The following is the first of a four-part series on mental health focusing on depression, self harm and suicide.
The battle to lift the stigma surrounding mental health issues is gaining a foothold in a society that tends to demean the seriousness of mental health with words such as “crazy” and “coo-coo.”
It’s similar phrases that keep those suffering from mental health related symptoms from seeking help, says mental health worker Sandra Parkinson, who calls it “stigmatizing language.”
The new effort to raise awareness about mental illness, which affects one in five people in this province and across the country, is something welcomed by Parkinson, a community development and education coordinator with the newly-formed Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
She said families of those who commit suicide often tell her if more public information had been available, it may have prevented their loved ones from taking their own life.
Myrna and Stu Hutchison of Arthur count themselves among that group.
Since their 18-year-old son Steven took his own life in February, they have committed themselves to lifting the stigma and making information about mental health more open and available.
“I think had there been more awareness and less stigma attached to talking about mental illness then perhaps Steven might have felt more comfortable coming forward to discuss the struggles that he was experiencing,” said Myrna.
Steven, known to many simply as “Hutch,” was in his first year at Brock University. He was bright, popular and a fine athlete with a keen interest in hockey and lacrosse.
“From the outside looking in, life looked to be pretty normal for him,” said Myrna. “He was surrounded by friends, active in his social life and doing well in school. Sadly though, on Feb. 10, with the question of ‘why’ forever unanswered, he took his life in his dorm room.
“This came as a tragic surprise to everyone who knew Steven. When surrounded by so many people who would do anything for him, why couldn’t he reach out and just say, ‘I need help?’
“For those of us who were close to Steven, we will always wonder how we didn’t see the signs.”
On June 29 friends and family of Steven Hutchison held the inaugural Get In Touch For Hutch fundraiser, a five-kilometre run and walk in Arthur.
The event aimed to honour Steven’s memory, raise mental health awareness and raise funds for three charities: Kids Help Phone, the Wesforyouthonline.ca mental health support website, and the Giving Light Offers Worth and Wellness (or GLOWW) group, which is part of the CMHA’s Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin chapter.
“The event was highly successful on all three fronts,” said Myrna Hutchison.
She noted the #GetInTouchForHutch group’s mission statement is “To remove the stigma that is attached to mental illness and to provide ways for our youth to talk about and share their feelings or concerns in a manner that meets the needs of children and teens today.”
Myrna said many people have already reached forward to share their personal stories and to inform the family that the Hutchisons’ willingness to go public with Steven’s story is helping them to deal with their own loss.
“We can only hope that this will be the change that we will continue to see, as we do not want to see another family experience the sadness that we have,” said Myrna.
And while the inaugural #GetInTouchForHutch event was a huge success, raising about $30,000 for three mental health initiatives, Myrna said she realizes true awareness requires more than just an annual one-day event.
“We need to keep the chatter going,” she said, adding organizers encourage everyone to find out what they can do about mental illness and to stay in tune with how those around them are feeling.
“Our ultimate goal is to get our message out to the schools and arenas.”
Parkinson has worked in mental health for over two decades and was a registered nurse with experience working at Homewood in Guelph, in addition to her role with CMHA, a merger of Trellis Mental Health and Developmental Services, the CMHA Grand River branch and several support groups that have worked with both organizations over many years.
She said the CMHA which is always looking at ways to raise awareness, wants to help eliminate the stigma involved and ensure people impacted by mental health symptoms can easily find the resources they need.
Parkinson works with community groups with similar goals in their local community and is chairperson of the suicide awareness council in Waterloo, Wellington and Dufferin.
“I don’t think having thoughts about suicide is that uncommon,” she said. “It’s a life threatening circumstance and it shouldn’t be dismissed.”
But spotting the signs of possible suicide or feelings of anxiety and depression is not always easy, she noted.
“People are often going through life putting on a face to mask their feelings,” she said. “People are struggling and it’s amazing how people cope.”
Myrna Hutchison said her son Steven was one of those who turned inward instead of seeking the help of others.
“Today we know that Steven’s illness went undiagnosed,” she said. “That didn’t give us a chance to help him find the help that he needed to work his way through this illness. Instead he chose to take it on all by himself and battle it in silence.
“Perhaps he himself didn’t even realize that what he was experiencing was something that could be treated or needed to be addressed from a medical perspective. If none of us ever talk about our feelings, how do we know what is normal or what is not normal?”
In circumstances where mental health is the driving force behind a suicide, the death can trigger its own emotions with family members and friends when it happens.
Parkinson said even the word “suicide” is also part of the stigmatizing language. It’s something she has learned in her work with families dealing with mental illness and suicide where community services might be reluctant to help because of the stigma surrounding self harm.
“Using the word suicide makes it a link to crime, but it isn’t a crime,” Parkinson said of the federal law decriminalizing suicide that was passed in 1972.
“When someone in the family has committed suicide they don’t have the support in the same way. People are not reaching out in the same way. The suicide awareness council tries to realize these types of gaps.”
Parkinson said the widespread belief that suicides are considered a criminal act is difficult to dispel, despite not being grounded in fact.
It’s part of the mental health message those who work in the field want to use to heighten public knowledge of a sickness that cuts across all age groups and takes its toll on all aspects of society.
Statistics Canada information shows that in 2009 there were 3,890 suicides in Canada, a rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people. The suicide rate for males was three times higher than the rate for females (17.9 versus 5.3 per 100,000). Although suicide deaths affect almost all age groups, those aged 40 to 59 had the highest rates.
However teen suicides seem to be on the rise, as illustrated within the past 12 months by the high profile cases of 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons of Nova Scotia, 15-year-old Amanda Todd of British Columbia and others.
“I personally can’t imagine that living the life of a teenager is an easy task these days,” said Myrna Hutchison.
“There are so many societal pressures and everything is so public – there are many stresses and pressures today that are so very different than what we dealt with when we were young. Perhaps this too contributes to the reason why people are uneasy about talking about how they truly feel or what they are experiencing.”
She added, “We need to change that thought. People need to realize that it is okay to talk about exactly how they are feeling and that there is nothing wrong with doing that. If they are not comfortable talking about it in public or with their friends or family, there are other options to explore, with telephone counselling or through online apps or other systems.”
Fred Wagner, executive director of CMHA Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin, said as the organization’s amalgamation process continues, one of its aims is to have a single telephone number for those who feel they might be dealing with mental health issues. The idea is that a trained counsellor would then refer callers to the specific services they need.
When it comes to education programs, the organizations will have to inform the public about where help is available and how to identify symptoms.
“We are developing a communications strategy so we have a communications person on board to get our messages out,” Wagner said.
Coincidentally, Wagner knows firsthand about the difficulties in accessing services or recognizing how to get help. He says he suffers from depression that at one point resulted in a three-month leave from work.
“I had bouts of it, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t work,” he said, referring to depression, which has run in his family, including with his mother, whose depression led to hospitalization.
“I should have been able to put things together. You think you’re in the field and you should know these kinds of things. It’s something you don’t really expect.”
Eventually medication and counselling would put Wagner back on track, but it also made him realize that if a trained professional in the field was having difficulties, it must be very tough for those outside the field suffering with mental illness.
The CMHA has launched many campaigns over the years to try and dispel the stigma and educate people.
“Thirty five percent of visits to physicians are about mental health,” Wagner said. “Some of the signs are more subtle; that’s why it’s important to get the message out.”
Wagner points to new initiatives supported by the organization, including a mental health first aid program aimed at making people aware of symptoms and learning first aid to treat them.
“You want people from the public to render first aid,” he said.
Awareness has been significantly raised by campaigns supported by famous individuals like Clara Hughes, a world class cyclist and speed skater who won two bronze medals at the 1996 summer Olympics and three winter game medals.
Hughes teamed up with Bell Canada for its high profile “Let’s Talk” public awareness campaign. This February the third annual campaign raised $4.8-million in donations as a result of Bell’s offer to donate five cents for every call, text, Facebook share and tweet that mentioned the program (more than 96 million this year).
In a strange twist, at some point during this year’s Bell Let’s Talk day, which happened to fall just day’s after Steven Hutchison’s suicide, family members noticed a tweet that included the hashtag “#GetInTouchForHutch.”
The tagline caught on throughout the day and eventually became the title for the June 29 fundraiser in Steven’s memory, which family members and friends are hoping to make an annual event.
Locally a recent public awareness campaign held during Mental Health Week in May featured well known broadcaster Valerie Pringle, who spoke about her family’s struggle with mental illness as a guest speaker.
“Both high profile campaigns have helped heighten public awareness,” said Wagner, who concedes it can be “hard to evaluate” the success of mental health programs like those offered by CMHA.
“One of the ways is to look at the overall rates of suicides,” he said.
However, evaluations of programs will also be part of the overall services provided by the organization.
The organization hopes to have its single phone number in place by April. That is one of the targets set by the Waterloo Wellington LHIN (Local Health Integration Network), which distributes provincial health care funding to CMHA Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin and oversees its operation.
The phone number will be distributed to all health care providers, including doctors, to use if they recognize a client needing mental health services.
Wagner recognizes the CMHA merger process is taking some time.
“Working through that is a mammoth job,” he said. “I believe it will be better, but we are going to have to continually improve quality. Your first responsibility is to the individual.”
A key ingredient in the process has been the establishment of family health teams, which have their own mental health counsellors to meet immediate inquiries from patients and referrals from doctors.
Parkinson realizes the concern about mental health and believes a one-stop call service will help.
“If [people] have someone they believe is in crisis they can link them to Homewood Mental Health, Guelph General or other services,” she said of the facilities now dealing with mental health.
Parkinson added, “For me it’s about helping the community to be able to help themselves and link to community services.
“Knowledge is power.”
Myrna Hutchison agrees. She is hopeful the her son’s story can become part of that education.
“While Steven couldn’t find the courage to ask for help, we hope that now others will know that it is okay to ask for the help that they need,” she said.
“There will always be someone there to help you and if they themselves are unable to help you, they will help you find the help that you need.”
For more information on the groups and events mentioned in this article, visit:
– www.cmha.ca;
– http://letstalk.bell.ca;
– www.getintouchforhutch.com;
– https://wesforyouth.privacemail.com;
– www.kidshelpphone.ca.
