National Child and Youth Mental Health Day

 Today is Child and Youth Mental Health Day - a national day of celebration dedicated to enhancing the awareness and understanding of the importance of youth mental health. The day of recognition is part of Mental Health Week (May 4-10). Mental health is the positive balance of the social, physical, spiritual, economic and mental aspects of one’s life and is as important as physical health. During adolescence youth travel through a period of major physical, emotional, social and vocational changes as they move from childhood into adulthood. Though the youth years are among the most physically healthy, they are also a time when mental illness most commonly develops. Therefore, it is important that youth engage in activities that help build self esteem, create positive family relationships, and stimulate their mental health as well as their physical health. According to the World Health Organization, almost one-third of the global burden of disease in young people is due to neuropsychiatric disorders. In Canada it is estimated that 15 – 20 percent of children and youth suffer from a treatable mental disorder, yet only the minority of those in need (an estimated 20 percent) receive mental health services. No other such pressing health problem in Canada is so neglected. It is also important that young people and their parents learn the warning signs that may signal when a problem is not just something that will go away or that can be overcome by health improvements. Sometimes problems are the first signs of a mental illness that can be effectively treated, particularly if it is caught early on. Mental health is everyone's business. We all need to be informed.