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***

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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....