Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

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Indigenous peoples are at a much higher risk of mental illness and addiction than the general population. Culture and traditional healing is central to the overall wellness of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. Renee Linklater, Senior Director at Shkaabe Makwa at the Centre for Addiction and Mental health, says trauma and racism has passed through the generations – especially the horrific abuse and deaths of children at residential schools in Canada. 

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Last June, my friend Steve Gallagher shared his story with me about living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). It was just before the #walktoendALS and Steve and I talked about living with the disease and  advocating for ALS. There are really no treatments. Health Canada has announced a new drug trial but it will be at least a year before testing is finished.

I'm replayling the interview with Steve to put a focus on the need for treatment for people with ALS.  

Watch Steve's video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.gallagher.129/posts/10157781128741739

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When Paul Lea was in his late 50s he had a massive stroke affecting 25% of his brain. He pretty much gave up on life when he was diagnosed with vascular dementia. With help from his daughter and sheer determination Paul retrained his brain and developed coping skills.  But his advocacy for people with dementia has made the biggest difference.  Paul is part of the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health Not Today. campaign raising awareness of its world class research into mental illnesses and addictions - https://www.camh.ca/en/today-campaign.

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Close your eyes and imagine yourself running into a burning building, putting out the flames and saving someone caught in the fire. Firefighter Rob Leathen has been doing just that for 30 years. Rob describes his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that has been part of his life for most of his career. Rob works hard on his own life but also with others suffering with PTSD.  He is part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (camh.ca) campaign - Today  - highlighting the amazing research CAMH is doing into solving the mysteries of mental illness.

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It's estimated that 700,000 people die by suicide world wide every year.  In Canada, 10 people die by suicide every day.  Another 200 people will attempt so.  

Dr. Javeria Zaheer from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health talks about how to recognize the signs of suicide and reach out to a person you believe is in danger. Visit camh.ca for more information on suicide.

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Losing a loved one is hard. Grieving is hard. But grieving, gathering with friends and family and sharing  memories is what helps us slowly deal with loss.  The pandemic stole that from all of us. My father-in-law died in February 2020, a month before the first lockdown. It was so hard for the family to grieve in total isolation. 

Grief specialist Dr. Darcy Harris, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, says as the world begins to open up people may have to face the grief all over again as they see friends and family for the first time.

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Brian Hansell lost his son Paul to suicide in 2010 when Paul was just 18.  While Brian will never recover from his son's death he celebrates his life with the Paul Hansell Foundation committed to raising youth mental health awareness in Canada. The Foundation's #ConvoPlate are travelling around the world starting conversations about mental health about the importance of mental health in all our lives. 

You can keep them going with your own individually painted plate. Here's how:

Step 1 -  Register a #ConvoPlate at paulhansellfoundation.com
Step 2 - Take a picture of yourself with the plate and post it on social media using the hashtag #ConvoPlate.
Step 3 - Pass the plate to someone and start it's journey. You can track it on the website.
Step 4 - Help support mental health programs and inititatives by donating to the Paul Hansell Foundation or a mental health agency in your community.

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Eram Chhogala, an emergency trauma nurse who works at two major hospitals in Toronto, talks about 17 months of extreme stress working on the frontline of the pandemic, treating people with severe COVID 19. There were days the ER was so full of patients, nurses and doctors were forced to treat people in hallways. Some nurses are considering leaving their jobs once the pandemic is over.

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It's the end of the summer and kids in Ontario are going back to school in person for the first time since last March. That's on top of the 20 weeks when schools were shuttered in 2020.
Angel Graham is a social worker at Pathstone Mental Health, which provides mental health services to children.  She shares TIPS on prepping your whole family for back to school, a time that can be particularly difficult for kids who already have mental health issues.