Hello everyone. Today we're going to help destigmatize
mental illness by talking about how to show compassion towards those around us.
Our mental health is an important part
of who we are and how we interact with the world.
Our mental health allows us to be
productive, have healthy relationships and adapt to adversity.
However, sometimes poor mental health can lead to mental illness.
Mental illness can be defined as a health condition that involves significant
changes in our emotion, thinking or behavior,
and it can often be associated with distress in social settings.
Mental illness includes depression,
anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, among many other conditions.
Addiction, on the other hand,
is a type of mental health disorder which can cause cravings,
a loss of control of use, a compulsion to use and use despite
negative consequences as defined by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Mental illness and addiction can often be invisible or difficult to see in someone.
The symptoms of mental illness
and addiction cannot be seen or measured easily, and these symptoms are relative
to what the observer, or you, would consider normal.
It is impossible to diagnose mental
illness without consulting a professional first.
Mental illness and addiction is very prevalent, and it is estimated that one
in five Canadians have a mental illness currently.
Additionally, by the age of 40, it is estimated that around one in two
people have experienced mental illness or addiction.
Young people age 15 to 24 are at the highest risk of developing a mental
illness or an addiction, and men have a higher rate of substance
use disorders, while women are more likely to experience mood and anxiety disorders.
Also, those in the lowest income groups are three to four times more likely
to report a mental health issue or substance use disorder.
Now, we're going to talk about two
scenarios that you may see in public, and hopefully this will help you to better
understand how to show compassion towards those around us.
Imagine you're in a store doing your
groceries for the week and you see someone, we'll call her Julie, having a complete
breakdown because all the strawberry yogurt was out of stock.
You may think to yourself that this person
is crazy and they're causing a big scene over nothing. But someone who knows Julie
comes over to you and tells you the reasoning behind this behavior.
Julie has been struggling with depression
for the past few years and just recently her husband passed away.
Julie and her husband loved strawberry yogurt and Julie has been eating it more
and more as it has been helping her to feel a little bit better about her loss.
Before the store, Julie had gone to four
other stores and they too were all out of this yogurt.
Julie felt so defeated and was having
a hard time dealing with the loss of her husband.
Because of this, she began to cry and had a mental breakdown.
After hearing this story,
you realize how dangerous it can be to immediately cast judgment upon someone
and that you never really know what they are going through.
Now, let's look at another scenario.
Imagine that you're in a coffee shop waiting for your cappuccino to be made.
A man, who we will call James, comes in to order his coffee.
He moves over to the side and waits for his coffee to be made.
While making a coffee, the barista accidentally knocks a full
metal tin onto the floor and it creates a loud, sudden noise.
You look over to James and you see that he
is beginning to have a panic attack and you don't understand why.
You don't say anything,
but on the inside you're thinking that James is being dramatic and overreacting.
But what you don't know is that James served in the military for 15 years.
He was on the front line and battled in a couple of wars.
After leaving the military,
James was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD,
and many of his triggers are related to events from the war zone.
Upon hearing the tin hit the floor,
James experienced a flashback to the war in which he witnessed several casualties.
The lesson to be learned from both these
scenarios is that it is impossible to know what someone else is experiencing in their
life or in their mind unless they explicitly tell you.
People may look like they're doing OK
on the outside, but could be suffering silently.
It is important to not judge those around us based on their behavior and to stop
and think about how this person would feel if they knew that they were being judged.
One of the largest barriers to seeking
mental health treatment or self help is the stigma around mental illnesses.
So it is incredibly important that you do not spew stereotypes about mental illness,
deny the existence of their condition by saying things like "it's all in your
head", or purposely contribute negatively to their condition.
Additionally, lifestyle changes such as good nutrition, exercise,
and adequate sleep with good hygiene can support mental health and recovery,
and all of these things are much easier to do with the support of loved ones.
Showing compassion to someone struggling
with mental illness can certainly be difficult, but there are steps that you
can take to help others feel like they aren't alone and are supported.
Among other things, you can: One. Listen without judgment.
Make an effort to listen to what they're
saying without passing judgment, so you can more easily understand how they
feel and help them in whatever way possible.
Number two, focus on how they're feeling.
Saying things like I know how you feel or I know what you're going through,
can shift the focus away from them and onto you.
Number three, validate their feelings and experiences.
Let them know that what they're feeling is
okay, and don't ever blame them or dismiss their feelings or reactions.
And number four, concentrate on their needs.
Listen, empathetically and try and understand their experiences.
Take time before trying to discuss possible courses of action.
Thank you for watching.
We hope that our video helped you learn more about mental illness.
We hope that the information we presented
will stay with you, allowing you to better understand what people are going through
and to hopefully be able to help those around you who may be struggling.