Welcome Home / Bienvenue Chez Soi

Ok, I'm cheating on this one.  I realized I haven't posted in here in almost a month and a half.  Honestly, it's depressing when you have to consciously think about depression for a couple of hours.  There's still topics that I want to talk about, but like I said, it's not easy to get yourself into that mindset.  So I'm cheating.  This is a direct lift from another blog that I write on more general topics, but I think it's worth posting here too, especially since it touches on a federal program that affects the mentally ill:

Welcome Home / Bienvenue Chez Soi

As I promised a few days ago, this post will not focus on hockey or the NHL...actually, it will focus on something a whole lot more important.

If you know me, I'm generally not a fan of current Conservative ideology when it comes to anything related to their social projects (think the Safe Streets Act and all the crime prevention measures it entailed - here's a hint - there were none.)  General Conservative values place more emphasis on punishment than prevention, and view social programs that benefit the most disadvantaged in our society as not cost-effective.

(As a bit of an aside, I recently came across old news reports of a couple of studies done in Britain and Australia that both identified a link between right-wing governments and increased suicide rates - and the studies corrected for other factors such as economic slumps, wars, and the like.  I haven't seen anything for Canadian rates, but it would be interesting considering all three countries share basically the same political systems.  Here are the links:  http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2817-rightwing-governments-increase-suicide-rates.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2263690.stm)

So, back to my main post today - I try to be nothing, if not fair.  I stumbled upon an article released this afternoon (and for anyone reading this not from Canada - today is statutory holiday (Boxing Day) and for the most part the country is focused on the World Junior Hockey Championships being held in Alberta).  It's a slow news day and a day when most of the country only cares about sports or Boxing Day shopping if their community allows it.  So, needless to say, I was a little surprised to see there wasn't much fanfare with this program, given that it's one that should provide some positive PR for the federal government.

The federal government has recently received some well-deserved criticism over its handling of the housing crisis in Attawapiskat - enough that I don't need to go into it here.  (But again, to be fair, this country has historically bungled its handling of affairs with our First Nations peoples at all levels of government, regardless of the government's political ideology).  And on further reflection, that might be why this was released today:
http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/national/details.asp?c=37309

There is a very quiet program being backed by federal funds ($110 million - pocket change, really) that is focusing on providing housing to homeless people.  And it seems to be producing some very positive results.  It's half-way through its 5-year life, and the money is being channelled through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/

Now this program - called At Home/Chez Soi - is still experimental, and it's focusing on the mentally ill (from a Conservative government? WTF?)  It focuses on providing housing first - with no strings attached.  A support team of professional service providers is immediately available.   In Toronto, it's seeing a success rate of between 70-80%.  Nationally, 1030 people are enrolled in this program, and almost all of them have stayed housed.  Sounds pretty successful to me.

However, it's never that easy.  Hopefully at the conclusion of this project, the government can be convinced that in the end it saved enough money in other areas (policing/courts/jails/health care) to continue the program past its 2013 end-date.  Early indications are that it will.

To learn more about the program, check it out:  http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/homelessness.aspx

Daron Richardson

If you've been folllowing this blog, you know I've mentioned Daron Richardson before.

She's the daughter of Luke Richardson - former NHLer and current assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators.  Her mom is Stephanie Richardson.  Her sister is Morgan.

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of her suicide.

Here's a really touching interview that Luke and Stephanie gave to Sportsnet and it aired on Hockey Central Saturday this past weekend.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/video/latest/Do-it-for-Daron

As you know, I started this blog to help spread the news (as it were) that depression, and by extension any mental illness, is nothing to be ashamed of.  Just like you wouldn't be ashamed of a cancer diagnosis, why should you be ashamed if there's something wrong upstairs?  It's not like you have a choice in the matter...It's not your fault.

Anyways, my kids aren't too much younger than Daron.  Mental illness has touched my family for at least 3, maybe 4, generations now.  I'm fucking scared as hell that it could hit my girls.  One of the first things I did once I moved back home was to order a package of purple D.I.F.D. bracelets.  Mine hasn't left my wrist since.  And once my girls are big enough that they won't fall off their wrists (they're both pretty tiny) I'll give them theirs and explain who Daron was.

http://www.doitfordaron.com/

Depression and Work

So today's post is brought to you via a friend of mine who expressed feeling depressed over her job.  Now, I know she was using the term "depressed" in the modern everyday form, but it got me to thinking about depression as it relates to the workplace.  Generally, we spend about 1/3 of our time at work - more if you had a job like I used to, where you didn't always get to leave on time at the end of your shift.

As you would have read in my previous posts, there's a lot of stigma attached to mental illness, with about  50% of Canadians thinking it's just an excuse for poor behaviour (http://www.thefsagroup.com/CMHA/pdfLib/StigmaandDiscriminationFactSheet.pdf).  In Alberta, it's reported that 43.3% of residents believe depression is caused by a weakness of character.  (http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/documents/Media%20Room/Quick%20Facts%203rd%20Edition%20Eng%20Nov%2012%2009.pdf).  I digress a bit here, but just setting the scene.  With these attitudes, it's no wonder that so many people choose to suffer in silence.

According to the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, mental illness causes more lost work days per year than any other chronic condition - and costs the economy something to the tune of $51 BILLION annually in lost productivity.

In A Report on Mental Illness in Canada (Health Canada 2002), workplace supports for someone with a mental illness are addressed:  "Aside from the home, the workplace is the primary location of adult life.  As such it plays an influential role in an individual's health and well-being.  Much of the impact of mental illness in the workplace is reflected in poor productivity and increased use of sick leave.  Stigma surrounds people with mental health difficulties, and the recovery process is often misunderstood.  Employers need  to demonstrate that they do not discriminate and are fair in their policies and procedures in dealing with mental health problems."

Now, those who know me know that I've got a degree in Commerce with a specialization in Human Resources & Industrial Relations.  I came along at the time when a lot of companies were starting to smarten up and realize that their people were their most valuable resource.  Even if I didn't suffer from depression, I'd be keen on taking care of the employee and making sure the work environment is "mentally healthy".  There's a British study referred to on the Mood Disorder Society's web page that suggests teachers, nurses, social workers, probation officers, police officers, armed forces and medical practitioners have higher incidences of work-related mental illnesses.  Managers (ME!!!) and administrators, teaching professionals, other associate professionals, clerical and secretarial, sales and personal services occupations have a higher risk.

I couldn't find it, but I remember reading an article about high-stress management jobs and lack of decision-making ability being a good trigger for the onset of mental illness.  I know from personal experience, I've felt this way - I wasn't able to make basic decisions regarding my operations without running it by my superior - even if it was to place a service call for broken machinery.  I was second in charge of a $3.5/million per year business with about 85 employees - you'd think I could make that decision on my own.

I came across this helpful list of what causes a stressful work environment.  I don't want to completely dump on my past work experiences, but there are several of these items that figured prominently in my day-to-day working environment:

Organizational Function & Culture

• poor taske environment and lack of definition of objectives
• poor problem solving environment
• poor development environment
• poor communication

Role in Organization

• Role abiguity
• Role conflict
• High responsibility for people

Career Development

• Career uncertainty
• Career stagnation
• Poor status or status incongruity
• Poor pay
• Job insecurity and redundancy
• Low social value to work

Decision Latitude/Control

• Low participation in decision-making
• Lack of control over work
• Little decision-making in work

Interpersonal Relationships at Work

• Social or physical isolation
• Poor relationships with supervisors
• Interpersonal conflict and violence
• Lack of social or practical support at home
• Dual career problems

Task Design

• Ill-defined work
• High uncertainty in work
• Lack of variety of short work cycles
• Fragmented or meaningless work
• Underutilization of skill
• Continual exposure of client/customer groups

Workload/Work Pace

• Lack of control over pacing

Qualities of Work

• Work overload or underload
• High levels of pacing or time pressure

Work Schedule

• Shift working
• Inflexible work schedule
• Unpredictable working hours
• Long or unsocialble working hours

So if you've made it this far, now you know some of what can cause mental health issues in the workplace.  But what does it look like?  Well, again allow me to steal shamelessly and copy verbatim from the Mood Disorder Society's web page (again!) (thank you copy & paste!) (http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/page/no-4-identifying-problem-areas):

According to Stress at Work: A Guide for Employers: (UK Health & Safety Executive. Crown, 1995); the consequences of mental health problems in the workplace can be summarized as follows:

Absenteeism

• increase in overall sickness absence, particularly frequent short periods of absence;
• poor health (depression, stress, burnout);
• physical conditions (high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, sleeping disorders, skin rashes, headache, neck- and backache, low resistance to infections).

Work performance

• reduction in productivity and output;
• increase in error rates;
• increased amount of accidents;
• poor decision-making;
• deterioration in planning and control of work.

Staff attitude and behaviour

• loss of motivation and commitment;
• burnout;
• staff working increasingly long hours but for diminishing returns;
• poor timekeeping;
• labour turnover (particularly expensive for companies at top levels of management).

Relationships at work

• tension and conflicts between colleagues;
• poor relationships with clients;
• increase in disciplinary problems.

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Wow, again I fit the bill on a lot of these items:

• Poor health (depression, stress, burnout)
• Physical conditions (my shoulders were constantly knotted, lower back too)
• Reduction in productivity
• Poor decision making
• Deterioration in planning and control of work
• Loss of motivation and commitment (this one was huge.  and the "more I criticize you, the better you'll be" pep-talk certainly didn't help in this regard)
• Working long hours for diminishing returns (hello schedules! lol)
• Poor timekeeping
• Tension and conflicts with colleagues

So if you're in the management field (or any supervisory role) (or even a co-worker role) if you see some of these warning signals - DON'T IGNORE THEM!!  My career deteriorated to the point I was put on probation for poor performance because 1) I was in no mental shape to realize how far gone I was in relation to the depression I was suffering, and 2) my superiors didn't pick up on the warning signs early enough.  I can't blame them for it, since they likely had no idea what to be looking for, or how to deal with it.  And let me tell ya, when you already feel like absolute shit about yourself and your life, getting put on probation at work does wonders for your self-esteem and self-confidence.

Hopefully if you ever find yourself in a position where you have an employee exhibiting some of the symptoms described above, you can help them.  If I can spare someone else from going through the hell I've been through on this little adventure, I'll sleep somewhat easier at night.

Happy Fish of Montreal / Les Poissons heureux de Montréal

Ok, so it's been a few days since I've posted anything.  I've got a couple of entries started, but I just haven't gotten around to finishing them.  And then inspiration struck.  Well, kind of.  Got an idea from watching TV.

Now, if you know me & my situation, you know I have a fair bit of time on my hands nowadays, so I try to keep busy.  Some of that busy-ness involves watching TV.  But I watch to learn new stuff, so pretty much all the talk shows are out, MuchMusic & MuchMoreMusic & MTV Canada don't offer anything aimed at my demographic, if you've seen one Springer or Maury, you've seen them all - and you ARE the father!  If you've seen Maury, a free paternity test is handed out for each guest.  And sometimes more than one.  But I digress....

If you haven't figured it out yet, I try to watch stuff where I'll learn something.  It might be trivial and/or insignificant, but it leaves me feeling smarter than when I tuned in (vs the shows & networks identified above).   So one of the shows I try to catch regularly is called Trashopolis.  It's on History Television (http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=251059).  Basically, they go around the world to major cities and examine their history and technological developments related to waste management.  Legit waste management, not Tony Soprano "waste management".  (I know it doesn't really sound interesting - it's garbage, right? - but I recommend watching the show.)

Last night they focused on Montreal.  First time they featured a Canadian city.  They've done London, NYC, Paris, Rome, Cairo, Moscow, Mumbai, Tokyo, Jerusalem, and Berlin.  All sorts of cool stuff to learn.  Like this little tidbit...good to have known if you'd lived downriver of Montreal prior to 1984....that's when their first sewage treatment plant opened.  Before that, you flushed it, it ended up in the St. Lawrence River.

So what does this have to do with a depression blog?  Well, I may be a tad warped in regards to my sense of humour, but I found the following bit on the show kind of funny.  Essentially, Montreal has happy fish.

According to Sebastien Sauve, a professor of environmental chemistry that they interviewed for the show, the fish downriver of Montreal's sewage treatment plant have tissue levels of anti-depressants something to the tune of 100x the rate that would be needed to have an effect on the fish population.  Thus, you have les poisson heureux.  Happy Fish.

Basically, after the anti-depressants have passed through peoples' systems, they follow the regular way out.  When the water treatment facility was built, medicinal drugs in the sewage weren't a problem.  Take heart, though, Montreal is upgrading the facility to remove these kinds of contaminants before the treated water is released back into the river.

Now personally, I only like live fish.  I'm not a fish, seafood or sushi guy.  But if you like fish, especially those that you might find in the Great Lakes or St. Lawrence, you might as well eat 'em from downriver of Montreal - if the mercury & other shit in the water does end up poisoning you, you'll at least have a dose of anti-depressants to help ease you through it :)

Did you catch these?

Just wondering if you had the chance to catch Canada AM last Thursday - as part of their special series on mental illness last week, they aired a "Speak Out On Suicide" special.

One of the topics I was going to eventually discuss in relation to depression was suicide.  No time like the present, I suppose.  I'll deal with the link between anti-depressants and suicidal thoughts in another entry.  For now, allow me to put some thoughts about suicide into your head.  Ponder the rest of this entry:

"People kill themselves when the fear of living another moment outweighs the fear of dying at that moment....Think of it this way.  Suicide is what happens when the angel of death and the angel of mercy start working together."   Michael Landsberg, Sept 14, 2011, on the death of his friend Wade Belak.


Here are some of the facts from CTV News, lifted straight off the link below:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CanadaAM/20111003/suicide-series-facts-statistics-111003

CTVNews.ca Staff

Date: Monday Oct. 3, 2011 12:00 PM ET

Suicide in Canada

• About 3,600 people commit suicide in Canada each year. That's about 10 suicides per day.
• About four times more men will commit suicide this year than women.
• Women make 3 to 4 times more suicide attempts than men. Women are also hospitalized for attempted suicide at 1.5 times the rate of men.
• For every suicide death, there are an estimated 20 to 25 attempts.
• Canada has a suicide rate of about 11 per 100,000. That's a slightly higher rate than the U.S.
• Canadians are about 6 times more likely to commit suicide than they are to be a victim of homicide.
• For people between the ages of 15 and 44, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death.
• The most-common method of completed suicide in Canada was suffocation, principally hanging. These account for 40 per cent of completed suicides. Poisoning, which includes drug overdoses and inhalation of motor vehicle exhaust, is the next most-common.
• By far, the most common method of self-injury and suicide attempts leading to hospitalization is poisoning.
• Suicide rates for the immigrant population are about half those for the Canadian-born.
• Suicide accounts for 24 percent of all deaths among 15-24 year old Canadians.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Canadians between the ages of 10 and 24.
• The rate of suicide among Aboriginals is twice the national rate. Among women, the rate of suicide for Aboriginal is three times the national rate.

Suicide facts

• While suicide is often perceived as a problem among young people, men over the age of 80 have the highest suicide rate in Canada.
• The rate of suicide for women peaks in middle adulthood, ages 45-49, and then typically declines after age 60.
• Four out of 5 people who have died by suicide have made at least one previous attempt.
• According to the WHO, suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent worldwide in the last 45 years.
• More than 90 percent of suicide victims have a diagnosable psychiatric illness. In patients with mood disorders, major depression and bipolar disorder account for 15 to 25 percent of all deaths by suicide.
• Suicides do not increase around Christmas, despite the myth. Depression rates during the holidays. Late July and August have the highest suicide rate out of all the months of the year.
• Suicide is the most common cause of premature death for people with schizophrenia. About 40 per cent of people with schizophrenia will attempt suicide at least once.
• Depression is the most treatable of mental illnesses. The recovery rate for moderate to severe clinical depression is 60 to 80 percent using talk therapy and medication in combination

Risk factors for suicide

• Family history of suicide
• Family history of child maltreatment
• Previous suicide attempts
• History of mental disorders, particularly clinical depression
• History of alcohol and substance abuse
• Impulsive or aggressive tendencies
• Cultural and religious beliefs (e.g., belief that suicide is noble resolution of a personal dilemma)
• Local epidemics of suicide
• Isolation, a feeling of being cut off from other people
• Barriers to accessing mental health treatment
• Loss (relational, social, work, or financial)
• Physical illness
• Easy access to lethal methods

Wth reports from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Asociation, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention

Here's some stuff from the Mood Disorders Society of Canada's Quick Facts:
http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/documents/Media%20Room/Quick%20Facts%203rd%20Edition%20Eng%20Nov%2012%2009.pdf

• Province with the highest suicide rate:  Quebec
• National average:  14 suicides per 100,000 population
• Canada rate ranks 9th out of the top industrialized countries.  The lowest rate is in the UK and the highest rate is in Finland.
• 15% of people with chronic depression commit suicide
• Someone commits suicide in the world every 40 seconds

There are some more, but check out the link for all of them.

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Here are some of the videos I alluded to in the title of this entry (you can find more on the Canada AM site):

Luke Richardson's experience in losing his daughter Daron
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=544375
http://www.doitfordaron.com/
General Romeo Dallaire on his time in Rawanda.
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545073

Brenda & Darrel McMullin on their son's suicide after returning from Afghanistan
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545077

A look at youth suicide
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545079

Suicide in the Aboriginal community
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545063

The medical aspects of suicide
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545085

Bill Wilkerson on what the Canadian government can do.  Did you know Canada is one of only two G8 countries without a national suicide action plan or framework for suicide reduction?
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=545053

There is currently a bill before Parliament (C-300) that would establish a federal framework for suicide prevention.  Here's the link - it's a short bill, easy to read.  http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=5144669&file=4

If you want to write to any MP, here's how:

***NO POSTAGE REQUIRED***

Mr/Ms J. Doe, MP
House of Commons
Ottawa  ON  K1A 0A6

To write to a Minister:
The Hon. J. Doe, MP
Minister of __________
House of Commons
Ottawa ON  K1A 0A6

To the PM - "The Right Honourable J. Doe, Prime Minister"

***NO POSTAGE REQUIRED***

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a couple of important links:

http://helpguide.org/mental/suicide_prevention.htm
http://helpguide.org/mental/suicide_help.htm

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Hey all - Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to you!

When you're giving thanks to whomever for whatever, if you've never had to deal with a mental illness first-hand, or in someone close to you, don't forget to give thanks for that as well.

Stealing from Landsberg again, we're often not thankful for good mental health.


As an interesting aside, was listening in on a conversation with a family friend of many years, and he was of the opinion that if you kill yourself, you're taking the coward's way out, and that true guts comes from sticking it out.  I just kinda played with the purple wristband that I wear, and thought back to my own experiences of  having my world destroyed. I really didn't know what to say. I hope this guy never finds out what it's like to be so hopeless that death looks like your best alternative.

Found this on SooToday

Take a read.

http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=54220


I really hope this guy's ok.  Everyone is touched by mental illness...some get a bit of a love tap and some of us get hit by the world heavyweight champ.  Sounds like this guy did, but he got up off the canvas.  Hope things work out for him.

Mental Illness Awareness Week

Hey, did you know that October 2-8 was Mental Illness Awareness Week?  Neither did I.

I worked the Ontario Election on Thursday, and when I came home, my mom asked me that very question.  I kinda looked at her blankly and said no.  She had seen something on Canada AM and taped it for me - I still haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

But it definitely gave me pause...here it was late Thursday night (like 10pm) and this is the first I'm hearing of this?  Really?  The guy who's writing a friggin' blog about depression?  Needless to say, I was a tad disappointed.  I'm sure all the regular spots you'd expect to find that info had it.  They even have a website: http://miaw.ca/en/default.aspx

I know TV advertising is expensive.  I know print advertising isn't exactly cheap either.  But you gotta figure that if you want to get this message out, beg for a PSA if you can't afford the rates.  Or send a press release out to someone, but get the word out.

Quick Follow-Up on a Previous Post

Hey all, just a quick follow-up on the post from a few days ago about coffee consumption lowering women's risk of depression. (http://musingsofadepressedmind.blogspot.com/2011/09/for-what-its-worth.html)

Found another article about it here:  http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/27/coffee-may-lower-womens-risk-of-depression/

Mostly this article talks about the mood-enhancing effects of caffeine, but I highly recommend you take a peek at it.  While the researchers found no direct preventative properties, they do know that caffeine binds to certain brain chemical receptors that are associated with mood.

They don't recommend rushing out and constantly dosing yourself with coffee, but like I wrote in the original post, I put it up for what it's worth...

Just a Little Teaser....

So, in no particular order, here's a few topics that'll be coming up in future entries:

- depression management
- depression & sleep
- anti-depressants
- types of depression
- more depression stats
- history of depression

and anything else I come across that may be interesting or cool....

For What It's Worth....

Saw this reported a couple of days ago - BBC News is reporting on a study of more than 50,000 US nurses that links women drinking 2 or more cups of coffee a day are less likely to get depressed.

It was a 10-year study that ran from 1996-2006, and was conducted by a team from Harvard Medical School.  Some of the findings:  women who drank 2-3 cups per day had a 15% decreased risk of developing depression.  4 or more cups a day cut the risk by 20%.

Here's the link to the article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15059266

Some Thoughts on Stigma Related to Depression & Other Mental Health Issues

I like Michael Landsberg's way with words when it comes to depression and mental illness.  If you've been reading my blog, this might just apply to you:


"So if as you read this, you're thinking, I have no idea what any of that feels like, then you're blessed. Have you ever thought, man, am I lucky not to be mentally ill? Likely not, because we seldom celebrate our normality. I'm the same. I don't celebrate having two arms and two legs but an amputee would suggest I should.


But in your mental health arrogance do not ever think for a second you can understand...."
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=375694


Man I wish I could write like that....but I digress....


Today's entry will be about stigma.  In a self-admitted pure case of plagiarism, I'm going to use the following definitions lifted straight from the paper "Stigma research and anti-stigma programs: From the point of view of people who live with stigma and discrimination everyday." by Barbara Everett, PhD. (http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/page/research-papers-reports):


"Stigma and discrimination defined


As a brief review of what, specifically, we're talking about..


Stigma is defined as negative, disrespectful and untrue judgments about you based on what people think they know about you - and your situation.


In contrast, discrimination involves negative and disrespectful actions against you.


Self-stigma occurs when you begin to believe the negative opinions about you and start to think that you deserve to be called names and denied opportunities.


Stigma and discrimination by association involves negative judgments about - and disrespectful actions against - family members, caregivers and mental health professionals."


Clear as mud?  I hope so...

Personally, I can't speak to the last three just yet.  Hopefully I never will.  I can however, speak to stigma.

Like I alluded to in my first blog post, I personally know people who think that I'm using my depression as an excuse for some poor decisions that I made.  Not entirely surprising since just under half of Canadians think that a mental disorder is just an excuse for poor behaviour.  (http://www.thefsagroup.com/CMHA/pdfLib/StigmaandDiscriminationFactSheet.pdf)  Guess that means there's just more out there that are keeping their opinions to themselves.  Kinda sad, though, when you consider that about 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental disorder during their lifetime - that works out to something on the order of 6.5 MILLION people.

If someone has an opinion, you can't really argue with them.  It's an opinion.  Hopefully it's based on fact - real fact, not just what the person assumes to be a fact - see how nicely this fits in with stigma?

So how do you combat ill-informed opinions?  I guess you try to educate, but I know that's going to be an uphill battle.  That's why I'm starting with friends and family.  Hopefully they'll be most receptive to the information that's out there.  I know I can't change someone's opinion - they have to change it for themselves....I've seen some of the comments that people have made on other blogs related to depression:
  http://www.torontomike.com/2010/03/the_stigma_of_mental_illness_a.html
The guy with the screen name "MAC" is a perfect example.  Without knowing his background, one's first response is incredulousness (is that even a word?).  But he's expressing his opinion, so there's no arguing with him.


Ok, getting back to stigma....


Here's some fun stigma facts from Everett's paper:  "some research...expos[es] the paradox that those who are the most educated about mental illness, mental health professionals, can hold the same or even more stigmatizing beliefs than the general public"


I looked at the one article they cite from the Middle East Journal of Family Medicine (http://www.mejfm.com/journal/Sep05/Change_in_Medical_Students.htm).  One of their findings:  final year students felt more indifferent and less compassion when they saw a pyschiatric patient.  Later in their conclusion, they state: "For many mentally ill persons stigma has emerged to be a 'second illness'"


Ok, here's a few fun facts from the Mood Disorder Society of Canada's Quick Facts: Mental Illness & Addiction in Canada (3rd Ed)
http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/documents/Media%20Room/Quick%20Facts%203rd%20Edition%20Eng%20Nov%2012%2009.pdf

• Perception of Canadians that agree chronic depression is a disability:  67%
• Attitude toward people with disabilities:
• Physical disability:  Most comfortable
• Depression:  Least comfortable
• The percentage of 556 United Kingdom respondents who reported either they or a family member had experienced stigma as a result of mental illness:  70%
• Percentage of pyschiatrists surveyed by the Michigan Pyschiatric Society who said they would treat themselves in secrecy rather than have mental illness recorded on their medical chart:  50%

Stay tuned...more to come...
Same Bat Time
Same Bat Station!

Going Public About Depression

Going public about depression is a big step.  In the links that follow are some good stories about depression and going public.  The Toronto Mike story on stigma was really good, and it led me to tracking down Dani Stover's story.  Dani's a radio producer that used to work in Toronto, now she's in Peterborough:

http://www.torontomike.com/2010/03/the_stigma_of_mental_illness_a.html
http://www.canadianthinker.com/2009/05/dani_stover_is_a_friend.html

Someone you may be a little more familiar with is Clara Hughes.  She's battled depression for a while too.  She's the spokesperson for Bell's Let's Talk campaign (http://letstalk.bell.ca/).  Here's just one of the many articles that tell her story:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/story/2011/02/06/sp-hughes-q-a.html


I've mentioned Michael Landsberg, before, and if you've been reading this, you've probably checked out the links, so I'm not going to repeat them.  But sometimes if you're suffering from depression, it's too hard to deal with, and that's when tragedy strikes.  Two of the more prominent examples are Wade Belak and Daron Richardson.  I'm sure you've heard about Belak - he was one of 3 NHL players to pass away this summer in a very short time:

http://www.torontomike.com/2011/09/suffering_in_silence_wade_bela.html

But, unless you really follow hockey, you might not know who Daron Richardson was.  She was the daughter of former NHL player and current Ottawa Senators assistant coach Luke Richardson.  She took her own life last November.  She was 14.  I can't imagine what it was like for the Richardson family to go through that, and my heart went out to them as soon as I heard the news.  I can, on a certain level, relate to Daron - when my life fell apart last year, ending it all seemed like a pretty attractive option.  I have two girls - one's 9 and the other's going to be 7.  Daron's story scared the hell out of me...I'm the second generation in my family that has suffered from depression, and I'm terrified my girls will be the third.

That's why I wear a purple D.I.F.D. bracelet...for only $20 you get 4 of them.  Purple was Daron's favourite colour.  I can't bring Daron Richardson back (or anyone for that matter) but the whole point of Do It For Daron is to transform youth mental health.  I'm doing it for my daughters and all the other kids out there, so that hopefully me & other families don't have to go through that devastation.  When my girls are older, and the bracelets will stay on their wrists, I'll explain who Daron was and why depression is an important subject to me, especially as it affects them.

For more information:
http://www.doitfordaron.com/

More fun depression stuff......

So, because the whole point of this blog was to help educate, here's some fun stuff that I've come across and want to share:

One thing that's pretty common from the research I've done, is that a lot of people who present symptoms of depression are reluctant to seek help.  Part of this, from experience, is that they think something is wrong with them.  After months and months of feeling severely depressed I went to my doctor.  I told him flat out I thought I was depressed and wanted him to run all the medical tests to rule out things like thyroid problems, low blood levels of B vitamins, etc.  Long story short, if I heard back from him, something was wrong with me.  If I didn't I should talk to someone.  Never heard back.  So to my dismay, I figured I was losing my mind.  I was in a pretty bad state to begin with - I'd been put on probation at work because, unbeknownst to anyone, the depression was affecting my work performance.  So hearing (or rather not hearing) that something was wrong with me drove me even deeper into depression.

Michael Landsberg from TSN's Off The Record has been battling depression for over 10 years.  He wants to make a difference for others, and so do I.  He observes in an interview with the Toronto Star back on April 1, 2010, "The biggest problem with depression is that people tend to blame themselves for it.  You would never hide from somebody that you'd just got back to work after an appendectomy.  Nobody's going to think that's your fault or a sign of weakness."

And he's right.  But a lot of us who are, or have been, depressed, think otherwise.  At the time I went to the doctor, I thought something was wrong with me.  There was, but it wasn't anything I had actual control over.  You can't just "wish yourself better" or I'd have done it a long time ago.  So would everyone who suffers from depression.

Here's a scary statistic/thought - in a 2008 study 2/3 of people with depression were undiagnosed in primary care settings...now who does that sound like? (Depression symptomatology and diagnosis: discordance between patients and physicians in primary care settings, Ani et al http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/9/1) Granted, it's a US study, but still.... Warning:  It's a real research article, so take the route I did and skim it :)  So's this Canadian one, but reaches pretty much the same conclusion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2173927/

So here's a bit of advice...if you, or a loved one, goes to a doctor who doesn't seem to take your complaints seriously - shop around.  Several disastrous months later...I did.  And guess what?  I started my road to recovery.  But more on that later...I want you to come back.

"This is Dr. Frasier Crane wishing you all good mental health."

My First Post.....Where will this go?

Depression.

Lots of stigma associated with that word.  It's unwarranted.  Depression is a recognized medical condition. 

You wouldn't be afraid to talk about a cancer diagnosis, but not a lot of people will talk about depression.  A poll done by the Canadian Mental Health Association in 2008 found that 72% of Canadians would tell a friend about a cancer diagnosis in the family vs 50% for a mental illness.  Same poll says 46% of respondents think that the term "mental illness" is used as an excuse for bad behaviour. (http://letstalk.bell.ca/) From personal experience, there are people that were once very close to me who think I used my being depressed as an excuse for some poor decisions that I made.  I hope they never have to experience depression first-hand.

Do you even really know what depression is?

Quite simply, it's a mental illness. 

A more in-depth explanation comes courtesy of Wikipedia - "Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical wellbeing.  Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless.  They may lose interest in activities that were once pleasurable, experience loss of appetite or overeating, or problems concentrating, remembering details or making decisions; and may contemplate or attempt suicide."  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_(mood)

I personally like the take Michael Landsberg has on it in an article he wrote regarding the suicide of his friend Wade Belak: "We can't see depression.  We can't biopsy it.  Blood tests don't show it.  Neither do x-rays....depression is a disease.  It's not an issue or a demon, although it may act as one."  (www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=375694)

I suffered from depression.  I'm beating it.  But there's a good chance I'll have another bout of it....I don't have the stats handy right now, but it's a better than average possibility.

The whole point in writing this blog is to help educate some friends and family, and possibly even some complete strangers.  And it helps me be pro-active, as your friendly, neighbourhood anti-depression crusader. ;)

Stay tuned...more to come!