Who's calling who crazy?

One of the best things happening for Canadian teens online or off is Mind Your Mind, an award-winning site about mental health issues created by and for Canadian teens.

The site features a smorgasbord of practical tools designed to give teens tools they can use immediately when life seems to be permanently stuck on "sucky" (the tree of lights offers inspiring quotes while the anxiety bust tool suggests concrete actions to tackle when you think your heart or your head is going to explode).

Other valuable features on the site include from-the-trenches accounts of what it's like to struggle with a mental health problem (from teens who have walked &mdash and are walking — the talk) as well as inspiring words from some well-known people who have interesting insights to share on what it takes to thrive (or even just survive) in today's world.

And then there's the fabulous multi-media brain candy: art, music, video, poetry and downloadable posters (which provide useful information while seeking to stamp out some of the stubborn myths and misconceptions about mental health issues).

The real crazy talk

Now let's shift the dialogue a little and focus on mental health issues in the real world: specifically, the number of Canadian kids who are slipping through the treatment cracks. According to the United Nations, approximately 15 per cent of Canadian children under the age of 20 are living with some sort of mental health disorder (for example, anxiety, depression or addiction). And of those children who are living with a mental health issue, just one in five actually benefits from treatment.

I don't buy into the circular arguments that reappear whenever the issue of healthcare spending arises (the ones where politicians debate which other level of government should fork over the necessary cash). All I know is that asking a child to wait for months or years — or even forever — to receive treatment for a mental health disorder isn't crazy. It's criminal.

So what do you think? Should Canada be doing a better job of funding mental health services for children and youth? Have you or a family member faced frustrating waits while seeking treatment services?