Ottawa, Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Thank you for giving me the opportunity today to better understand mental illness through your research, clinical practice and personal experience. I look forward to sitting in on some of the sessions.

I can speak for my entire family when I say mental health is a lifelong practice. We want to be part of the national effort to reduce stigma and show that mental illness is a matter of health like any physical disease.

The sixties and seventies were a period of rapid, almost overwhelming social change. It was during these years that I worked as a psychiatric occupational therapist. People with mental illness during this period were treated in large impersonal institutions.

With the advent of medications, mentally ill patients were discharged into the community. In many situations this led to homelessness or isolation. Today through advances in both diagnosis and treatment we can provide much more effective care. You have been an integral part of this journey.

Most people some time in their life have experienced a panic attack, irrational fear or unexplained sadness. I know I have. For this reason all of us here will have a visceral capacity - an openness of heart and mind - to understand the effect mental illness has.

However, when emotions, thoughts, and feelings become overwhelming and frightening there is professional help and no shame in asking for it.

Clara Hughes, a four time Olympian athlete, has said even success could not remove the dark days. She is a Mental Health Ambassador.

Clara’s efforts are not just helping herself, but each and every Canadian to live a full life in spite of mental illness.

In October 2012 and 2013, I invited those who had been selected as part of the Faces of Mental Illness campaign to visit Rideau Hall during Mental Illness Awareness Week. All ten representatives had powerful stories to tell of their slide into illness and their climb to get help.

They are my heroes. I learned so much from them as did all Canadians who heard their stories.

On Bell Let’s Talk Day last January I travelled to Casselman, a town of 1400, to meet with members of the Assertive Community Treatment or (ACT) Team, a client-centered mental health program offered by the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital in the Prescott-Russell region. This is a cost effective results-oriented intervention method.

As an ACT Team member for the day I was briefed on the profile of each client. I accompanied the team on the road and witnessed first-hand clients diagnosed with severe mental disorders living in their home. There is something personal about seeing patients in their homes. One young patient had a passion for all things Chinese. Having just returned from China I could send a beautiful Chinese painted scroll of bonsai.

I am sharing these examples because I have learned a lot from people who are, like you, passionate advocates in support of mental health.

I have seen innovative delivery models in both rural and urban settings and I have met with people, young and old, who suffer from mental illness and so generously shared their stories with me. 

Before I finish, I would like to share another example of a positive initiative, this one in the workplace. Recently, a psychologist came to Rideau Hall to give an awareness session on mental health to a group of employees with a bipolar colleague, to help them gain a better understanding of the condition and what it means in terms of work relations. 

Mother Teresa would say we were reducing stigma one drop at a time. A single action does make a difference.

I want to leave you with one more thought. My husband has inspired a new campaign, entitled My Giving Moment, asking Canadians to share how they make our country better.

And so I extend the challenge to you: share with all Canadians what you do for those with mental illnesses—whether it is volunteering or helping friends, whether big or small. Tell us what your “giving moment” looks like at “mygivingmoment.ca”. 

In closing I wish you the very best and thank you for what you do.  My husband and my entire family are with you in bringing understanding about mental health.