The number of Canadians struggling with mental health is on the rise as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
A new study from the Angus Reid Institute has found 36% of people are reporting issues with with mental health while 23% feel they're depressed.
Bethany King is a clinical psychologist at the Neurobehavioral Institute at Hotel Dieu-Grace Healthcare.
King says this represents a big jump compared to numbers reported in November which found roughly 25% of residents dealing with mental health struggles.
She says the stress of the Omicron variant likely pushed some people over the edge.
"At the beginning it was a lockdown, we're going to have a lockdown for a couple of weeks and then it stretched on and then it lifted and then we're going to lock it down again," she continued. "When Omicron hit it had a really significant impact on people's mental health, a really big drop in people's mental health, a significant impact."
King says there are a lot of factors in play.
"We're just tired of lockdown after lockdown after lockdown, school closures, restaurant closures, children's activities being closed, gyms being closed, being told you're not supposed to visit with family and friends over the Christmas holidays again. It's just wearing at people."
She says the time of year is not helping either.
"Normally people struggle with mental health issues, struggle with depression more over the winter time. So winter is harder for us to start out with. So it's this loss of hope, loss of things to look forward to, those types of difficulties make a big difference for people," King said.
The study also found about a third of Canadians never speak about their difficulties with family and friends.
Kings says reaching out to your support network can be a big help, but be sure to keep the conversation COVID-free — she adds getting outside for some fresh air when possible is a must as well.