Reducing harm of lost work on the brain

Don Drummond, chief economist for TD Financial Group, will discuss productivity and the GDP at a Toronto Board of Trade breakfast Wednesday morning, but not in the way you would expect. His audience will be the Psychology Foundation of Canada and he will be talking about the toll that unemployment and mental illness take on the Canadian economy.

Mental illness costs the Canadian economy about $33 billion each year – about 2.1 per cent of GDP – in absenteeism and lost productivity. Disability from mental illness amounts to 4 to 12 per cent of all payroll costs, and mental health claims are the fastest growing category of disability costs for employers and insurance companies. And yet the connection between the economy and mental health is often called into question.


What I question about this quote is namely the total amount they list as the issue?

$33 billion only includes missed work and reduced ability to work yet it doesn't include those who have lost their jobs and are now beginning to get mentally ill due to lost homes, lost nutrition, increases health problems and lost love which are all vital to our well-being and recovery from the problems of economic demise that some people in this country are seeing.

We need to focus on helping these individuals with not only economic support but also support relating to their general well-being such as happiness. These could be supports that provide recreational sports for the family to attend in community settings at reduced prices to help keep our communities active and socializing through this economic downturn. It is more important then we know.

We should also be funding work projects for all not just construction projects as this only gets back to work a small part of an entire country. It is more then just construction workers that have lost their jobs.

What is the cost to the country of the lost homes, lives to depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses that result from lost identity as was mentioned in the article? This can take over the brain and change it at a biological level making it very difficult to bounce back without the support, love and compassion of those around them. We all need to help take care of each through this tough time and sadly, it doesn't seem to be happening with our government and their delay in deciding what to do about EI. What is there to decide?

What other help has been provided to those whom have lost their jobs in this economic recession? What about those who can't feed their family? There has been marked increase in food bank visits this year while they are more strapped then ever? Is this the face of a caring and loving government who is listening to its citizens? You decide!