Behind one’s sanity: breaking down barriers & exposing the stigma

What happens when you are checkmated and trapped?  The American Heritage Dictionary defines checkmate as “to attack…in such a manner that no escape or defense is possible, thus ending the game” and “to defeat completely”.  In life, we all go through moments of mental defeat, where no escape from one’s own crippling thoughts or any form of defense is possible, but some of us go through months, years and even a lifetime of mental duress...sometimes even ending the game early.

For some, Canadians living with a mental illness, getting through the day without feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts is a good day and part of their daily life struggle.  It is comparable to having all pawns manoeuvre through the board to be crowned Queen – difficult to accomplish!  According to Dr. David Goldbloom (vice-chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada), who was interviewed by the Globe and Mail , one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness in his or her lifetime.

Mental illnesses range from anxiety disorder to schizophrenia, and include obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and bipolar disorder.  You would never know by just looking at individuals with mental health disorders, that some of them have intense or intricate rituals that they must perform each day in their struggle to survive and function as part of society.  Most are not the stereotypical insane, psychiatric hospital/asylum-bent characters that movies, especially of the past, portray. However, this is part of the stigma attached to mental illness and its many manifestations which work to promote people with mental illnesses to feel embarrassment, shame and isolation.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho, Hitchcock portrays the psychologically ill character Norman Bates as a complex of innocence and danger, demonstrating that opposite human tendencies unite to form a single, complex whole.  So although the audience could relate and empathize with Bates despite his initially disguised mental illness, the portrayal of him as a psychotic killer with dual personalities is the image of  mental health disorder that is left resonating with the public.

Mental health is a pervasive presence in almost all of our lives, and yet it is rarely spoken of.  According to Dr. Goldbloom, the negative stigma attached to mental illness fuels a “reluctance to talk about it, acknowledge it openly, and treat it as a form of human suffering like any other illness.” He believes that this reluctance “relates in part to how threatening this set of illnesses is to our sense of who we are.”  

One need not look very far, however, to see that people affected by mental health disorders are no different from you or I; they just have additional barriers and life challenges.  People affected could be anyone from your parents, siblings, relatives, friends, co-workers, partner or even yourself.  Most people I know who have a mental health disorder go through their life with flair, intelligence and finesse.  As Dr. Goldbloom points out, “when mental illness hits…it does not discriminate on the basis of intelligence.”  

Even though mental health and wellness is a topic that is coming more into light with the government, select agencies, celebrities and athletes such as Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and former Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur, stigma surrounding mental illness still dominates this topic.  This is becoming increasingly apparent in the Canadian workplace.  From Dr. Goldbloom’s travels across Canada and the United States, where he gives talks about mental health disorders, he believes that “people are ultimately concerned about the same things: themselves and the people they care about in their immediate sphere, and the barriers they face”.  He acknowledges that “data now shows us that in the Canadian public sector and in the Canadian private sector, (mental disorders) are the leading causes of short-term disability” and that “it has a profound economic impact on the workplace.”  He believes that it is not only a “compassionate response” for businesses to understand this set of issues better but that it is also in the company’s “enlightened self-interest” to do so.

Illustration by Suranika Dias

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