Seventy per cent. That's how many St. Albert youths say their biggest challenge is mental health. It's also the same figure associated with how many mental disorders first develop before adulthood. As I see it, that should be higher.
Seventy per cent. That's how many St. Albert youths say their biggest challenge is mental health.
It's also the same figure associated with how many mental disorders first develop before adulthood.
As I see it, that should be higher. Let's not kid ourselves. Mental illness has many causes. Alberta Health says that anxiety, depression, addiction and attention deficit disorders comprise the vast majority of all diagnoses.
I think that we've all been there in one way or another. We've all been subjected to situations and circumstances that forced our brains to adapt. Problems can continue for long periods as the brain adapts further and further into disease and disorder. How – or if – we all come out of these situations is what makes the real difference.
Training might play a part. Example: your dad is always angry so you hide in your room and become defensive, quiet, repressed. You're still stuck in the house though. Stress leads to trauma. I'm no doctor but I can see how any one of us could endure horrors and survive with an affected mind full of troubled thoughts.
This kind of mental illness, to me, means that our brains work just fine. It's our lives that are in turmoil.
I'm reminded of a quote by Steven Winterburn (often misattributed to writer William Gibson.) He said, “Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.”
The world is rife with them: alcoholic parents, angry bosses, and caustic spouses.
The list of sources for suffering is much longer than that. It could have been your own experiences such as being a first responder and repeatedly witnessing people in pain and dying. Maybe it was worse: you had a gun pointed to your head. Maybe you were abused or you lived through other kinds of devastating tragedies.
During my research for the recent Gazette series on mental health, I listened to many people's stories. There was a lot of abuse… physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse, often starting in childhood. Horrible, unspeakable stuff. And yet, it still happened and is still happening to so many. Just listening to the stories affected me.
How can one experience such things – especially as a child – without the brain adapting to the situation like a plant twisting to find the sun? Surely, depression and anxiety must be normal responses there. Addictions and attention issues sure could too.
It's no wonder to me that psychology is the escape route when a physical one is impossible. That's part of the magic and majesty of our evolution. We are malleable creatures and can survive in some of the harshest, most extreme environments.
Mental illness needs to be rethought. It's part and parcel of the human condition. So is compassion. It takes nothing for us to lament something as far removed as a lion killed in Africa. Mental health is all around us.
The stigma is perhaps part of the continuation of abuse. Even using the phrase ‘mental illness' makes me feel like part of that. The phrase seems to precede the person, like saying “my bipolar friend” instead of “my friend who has bipolar disorder.” There's still a person there, not just a disease with a face.
Like I said, I'm no doctor. I'm not a scientist or a sociologist. I just think that we're all dealing with things the best that we can. Some of us don't have as many tools. Some of us have more forces working against us.
One thing – one big thing – that works for all of us is our ability to care. I often say that it's easier to talk to someone who can't hear than someone who won't listen.
Listening is good. It helps people who need to talk through their thoughts and feelings and it helps you get out of your own head for a while too. We're all connected.
What we all need is someone to talk to and someone to listen. Mental health is about all of us. We're all in it together.
Scott Hayes is a reporter with the St. Albert Gazette.
