Mental Health & Wellness
YOU FOUND WAYS TO MAKE IT THIS FAR,
We are here to help you find a path forward.
It is normal to be feeling increased levels of stress and anxiety due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As social gathering restrictions and economic shutdowns have remained in place far longer than governments first anticipated, we understand that the activities and coping strategies you relied on to get through the past year may not be working as well as they used to. If you’ve been getting by but don’t feel like things are getting better, try incorporating some of the coping tools on this site into your routine.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact 911 immediately or present to your nearest emergency department. For up-to-date information about Ontario’s COVID-19 response, please visit the provincial government’s COVID-19 information page.
Impacts on Mental Health
- Youth have experienced the greatest declines since the pandemic began.
- Those already experiencing poor mental health before COVID-19 were impacted even more by the pandemic – including those from the LGBTQ community.
- Visible minority groups were more likely than Whites to report poor mental health (27.8% vs. 22.9%) and symptoms consistent with “moderate” or “severe” generalized anxiety disorder (30.0% vs. 24.2%).
- Those reporting poor mental are up to 4 times more likely to report increased substance use since the pandemic began.
The pandemic has impacted the mental health of Canadians, with youth experiencing the greatest declines
Since COVID-19, fewer Canadians report having excellent or very good mental health – 55% (July 2020) down from 68% (2019).
Prior to COVID-19, youth aged 15-24 were the least likely to report excellent or very good mental health.
- They report the greatest declines – 20 percentage point reduction from 60% (pre-COVID) to 40% (July 2020)
Seniors aged 65 and older are the only group to date who have not experienced declines in mental health since the pandemic began.
Women continue to report lower levels of mental health compared with men – 52% vs 58%.