Mental Health in Canada

When Will They Wake Up? As I mentioned in one of my recent blogs I was over at my son’s house watching a video about SNFU and their lead singer. Ken Chinn. This video managed to rile me up again as it showed how our mental heath system it is not doing its job. Actually I can’t blame this video for getting me angry. Even though I have been out of the mental health field for several months now I still think about the mentally ill and their plight every day. What really gets to me is that I know there are answers and solutions out there. They just need to be acted upon. I’m not saying that we can create a perfect life for the seriously mentally ill. What I am saying is that we can give the seriously mentally ill a lot better quality of life than they have now. Why are we not doing that? We are not doing that because of the politics and money that is involved. The seriously mentally ill do not have a high enough priority in our society. Our governments must be prepared and willing to spe...

Is Recovery From Depression Possible? Is recovery from depression possible? It depends upon how one defines recovery. If one is talking about remaining free of the symptoms of depression for the rest of their life I would say that this is possible for some but not others. Some people are fortunate in experiencing only one episode of major depression in their lives. For others the prognosis is not as good. These individuals will likely experience recurrent episodic bouts of clinical depression. Persons in this second group may need to take medication for the rest of their lives. If the side effects are not too bothersome one will become used to taking meds. It will become part of their daily routine similar to taking nutritional supplements on a daily basis, There is another type of depression known as dysthymia. Dysthymia is a mood disorder in which an individual may still be able to function at their job and can meet most of life’s demands. The problem is that they are in a chronic ...

Recovery From Depression In my experience I have found that depression is a condition that cannot be cured but can be managed. I will now list some of the things that I have found help full in maintaining my recovery. 1 getting enough sleep. 2 eating a healthy diet 3 getting regular exercise 4 trying to moderate stress levels 5 trying to find work situations that are not excessively stressful 6 having a counselor to discuss your issues with 7 having a relaxed attitude towards life 8 getting in lots of leisure time 9 trying not to put a lot of pressure on yourself 10 trying to get along with others as best I can 11 having plenty of time to do the things I like to do 12 trying not to rush when working on a project 13 having faith in a Higher Power that is looking after me at all times 14 having pets 15 recognizing my limitations

Living With Depression If anyone finds that they have a significant number of the symptoms I wrote about my advice from one who has been there is to get help. As debilitating as the disease of depression can be, it is treatable in most cases. You do not need to continue suffering on your own. My experience is that few if any actually beat this illness solely on their own efforts. Some form of assistance is usually needed and this is nothing to feel bad about. I have read and heard some say that suffering is good for the soul, but I for the life of me cannot see what it is good for. There probably is only one exception. After you have suffered you can relate to what others are going through. All the same the idea is to stop the suffering. If you have all or most of the symptoms listed in my previous post you should make an appointment with your family doctor. He or she will be able to advise you if you tell them about your symptoms. Medication can be very helpful when it comes to tre...

The Forgotten People In a few of my previous blogs,   I may have touched upon the topic of schizophrenia. For thirteen years I worked as a mental health worker in two residential rehabilitation facilities for persons with severe and persistent psychiatric disorders. The vast majority of the clients I worked with had schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a biological brain disorder that can render some very debilitating symptoms grouped as either positive or negative symptoms. The positive symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations and delusions. The negative symptoms include fatigue, lack of motivation, blunt affect, poverty of speech and a few other disabling symptoms. The prognosis for a person receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia is usually not very hopeful. The supposition is that the person with schizophrenia is going to lose many basic things associated with a good quality of life. Theses include things like gainful employment, a good education and a decent material stand...

What Is Normal ? The term normal gets thrown around a lot in general conversation and very often when talking about mental health. The question is, “What is normal?” I suppose from a clinical psychiatric or psychological perspective it would be not having a diagnosable psychiatric illness. Of course, if one is to go by this definition Casey Anthony is normal and your brother who is addicted to coffee is not.   In my experience, if people are honest, most of us are dysfunctional to some degree or another. If someone claims to be totally without dysfunction they are probably either lying or are in denial. I know that this post will probably make some people angry but this is what I believe.

Recovery And Mental Illness Recovery has become a popular term in the field of mental health. The question is what is meant by recovery. The concept of recovery can have many different connotations depending upon the specific context For example if a person falls off their bike their recovery is likely going to be determined by the severity of their injuries. If the person falling from his bike gets up and discovers that he or she only has a few minor scrapes and bruises, prognosis for recovery is likely to be very positive. In other words the individual will be expected to make a complete recovery within a short period of time. It is predicted that they will quickly return to one hundred per cent of their previous functionality. In this best case scenario recovery means a complete return to your former state of health. When we are talking about recovery from mental illness a return to optimum health and return to previous level of functioning is the exception rather than the rule. T...

Community Mental Health in Canada This week I have been reading a book called Community Mental Health in Canada by Simon Davis. As a former mental health worker I can relate to a lot of the information that he is presenting. Mr. Davis focuses upon those who have serious and persistent mental conditions. These are among the people who are the most disenfranchised in society. Although I have been out of the mental health field for several months now, there are still many things that bother me. In my opinion Canada is not doing enough for those who have serious psychiatric disorders. Simon Davis talks about the policy, theory and practice of community mental health in Canada . In my experience the practice leaves a lot to be desired. Those people with serious and persistent mental disorders face enormous obstacles in our society. They are often in poor physical health, live in substandard housing, are often unemployed and live in poverty. On top of all this they face a tremendous stig...