I came home that night to find something white sticking out between the door jamb and the wall. The business card of a Detective Cook from the Special Investigations Unit. I turned it over. “Grace Cherian. Please call. It’s in relation to your brother.” My brother, Wilson, born nine years after his four older siblings had become our precious “son.” An animated child, his sharp wit made...
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I shall never forget the summer of 2000. I had said goodbye to my friends at WycliffeCollege. I lived alone. Worked alone. I isolated myself. Friends would call me. But I wouldn’t answer the phone. Bipolar disorder, with its many ravaging faces, had stalked me for 28 years. During manic phases, I’d lost jobs, squandered money I didn’t have and engaged in casual sex. When I became depressed,...
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I remember when it first hit me. The tender age of seventeen. I couldn’t concentrate in class. This really scared me. I’ve always loved school. Brought home excellent grades. Suddenly, my greatest strength was being attacked. I went through an identity crisis. Where had the over-achieving student gone? And I didn’t understand what was happening. Nor did my family. We had just arrived in...
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One in five Canadians suffer from mental illness. It attacks people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures. Unfortunately, most of us won’t seek treatment. Why is that? It’s very difficult to talk about mental illness. It carries a stigma that leads to discrimination. We're afraid we’ll lose friendships and feel isolated. This leads to unnecessary suffering and death....
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People with mental illness experience changes in thinking, mood or behaviour (or some combination of them). Mental illness causes a great deal of distress and impaired functioning over an extended period of time. The symptoms of mental illness vary from mild to severe, depending on the type of mental illness, the individual, the family and the socio-economic environment. Highlights • Mental...
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