Young people dealing with depression aren't seeking professional help

Young people aren't asking for professional help when they're dealing with depression, a factor that contributes to suicide, concludes a new report from Statistics Canada.

The health report released Wednesday is based on information included in the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey Mental Health and states that about 11 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 experience depression at some point, but fewer than half seek professional help.

The same trends can be seen locally, according to Andrew Taylor, a psychologist with the Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre.

"Depression is certainly one of the highest types of mental illness that we see," he said, adding there are more pressures on teens today than ever before.

"I think that social pressures, including the media and social media in particular, those put a different type of pressure on to people that weren't totally present ... prior to that."

Other stress factors include increased competition in education and the neurological differences between young people and adults, Taylor said.

The mental health expert explained that some changes in recent years have been positive, and more people are talking about mental illness, but more funding is needed for treatment in Ontario.