Over the years we have encountered many people whose lives have been terribly impacted by mental health challenges. Although many people have had to cope with the heart-breaking pain of stigma (which often exasperates mental health difficulties) they continue to face every day with whatever fight they have within themselves. A fight that they live with everyday. A fight that takes no breaks. A fight that needs hope.
While mental health challenges are certainly not seen as something positive in one’s life, individuals living with mental illness carry many positive characteristics and traits that often go unnoticed.
While our merchandise directly tackles stigma, all profits from Spirit Redefined are being used to create an online platform to permit more efficient access to quality mental health care in Canada. If our line of streetwear reminds just one person that they are more than their struggles, or if our online platform helps just one person navigate the complexities of the mental health system with less stress, we know we are moving in the right direction and doing something worthwhile. And without your support, this would simply not be possible.
So, thank you for joining us on this journey and for your generous support! We hope you continue to proudly walk this journey with us, knowing that it is making a difference in the life and well-being of many people near and far.
Best wishes for good mental health,
Imagine living in a society where all people who have red hair are considered suspicious and harmful. Prejudice and discrimination against red-haired people are part of the accepted social matrix. You might not think a lot about the situation unless you are born with red hair.
Now imagine everyone tells you that your unfortunate red hair color is a condition you could change if only you followed people’s good advice and “snapped out of it.” Your seeming unwillingness to do what is best for you is labeled a character defect, something you could change with your character if only you would.
Your red hair limits your housing availability, your earning potential, your economic stability, and your potential for happiness. Your “laziness” and “unwillingness” to magically change your hair color is your downfall.
You are defeated mentally and spiritually, simply because you cannot change your hair color with your thinking, despite what others tell you.
This imaginary situation portrays the quite real social condition of stigma, a combination of prejudice and discrimination that affects at least one in five Canadians who live with mental illnesses.
Stigma in the realm of mental health is the result of mislabeling of mental health issues with words like “lazy,” “crazy,” and “insane,”. When people tell you there is nothing wrong with you except your laziness and stubbornness, you are unlikely to go to a medical professional for help. And if you are courageous and desperate enough to seek help, you experience shame for needing the treatment.
The cost of the stigma surrounding mental health is devastatingly high. About 11 people die each day from suicide in Canada. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 34. In any given week, about 500,000 employed Canadians are unable to work because of a mental illness.
Part of this toll is preventable by eliminating the stigma that people with mental health issues contend with every day.
Redefining mental health involves a willingness to accept that patients have a treatable illness rather than a moral failing. Education and open discussion about mental health conditions are ways that we can begin to reconsider how we think and feel about mental illness. Getting the myths out of the way and bringing mental health conditions into the light for what they are - treatable health issues - will go a long way toward helping fellow Canadians get the treatment they need to live happier, more fulfilling lives.
We must respect the bravery, strength, determination, and resilience of those with mental health conditions the same way we do those qualities in cancer patients if we hope to eliminate the stigma. This compassionate approach to mental health, combined with education and open conversation, can save lives and create a better future for everyone.
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The stigmas surrounding mental health are one of the biggest challenges faced by people suffering from these issues today. People feel ashamed and uncomfortable talking about mental illness, which often worsens the problem. According to CAMH, about half of Canada’s population will experience a mental health problem by the time they are 40. Why is something so common considered so embarrassing?
I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at the age of 13. At the time, I did not even know such a thing existed. That alone was proof of the lack of social acceptance around such issues. I had suffered alone for months out of shame and fear, and yet, after my diagnosis, I continued to suffer mostly alone, because that fear and shame persisted. After my diagnosis, I was shocked to learn that my father also suffers from anxiety. He had never spoken about it. As a male raised in his generation and culture, he carries some heavy stigmas with him that make it difficult for him to talk about his feelings, even to this day. It took me a long time to overcome the negative associations that were ingrained in my upbringing.
I felt as though I regained some control over my mind by owning it. Plus, as I opened up to others, they started opening up to me. I learned that so many people I knew were experiencing mental health challenges, many of them without much support. Talking about it helped me find strength within myself, and spread that strength to others by connecting and supporting one another.
In high school, I suffered severe anxiety around class presentations. I have now been a high school teacher for a decade, doing every day the very thing that used to trigger my anxiety. I can’t tell you how anxious I was the first time I shared my own experience with mental health with my students. However, I knew that it would be a powerful step not only for me personally, but also toward breaking down social barriers in general, by showing my students that strength and courage is not about never facing mental health challenges, but in facing them unashamedly. I now openly and regularly share my own mental health story with my classes in an attempt to break stigmas and create a safe, inclusive, and supportive classroom environment. I have had many students take the brave step of opening up to me about their own challenges with mental health. With each one who does, I feel that we get a little closer to social acceptance and understanding.
Whenever or however you find the bravery to share your own story, I assure you that will not be alone, and that it will make you stronger.
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This story was submitted by: Anonymous
This story ends well, I promise.
I remember coming to, with extreme chest pain and difficulty breathing. I had tried to take my life for the second time but couldn’t stand the physical repercussions, so I called out to my parents, writhing in pain on the floor and barely having a voice. I remember my parents screaming. Paramedics picked me up off my bedroom floor and brought me to the hospital where I was kept for a week in the mental health unit. I remember besides my parents only one person visited--it was a lady I had met about a month ago who ran a Christian-based recovery group.
See, the reason I was in an extreme depression and had so much suicidal ideation was because I lost a major license that I worked very hard for; and it was for a very stupid mistake I made in the past. It was my life’s passion. After being released from the hospital I continued going to this recovery group and eventually gained the resilience to continue my life and push forward. I had so much support through different means and began to believe life was worth living. I was slowly learning a hard learned lesson that past mistakes don’t define who you are. I also learned that no hurt is ever wasted. When we are recovering from our hurts, we can use them to become better versions of ourselves; and there will always be opportunities to use our experiences to help others.
Even though I went through so much trauma mentally, I came out a way better person. My past self was immature, naïve, extremely self-conscious, and I didn’t care about future consequences to my decisions. I had very understanding employers and parents, and great access to different means of mental health resources that turned me into the stronger and empathetic person I am today. (Side note, I’ve been completely bulimia-free for almost a year too--that’s another story in itself). I’m of course not completely perfect or healed, but instead of wanting to call it quits on life I continue with motivation to move forward, work on my recovery, and help others through my experiences.
Thank you for listening to my story.
]]>The coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world into the unknown. An illness we do not yet fully understand and cannot yet vaccinate against, COVID-19 has shut down large swathes of the world as we knew it. Most of us agree we will never be quite the same again.
For people with pre-existing mental illnesses, the pandemic has created even greater mental health challenges. For those who reported no mental health issues before the pandemic began, anxiety and depression have become familiar. Like every other country in the world, Canada is struggling to keep up with the mental health conditions COVID has both created and intensified.
In a national survey, Canadians self-reported their anxiety and depression levels before the pandemic and since the outbreak began. The percentage of those reporting high or extremely high anxiety quadrupled, from 5% before to 20% after the COVID outbreak. The self-reported depression percentage jumped from 4% to 10%, more than double the pre-COVID percentage.
These increases are not altogether surprising. WHO reports that worldwide mental health issues are increasing as bereavement, financial problems, isolation, and fear accompany COVID outbreaks around the world. None of us have escaped being affected by one or more of these stressful events in 2020.
CAMH reports that their recent survey showed Canadians reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression are women, people who have lost their jobs, those concerned about their finances, families with children in the home, and young people. Women reported anxiety and loneliness more than men, and parents with children under 18 reported more depression than adults without children.
Health care workers and other essential workers are more likely to suffer from mental health conditions resulting from the outbreak because of working conditions involving long hours and shortages of personal protective equipment. Indigenous youth are struggling with the isolation imposed by the contagion, resulting in a higher need for mental health services.
Survey participants also answered questions about how they are coping with the increased tension the pandemic has brought. Spending time outside was the top answer, with 93.5% of respondents stating that being outdoors was helping them cope. The second most helpful activity was "carving out time to relax," with 93.1% of respondents answering that finding the time to relax helped them deal with the increased stress of the outbreak.
Connecting with friends and family by phone or online was third in the line of coping strategies, with 92% of respondents stating these connections are helpful. Canadians answered that connecting in person was also a key method of coping with COVID. This strategy concerned researchers, who suggested Canadians continue to find safer ways to connect and avoid potentially spreading the virus.
Assess4success maintains a page with links to helpful resources for those with mental health conditions and whose children have mental health needs. The following is only a partial list of services you can access from their site. Please reach out if you need support.
The isolation and uncertainty imposed by the COVID outbreak are difficult for everyone, and especially for those of us with mental health conditions. Living during a pandemic means that self-care is even more critical to our well-being and that of those around us. Here are some ways we can care for ourselves and others during these tough times.
You are the greatest gift you can offer to the world. Be compassionate with yourself as we all get through this hard time together.
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Having a loved one who battles mental illness may very well be one of the most difficult encounters of my life thus far. The most difficult part is to see someone you care about, in so much pain, and not being able to ease their suffering. In seeing them lose themselves and then having to face and grieve the loss of who you once knew.
The fear, the confusion, the shame, the guilt, the sadness – a constant ebb and flow of emotions as the logic tries to reconcile with the feelings. It is an extremely difficult and tiring role. But one that I would never trade up to care for a loved one.
Through this arduous journey, I have learned so much. Through these darkest of times, I have come to understand the depths of my brother’s soul that I did not before – his fears, his sorrows, the pain he holds.
Though we have always been close, we are now closer because I can carry some of his painful burdens by acknowledging them.
Through the countless arguments and episodes, I have come to learn compassion at a level that I previously could not have conceived of. My ability to be patient and understanding has widened in a way that I would have never cared to have widened to previously.
Because of my brother’s mental illness, I have had to examine the faults of my own communication. Focusing on my own self-work in order to be the best version of someone who can care for one with mental illness. Though my wish, every single day, is that the ones I love can be free of mental illness, I couldn’t be more proud – of him for his strength and resiliency.
Every single day, he demonstrates courage in how he faces his most frightening moments of grief and fear, yet with strength, finds a way adjust his own narrative and mindset.
I am proud of him for the trust he has instilled in me when I tell him things that I know are difficult to hear, yet he finds a way to reflect on my suggestions in order to find purpose and value in himself.
And with each day in which he grows stronger and adapts, I am reminded of my own strength in helping him find truth.
I grow stronger in the action of surrendering to these difficult situations by facing them head on and with attention.
Life is funny that way sometimes, how the lowest and most painful of times can often prove to be the most lifechanging ones that we need.
]]>To the world, I look like a mother and a wife. But I know the lion and the gorilla inside me. I know the hummingbird and the eagle, the bear and the tiger. I am all of these animals, brave and strong and resilient, determined to overcome those diagnoses that threatened to destroy my life and my talents.
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Author: Elizabeth B.
Mental illnesses can cause seemingly fortunate individuals to leave everyone and everything they love. They can cause erratic behavior and addiction issues. These illnesses may seem inexplicable to someone who has never experienced the devastation your mind can unleash with a mental illness.
Spirit of Mental Health works to help people see mental illness for what it really is - a disease that requires patients to develop the qualities of courage, strength, willpower, and resilience. For many people with mental illnesses, battles for survival are part of everyday life. I am one of those people. And I am a champion who has emerged victorious from my mind's deadly war of attrition.
The first time I can remember considering death a better option than life, I was twelve or thirteen. And like most kids, I was unwilling to tell my family about this thought. They disliked me quite enough without my input. I was lonely and angry, and by high school, I felt exhausted by the act of survival.
I drank and used drugs. When I got sober in my twenties, the desire to die returned, stronger than before. I collected mental illness diagnoses over the years - bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder. I defined myself by these diagnoses.
Over time, my belief that I was intrinsically faulty became hardened. I grew more and more frightened and angry. For years I held my anger inside, afraid that letting it out would set loose destruction.
I don't know how many times I overdosed, but more than a few. On June 14, 2010, I died. Only for a moment, but long enough to find a new quality.
When I awoke, I felt the tiniest bit of hope.
This newfound spark of hope became my constant companion. It carried me through the months of withdrawal. It carried me through the years it took to learn to like myself, and then to love myself.
In the past ten years, I have transformed from a desperate suicidal individual to someone who cherishes and treasures every moment of this often challenging life. I do what I love the most - I write. I tell my story, even though it is difficult because somebody somewhere needs to know there is hope.
People with mental illnesses are some of the most courageous and strongest people in the world. When we are struggling to make it through a day at school or work, we may not seem like the bravest people you know. We look a lot like anyone else.
To the world, I look like a mother and a wife. But I know the lion and the gorilla inside me. I know the hummingbird and the eagle, the bear and the tiger. I am all of these animals, brave and strong and resilient, determined to overcome those diagnoses that threatened to destroy my life and my talents.
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