Robin Williams legacy may not just be awesome comedy and acting. Hopefully it will also be mental health awareness. Since that news broke yesterday, at least three of my personal friends have made public statements about their own mental illness, or suicide in their family. It is difficult and scary for many. Stigma sucks. I will speak openly to anyone who broaches the subject about my experience, so here it is: I struggled with undiagnosed post partum depression since the birth of my first child in 2006. You know those checklists the doctor or midwife gives you to determine if you have it? Yeah, I didnt, supposedly. I didnt pass the test. And yet I suffered with extreme outbursts of anger and rage that have absolutely affected my marriage and my children. It came to a head in 2009. That summer, I felt stable enough to explore having a third child. We became pregnant right away. And my mind exploded right away. It was severe and I might even say psychotic. I had public episodes while shopping. If I did not have access to the resources I did (and a supportive spouse who worked in the mental health field), there is no doubt in my mind that I would have lost my kids. I sought help. The barriers are insane. Once you summon the courage to ASK for help, you may not even get it. They wanted me to either lie and say I was not suicidal or wait until I became suicidal. I wasnt. I was just at severe and immediate risk of physically abusing my children. It took two calls to the crisis line telling them this to get a crisis team to come to my house. Then, despite having a family connection pulling strings with the exact office responsible for dispensing mental health services in Nanaimo, it took a week to get a case manager and two weeks to get a psychiatrist appointment (that was expedited - my referral had already gone in as soon as I contacted a midwife). the process started in September, and it wasnt till December that I finally got a prescription for medication (that, blissfully, worked). The story doesnt end there and I am happy to share my experience with anyone who wants to talk about it. Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed about and should be spoken about openly and often. No one should have to go three years without medication and help simply because they dont check the proper boxes on a form or meet classic criteria that people are familiar and comfortable with.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 18:33:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015