I discovered that there are mental health care providers in health clinics around Ontario. Hopefully, those with mental health issues will be encouraged to take advantage of that help and seek early intervention. I spoke with Kim Bell at the East Wellington Family Health Team in Erin Ontario, 45 minutes northwest of Toronto, Ontario. I also visited Trellis Mental Health and Developmental Services in Guelph, to speak to social worker, Jacqueline Long who teaches the Family Support Programme that provides help for those caring for loved ones with a mental illness.
Mental illness has been my companion for a long time.Over time I became attached to the dark side of my life. It is a place I know well. I was afraid to let go of that part of me which was half of my personality.
There are people who find their creativity in the darkness. They fear losing that connection for fear of losing their creativity. Fear holds us back. Wellness sometimes demands of us that we let go. Amputating a part of your behaviour is as frightening as amputating a limb but I learned that letting go of the part of me that was defined by depression would not lead to the melting away of the “me” that I knew. I was told that I could learn to go back to that dark place by choice rather than be trapped in its web without warning. And then a most amazing thing happened. I was able to let go of my depression and no longer had the desire or the need to go back into the darkness. Nor did I lose a part of me. I found me, all of me. Wellness is freeing.
