Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, new national data show that while some mental health impacts have begun to subside, some groups face disproportionate challenges, with more than one in three young adults, Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ people experiencing symptoms of a mental disorder in 2023.

Published last week, the third cycle of the Statistics Canada (StatCan) and the Public Health Agency of Canada鈥檚 (PHAC鈥檚) Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health found that key quality-of-life indicators have rebounded from their 2021 lows, including self-perceptions of mental health as well as feelings of personal belonging and satisfaction with life.

Fifty-seven per cent of Canadian adults not living in the territories, on a reserve or in an institution reported their mental health was very good or excellent, up from 52 per cent in early 2021 and approaching the 60-per-cent high recorded in late 2020.

Similarly, those reporting a 鈥渟trong sense of belonging鈥� accounted for 62 per cent of respondents, up from 57 per cent in 2021 and nearing a 2020 high of 64 per cent. This year saw the highest proportion reporting they were highly satisfied with their lives, to 54 per cent from 51 and 45 per cent in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Suze Berkhout, a clincian-investigator at University Health Network鈥檚 Centre for Mental Health in Toronto, says that with day-to-day experiences improving since the height of the pandemic, it鈥檚 an intuitive trend.

鈥淭he horizon 鈥� that let you figure how out you plan things, how you think about your life 鈥� that was really disrupted, early in the pandemic,鈥� she said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like everything is what it was pre-March-2020, but there is more of a kind of predictability, at least 鈥� that kind-of, I think, makes it easier for people to regain this sense of who they are, where they鈥檙e going; what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�

Conducted between February and May, the 2023 survey cycle 鈥減rovides a snapshot into the mental health of adults in Canada as this global health emergency came to an end,鈥� the published release reads.

It鈥檚 the latest in a yearslong effort.

A 2022 StatCan review of the survey鈥檚 previous cycles found that while roughly two-thirds of Canadians appeared to live with 鈥渘o mental health difficulties,鈥� the remainder experienced low-to-moderate (26 per cent) or severe (nine per cent) difficulties.

Throughout the pandemic, respondents in the latter two groups were more likely to experience the death of a colleague or loved one, financial difficulties including job losses and interpersonal challenges, among other factors.

鈥淎lthough these impacts have already been identified as a concern among people with severe mental health difficulties, they have likely been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� the study read.

To Mark Berber, a psychiatrist and professor at the University of Toronto鈥檚 medical school, the mental health impacts of the past few years among Canadians have been serious.

鈥淭he lockdowns had a terribly negative effect, psychologically, on people,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淧eople weren鈥檛 allowed to go and exercise at the gym, people weren鈥檛 allowed to go for a walk in the park, they weren鈥檛 allowed to go to school and be with their friends; people鈥檚 businesses and careers were decimated.鈥�

But while this year鈥檚 broad indicators could be cause for optimism, the data also implies that the impact of some prominent mental health symptoms remains steady.

Last week鈥檚 survey release shows that reported symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have not dropped below the prevalence first recorded in 2020, with more than one in five Canadians in all three survey cycles saying they had experienced moderate-to-severe symptoms of at least one of them.

鈥淵ou may well have a very strong sense of belonging, but still have significant struggles with mental health challenges,鈥� Berkhout said.

Symptoms of depression were the most common, impacting a reported 17 per cent of respondents, but down from 19 per cent in 2021. Anxiety and PTSD symptoms have risen gradually through the course of the survey, to 15 and eight per cent from 13 and six per cent, respectively, since 2020.

Experts are quick to note, however, that numbers like these do not correspond directly to diagnoses of any particular mental disorder. In times of crisis, when everyone is under emotional strain, it may just be a reaction to reality.

鈥淭he business being cut off, the kids not allowed to go to school; your stress goes through the roof,鈥� Berber said.

鈥淭hat does not mean you have major depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder; it just means you have symptoms that may indicate those diseases, or that may indicate just great stress.鈥�

Long-term research from StatCan show that the recent highs are part of a decade-long rise in reported symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders.

Published this September, the Mental Health and Access to Care Survey found that last year, 14 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older had met diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode in their lifetime, up from roughly 11 per cent in 2012. Symptom rates for bipolar and generalized anxiety disorders also substantially increased in that time, to 3.4 and 13 per cent from 2.6 and nine per cent, respectively.

鈥淔indings from the Mental Health and Access to Care Survey suggest in 2022, there were more than five million people in Canada who were experiencing significant symptoms of mental illness,鈥� the study read. 鈥淒eclines in population mental health were evident in Canada before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.鈥�

But just as with interpreting the pandemic-era numbers, experts urge caution.

From the evolving culture and stigma regarding mental health among Canadians, to shifting classification of experiences or symptoms by the medical community, to the complications of who gets access to what resources in the first place, Berkhout says it can be exceedingly challenging to quantify how the country鈥檚 psychology is changing.

鈥淵ou might have jumped from 1.5 per cent of people screening positive in 2012 to 2.1 per cent,鈥� she said. 鈥淥n a detailed, clinical assessment, do you actually have a difference in the numbers? Possibly not.鈥�

SYMPTOMS MOST REPORTED AMONG YOUNG, MARGINALIZED CANADIANS

This year鈥檚 survey cycle reveals disparities between Canadians in experiences of mental health, with young adults, Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ people among the most likely to report they were experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

While 17 per cent of all 2023 respondents reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression, those same experiences were found among one in three of those aged 18-24, 29 per cent of Indigenous respondents and 45 per cent of those identifying as a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community. Similar trends appeared in the anxiety and PTSD symptom data.

In all, one-third or more of respondents from each of the above demographics reported they had lived with symptoms of depression, anxiety or PTSD, with LGBTQ2S+ respondents doubling the total-population rate for each.

Berkhout says that the discrepancy can be linked to the additional stressors and the barriers to care that some groups often face.

鈥淵ou have many more historic conditions, that then generate the kinds of challenges that will, at some point, potentially get translated into a kind of symptoms 鈥� things like intergenerational trauma 鈥� [a] phenomenon that then increases vulnerabilities,鈥� she said.

鈥淧eople who are minoritized 鈥� they鈥檙e less likely to receive things like early intervention for issues, which then become bigger and bigger with time 鈥� you鈥檙e a step behind.鈥�