Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

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Many people celebrated the end of the lockdown.  Shopping with no mask. Going out for dinner with no proof of vaccination.  But for people with severed anxiety and panic attacks the world opening up was scary. Secretly, they didn't really want to leave their home but felt foolish telling anyone. Jennifer Fisk and Janice Arnoldi talk about how they are adjusting to life on the outside. Jennifer is a former president of Canadian Mental Health Association, Niagara and has lived her whole life with severe anxiety and panic attacks.

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Jacob Borisenko died last June after taking anti-anxiety pills he bought off the street which his dad Steve believes were contaminated with fentynal. Steve Borisenko is with me today to talk about his son’s death and the advocacy work he’s doing in the hopes that no one else will have to die.

We’re starting to see the final numbers for opioid overdoses and deaths in Niagara in 2021. More people were taken to hospital for a suspected overdose. But the most shocking is the number of people who died. While we don’t have the final count it will be around 200 people– that’s average of 16 deaths per month and 50 more than 2020 - when we were second behind Toronto.

If you are at risk on an overdose please make sure you are with someone and one of you is  carrying a noloxone kit. Kits are available at many social service agencies and pharmacies across the Region.

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Andrew Dodge was only 38 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer in 2019.  The cancer is terminal.  The average life span is 14 years. Anyone who meets Andrew will see that part of his skull was removed during surgery to remove the turmor. He doesn't hide it under a hat.  It's important to Andrew that other young people living with cancer know that it doesn't have to define them.  It's hard work to stay on track and live life but he and his wife Kat are determined to get the most out of their time together.  Andrew is a counsellor at RAFT, a haven for homeless youth in Niagara, Ontario.

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 Autism service dogs play a special role in helping children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  They provide safety, constant friendship and help with behavioural issues.  Allison Savard, Director of Client Services at Autism Dog Services, says safety is often the main reason a family gets a service dog.  Kids with autism can suddenly bolt and not stop when called. The service dog is attached to the child and trained to stop and wait. Savard says the dog often brings a family together. They may never have done anything outside the house as a family group for fear their child will bolt.  The dog can also help the child with ASD make a connection by being involved in its care and the whole family can join in.

Visit Austism Service Dogs for more information. The organization provides service dogs in Southwestern Ontario.  https://www.autismdogservices.ca

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In 2017, Fabiola Philippe lost her life after years of battling mental illness and addiction. Fabiola was a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a friend. She was also Black and through the tragedy Fabiola's family realized that help for mental health and addiction just wasn't equal for people in the Black community. In 2018, Fabiola's sister Marie Philippe Remy and her daughter Lydia Philippe started Fabiola’s Addiction and Mental Health Awareness & Support Foundation.  FAHMAS raises awareness about mental health and addiction in the Ottawa community. It started as a place where people living in the Ottawa area could come together in a safe place. Now, the Foundation is expanding across the country.

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 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is misunderstood and tricky to diagnose.  Children with ADHD are often thought to be rowdy or undisciplined because they can’t stay still. They may seem unmotivated and lacking willpower. It's easy to think your child just doesn't want to do something as simple as cleaning their room. ADHD is a spectrum. Some kids have difficulty concentrating while others find organizing their thinking to acheive simple tasks can be really challenging.

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Customers in restaurants expect the people who work there to always have a smile on their face and be respectful to their needs. Yet, too often customers don't give the same kindness and respect  back.  Chef Adam Hyndman-Smith, who owns Dispatch Restauraunt in St. Catharines, says the food services industry has to change and start protecting their employees. Adam says those smiling faces are often covering mental health and physical stress that is rampant in the industry.  It's not just verbal abuse from unhappy diners. Women, who are the majority of front of house staff, often experience unacceptable touching, flirting and sexual abuse.  Long hours on the job has also led to a culture of drinking and drug use to wind down at the end of the day.

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One in 66 children and youth in Canada is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder according to the latest study in done in 2018.  Autism affects the way a person interacts with the world around them. Engaging in relationships or being able to socialize is often difficult.

Chrissy Sadowski's 11 year old son Darius  is non-verbal autistic. He doesn't speak or understand simple tasks.  Chrissy talks about how life isn't always easy with Darius but the family has learned his needs and actions. 

Chrissy is the Fund Developtment and Volunteer Coordinator for Autism Ontario South Region.  She also has a coaching business https://consciousdirection.ca/

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Day in and day out Nurse Eram Chhogala, who is a trauma and ER nurse in Toronto, treats people with COVID -19 who come into the emergency struggling to breathe. Too many times she has moved patients to intensive care where they are often put on life support and in some cases die. Then Eram experienced an unimaginable personal tragedy when her dad came into emergency at the hospital where she worked having difficulty breathing.  It's impossible to imagine the anguish Eram felt as she watched her dad move to ICU where he died.  Eram has nursed so many people who have not been vaccinated.  Please listen to her empassioned appeal for people to get vaccinated as she puts it "for the sake of human kind." 

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Anyone who knows me knows that I love horses.  I believe everyone who is living with a mental health issues or addiction should own or have access to a pet.  It helps with lonliness and also means being responsible for another living being.  Not everyone can own a horse but some therapists are adding Equine therapy to their traditional in- office approach. Firefighter Rob Leathen, who I've interviewed in the past about his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says working with horses and donkeys has been an immense help in his journey to wellness.