Mental health disorders spike in post-high school transitions

Colleges increasingly aware of the problem, but patient advocacy still important

By Janet Davison, CBC News Posted: Oct 25, 2013 3:56 PM ET

Jason Novick has seen the darkness that mental health disorders can create.

The 27-year-old Toronto man has also seen how advocacy — by himself and by others — has been vital in helping him cope with bipolar disorder, general anxiety disorder, mania and depression, particular during the stressful transition from his teenage years to leaving home for post-secondary school.

Jason Novick says advocacy by yourself and others is important while coping with a mental health disorder. (Courtesy Jason Novick)

"Mental health awareness … is still an issue that’s largely misunderstood," he said in a recent interview.

"There’s a lot of [post-secondary] administrative workers and professors and program co-ordinators and what have you who won’t know the first thing about such issues, so your best ally is probably going to be yourself a lot of the time."

Another ally can also be a caring friend or family member who steps up to help others understand the larger situation. Novick remembers going with his mother to "set the record straight" with a college professor.

They wanted to explain to the instructor that it was his mental health that was his problem, not any lack of interest in the course.

"It was my mental health that was causing me to be so withdrawn, that was causing me to be so unmotivated. I was passionate about the subject, but I was not passionate about life and living." To continue reading, click here. 

ISSUE: WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

Suicide is most often the result of pain, hopelessness, disconnection and despair. It is almost always preventable through caring, compassion, commitment and community – The CASP National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Suicide is an issue that is still surrounded by fear, shame and silence—but by breaking through the barrier of stigma and openly addressing the factors that contribute to suicide, we can all help to prevent it. Click here for the website. 

World Suicide Prevention Day

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

“HOPE AND RESILIENCY AT HOME AND WORK”

This year the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention is pleased to be partnering with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to promote World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), held on September 10, 2013.  Building on the international theme of “Stigma: A major Barrier to Suicide Prevention”, Canada  will be focusing this year’s theme on Hope and Resiliency at Home and Work.

Families and workplaces have enormous potential to promote people’s growth, wellness and resilience. The Hope and Resiliency campaign is intended to nurture the capacity of families and workplaces to support mental, physical and spiritual wellness.  Families and work places play a critical role in helping their family members and employees develop the skills and abilities to cope with the unavoidable stresses, and challenges of life across the life span. The Hope and Resiliency campaign is intended to give families and employees the tools they need to thrive and be safer by strengthening connections, promoting conversations about mental wellness, and knowing how we can help protect and care for each other during times of crisis.

Two valuable resources have been produced to assist families and workplaces engage in these important life enhancing and life saving conversations. Hope and Resiliency at Home and Hope and Resiliency at Work contain useful information about ways we can all enhance the mental well being of ourselves and others and by doing so become suicide safer.  Conversation, connection, and mindful compassion are the three components that are emphasized throughout these materials. Click here for the website. 

Innovative Approaches to Suicide Prevention

Innovative Approaches to Suicide Prevention is an interactive presentation featuring the latest research coming from the American Association of Suicidology.

Participants will learn new approaches regarding:

• engaging male clients to reach out for support services;
• questioning accepted practice standards regarding suicide such as impulsivity and the connections between substance abuse and suicide;
• acquiring research-based tools for strengthening protective factors in community, and
• exploring the power of relational engagement.
• Click here for the website

New online programme helps beat bipolar disorder

A new online self-management programme to help those suffering from bipolar disorder has just been made freely available to the public. It was developed by Dr Daniel Smith, University of Glasgow, and colleagues at Cardiff University's National Centre for Mental Health.
Beatingbipolar.org aims to improve understanding about the condition and includes a wide range of advice to help those with the disorder manage it more effectively. It is the first of its kind to include interactive material and videos of both patients and professionals discussing the best approaches to long-term management.

Kenneth Lamont, Director of Bipolar Scotland, has tried the programme. He has had the condition for over thirty years. He said "I was initially impressed with the simplicity of the site, both in usage and in content. The information given was uncomplicated and jargon free and the site was also very interactive. Finally, the use of personal lived experience was a good idea, giving the impression, especially to those new to the diagnosis, that the condition CAN be managed, given the potential chaotic symptoms that Bipolar Disorder can reveal." Click here to continue reading. 

Neil Hilborn - "OCD"

A poet with obsessive compulsive disorder has taken the Internet by storm with a heartbreaking performance about falling in love.

And his bravery is inspiring others to share their own stories about overcoming limitations.

Neil Hilborn performed 'OCD' in June during the individual finals at the 2013 Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam.

In the poem, through repetition and theatrics, Hilborn paints a painful but beautiful image of being in a relationship while dealing with OCD:

The first time I saw her everything in my head went quiet. All the tics, all the constantly refreshing images just disappeared. When you have obsessive compulsive disorder you don't really get quiet moments... When I saw her, the only thing I could think about was hairpin curve of her lips or the eyelash on her cheek, eyelash on her cheek, eyelash on her cheek.

On Monday, after Redditor antron81 posted the clip to Reddit, Hilborn's performance went viral.

He decided to do an impromptu Q and A on Reddit.

In the comments, Hilborn explains that the poem was written in 2011. The tics in the performance are intentional, he says, "but they are also .. actual tics. Sometimes in performance they become real." Click here to continue reading. 

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