If you feel depressed, you are not alone.
The Canadian Mental Health Association says one out of five people will have a mental problem or illness in any given year.
The association for Sudbury/Manitoulin encourages everyone in the community to see Mental Illness Awareness Week, which runs all this week, as an opportunity to combat stigma, speak openly about mental health, and call for increased access to mental health services.
Association Director Marion Quigley points out that mental illnesses can be treated effectively, but people first need to feel comfortable overcoming the discrimination attached to this issue in order to reach out and ask for help.
She adds it is vital that there be a mental health system that can provide the types of services individuals are seeking to aid in their recovery.
The week is an annual national public education campaign coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health in co-operation with all its member organizations, including CMHA.
Anyone wanting help is encouraged to contact services in Espanola or Elliot Lake.