (Adapted from the Public Health Agency of Canada)
Public Health programs that are linked to mental health promotion include: prenatal care, breastfeeding, positive parenting, 40 Assets, workplace wellness, and smoking cessation, for example.
Data in Niagara is limited on mental wellness. Therefore, most of the data below focuses on mental illness. The data is self-reported and may not provide an accurate or complete representation of positive mental health as measured by life satisfaction.
Life stress
Percentage of population who report having 'quite a bit' or 'extreme' Life stress
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey 4.1, 2007-2008, Statistics Canada, Share File, Ontario MOHLTC.
In Niagara, 25.2% of people aged 20-64 report that most days are quite stressful or extremely stressful. This is very similar to that of Ontario (25.1%).
As for those over the age of 65, 13.6% of Niagara report having quite a bit or an extreme amount of Life stress which is slightly higher than Ontario (11.1%). This difference is not statistically significant.Suicide
Percentage of population who have ever seriously considered committing suicide 1
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey 4.1, 2007-2008, Statistics Canada, Share File, Ontario MOHLTC.
1 Age-Standardized rates (Canada 1991)
10.3% of people in Niagara over the age of 15 report having ever seriously considered committing suicide which is quite a bit higher than that of Ontario (7.8%). This difference is not statistically significant.
11.0% of people in Niagara over the age of 20 report having ever seriously considered committing suicide. This is significantly higher than that of Ontario (5.9%).
