All humans face fear and sadness at times, especially when facing the stresses that are common to the human experience: potential job loss, alienation, illness, the death of loved ones, and more. But for some people, fear and sadness are present most or all of them time, and their power is overwhelming. Just five years ago, 3 million Canadians or almost twelve percent of us reported having a mood or anxiety disorder. About the same number will experience diagnosable depression at some point.

And yet for many, the stigma of mental illness is so strong that they can’t even use the phrase. They’ll say, “mental health issues” or “mental health challenges.” Among many new Canadian communities, the shame may be even greater, resulting in denial being number one coping strategy. But denial is no cure, and often makes people worse.

To discuss such problems and the strategies to help them, I recently spoke with Edmonton financial adviser, speaker, and author Odion Welch. She’s the author of Breakthrough: A Courageous True Story of Overcoming Depression and Anxiety. Each chapter of the book addresses a specific mental illness stressor such as familial and romantic relationships, careers, body image, and grief. We met at the Simply Done café in Edmonton’s gallery district on May 4, 2018. We discussed:

• The real reasons that people abuse alcohol and drugs
• How to counter the constant terror of making mountains out of molecules
• The various causes of depression, especially among immigrant families, and why immigrant parents need to let their children discover and even fail
• Therapies that work for some and not others
• The psychological importance of being touched, and the many reasons so many people are starved for physical contact

OdionWelch.com

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