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Canadian public servants are sad - a situation a leading mental health expert says amounts to a "public health crisis." Public health workers, from nurses to police to bureaucrats, are suffering from depression at unprecedented rates, says Bill Wilkerson of Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. Studies show that about 75 per cent of federal executives feel they are on the brink of burnout. Among public servants, mental health claims now account for 45 per cent of all disability claims. For his part, Wilderson blames public sector inertia and an ambiguous chain of command: "The public service is a tsunami of distractions - meetings, everything questioned, delegated, people moving ... and no one is really in charge. It's the most transient, fluid, unsettling work environment on the planet, so why wouldn't people be anxious and in distress?" PM Stephen Harper created the Mental Health Commission to develop a national mental health strategy. |
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Mental illness focus of film series |
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One of the biggest problems with mental illness is the stigma with which it is surrounded, says Jean Hughes, an associate professor in the school of nursing at Dalhousie University.
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