David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Mental illness tough on families, too
By CanWest News Service, Victoria Times-Colonist
August 31, 2007
Living with someone who is mentally ill is like a scene in teen horror flicks, says Pam Edwards, whose sister and late husband suffered from schizophrenia.
The foxy heroine escapes to the safety of her car, just to see her masked pursuer rise from the backseat. The credits roll. A sequel is likely.
For family, friends and colleagues of people with mental illness, there are only periodic escapes or lulls between the psychotic storms, making for an uneasy time-out.
"They feel like they're walking on egg shells," agrees social worker Wendy Brooks, who counsels families living with mental illness at the Victoria branch of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society. Initially families have no idea how to behave, always worried about triggering another psychotic episode.
Liam McEnery, executive director of the Victoria Mental Health Association, says families also suffer from the uncertainty of life with a mentally ill loved one. "What's going to happen to my child or spouse?" they wonder. "Are they ever going to come back?"
Retired teacher Barb Taylor describes the sense of grief that comes when a once-outgoing son succumbs to mental illness. "You grapple with the feeling that who they are now is someone different," says Taylor, whose 28-year-old son, Morgan, was diagnosed with schizophrenia five years ago.
Brooks says people also mourn the "loss of dreams"- their own and those of the afflicted family member no longer living the lives they once imagined. But long before the grief comes the acknowledgement that something is wrong. Brooks says many people dismiss what they see as, for example, "the sturm und drang (turmoil) of being adolescent."
Most lay people are not attuned to the signs of a mental illness. Moreover, the affected individual may not be willing to disclose such troubling symptoms as hearing voices. And inevitably there is denial of a condition so wrapped in social stigma. "Nobody wants to pony up to that one," says Taylor.
Experts agree that society treats mental and physical illness very differently.
Edwards, the mental health association's employment program co-ordinator, notes that a teenager dying of cancer would prompt an outpouring of community sympathy, while people would "back away" from a teen suicide.
Fear that the mentally ill are unpleasant and out of control even hinders families needing respite care. "It's hard to get someone to come in," Edwards says, adding even caregivers can be fearful.
Taylor says a 12-week course for families, given by the schizophrenia society, proved a life-saver. "You learn A to Z about mental illness, what it looks like, what to expect, how to handle the (individual) and other family members," says Taylor, who now helps deliver the course.
But, despite this knowledge, Taylor still found the mental health bureaucracy overwhelming. "I knew what I needed. I was told over and over that it was in place" says Taylor. She found out otherwise. "If we wanted to get Morgan up and running, we'd have to do it ourselves."
For her part, Brooks is continually impressed by the strength of families dealing with mental illness - even when they don't recognize it themselves. "In a crisis, it's hard to see that you possess strength," she says.
Katherine Farris has lived through the whirlwind that surrounds a loved one with mental illness. And that prompted the Victoria woman and co-author Larry MacDonald to write Being There - When Mental Illness Strikes Someone Near You, a guide originally intended for friends, family and co-workers.
"We wanted to help others keep their footing, understand the challenges they face, and learn the things they could do to help during this extraordinary time," the authors write.
Farris found nothing like Being There when her partner's life began to unravel without warning a decade ago. In a matter of months, he had committed suicide. "(The book) directly covers - and not dramatically - what you need to know when things are feeling chaotic around you," the freelance writer says.
The guide is concise and organized by priority. The opening chapter, for instance, is titled "in an emergency" and sets out what to do and expect inside a doctor's office, clinic and hospital emergency room. The chapter continues with a list of questions to ask about discharge, care and advocacy.
Subsequent chapters cover the definition of mental illness, how to work with the health-care system, and coping at home and work. A crucial chapter explores caregiver burnout.
The material in the guide was gleaned through interviews with people who deal with mental illness, either professionally or as a family member. Advisers included a social worker and Dr. Anthony Levitt, psychiatrist-in-chief at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Women's College Hospital in Toronto.
Copies of the $2 guide have been purchased - at times by the hundreds - by a utilities company, a union and private corporations. Some include it in wellness packages for employees.
Copies are available at (250) 595-5259 or by e-mail at kath@kfarris.com.
Fact box: Mental health in Canada
By Jim Gibson
Statistics from the Canadian Mental Health Association
By CanWest News Service, Victoria Times-Colonist
August 31, 2007
Living with someone who is mentally ill is like a scene in teen horror flicks, says Pam Edwards, whose sister and late husband suffered from schizophrenia.
The foxy heroine escapes to the safety of her car, just to see her masked pursuer rise from the backseat. The credits roll. A sequel is likely.
For family, friends and colleagues of people with mental illness, there are only periodic escapes or lulls between the psychotic storms, making for an uneasy time-out.
"They feel like they're walking on egg shells," agrees social worker Wendy Brooks, who counsels families living with mental illness at the Victoria branch of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society. Initially families have no idea how to behave, always worried about triggering another psychotic episode.
Liam McEnery, executive director of the Victoria Mental Health Association, says families also suffer from the uncertainty of life with a mentally ill loved one. "What's going to happen to my child or spouse?" they wonder. "Are they ever going to come back?"
Retired teacher Barb Taylor describes the sense of grief that comes when a once-outgoing son succumbs to mental illness. "You grapple with the feeling that who they are now is someone different," says Taylor, whose 28-year-old son, Morgan, was diagnosed with schizophrenia five years ago.
Brooks says people also mourn the "loss of dreams"- their own and those of the afflicted family member no longer living the lives they once imagined. But long before the grief comes the acknowledgement that something is wrong. Brooks says many people dismiss what they see as, for example, "the sturm und drang (turmoil) of being adolescent."
Most lay people are not attuned to the signs of a mental illness. Moreover, the affected individual may not be willing to disclose such troubling symptoms as hearing voices. And inevitably there is denial of a condition so wrapped in social stigma. "Nobody wants to pony up to that one," says Taylor.
Experts agree that society treats mental and physical illness very differently.
Edwards, the mental health association's employment program co-ordinator, notes that a teenager dying of cancer would prompt an outpouring of community sympathy, while people would "back away" from a teen suicide.
Fear that the mentally ill are unpleasant and out of control even hinders families needing respite care. "It's hard to get someone to come in," Edwards says, adding even caregivers can be fearful.
Taylor says a 12-week course for families, given by the schizophrenia society, proved a life-saver. "You learn A to Z about mental illness, what it looks like, what to expect, how to handle the (individual) and other family members," says Taylor, who now helps deliver the course.
But, despite this knowledge, Taylor still found the mental health bureaucracy overwhelming. "I knew what I needed. I was told over and over that it was in place" says Taylor. She found out otherwise. "If we wanted to get Morgan up and running, we'd have to do it ourselves."
For her part, Brooks is continually impressed by the strength of families dealing with mental illness - even when they don't recognize it themselves. "In a crisis, it's hard to see that you possess strength," she says.
Katherine Farris has lived through the whirlwind that surrounds a loved one with mental illness. And that prompted the Victoria woman and co-author Larry MacDonald to write Being There - When Mental Illness Strikes Someone Near You, a guide originally intended for friends, family and co-workers.
"We wanted to help others keep their footing, understand the challenges they face, and learn the things they could do to help during this extraordinary time," the authors write.
Farris found nothing like Being There when her partner's life began to unravel without warning a decade ago. In a matter of months, he had committed suicide. "(The book) directly covers - and not dramatically - what you need to know when things are feeling chaotic around you," the freelance writer says.
The guide is concise and organized by priority. The opening chapter, for instance, is titled "in an emergency" and sets out what to do and expect inside a doctor's office, clinic and hospital emergency room. The chapter continues with a list of questions to ask about discharge, care and advocacy.
Subsequent chapters cover the definition of mental illness, how to work with the health-care system, and coping at home and work. A crucial chapter explores caregiver burnout.
The material in the guide was gleaned through interviews with people who deal with mental illness, either professionally or as a family member. Advisers included a social worker and Dr. Anthony Levitt, psychiatrist-in-chief at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Women's College Hospital in Toronto.
Copies of the $2 guide have been purchased - at times by the hundreds - by a utilities company, a union and private corporations. Some include it in wellness packages for employees.
Copies are available at (250) 595-5259 or by e-mail at kath@kfarris.com.
Fact box: Mental health in Canada
By Jim Gibson
- Mental illness affects one in five Canadians
- Depressive disorders affect about 10 per cent of the adult population
- Nearly one in five children and youth have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder
- An estimated two-thirds of homeless people using urban shelters have some form of mental illness
- Five of the world's 10 leading causes of disability are mental disorders.
Statistics from the Canadian Mental Health Association
