Dr. Goldbloom-MentalI Illness

While mental illnesses are just one set of the many illnesses that can affect us, there is something that also sets them apart. When

Bob, your work colleague, breaks his leg, he’s still Bob, just wearing a cast to announce his injury, help him recover, and justify his crutches.

When Bob’s mind is broken by severe depression, is he still Bob to you – even though the depression has temporarily deprived Bob of his

abilities in a number of areas? Bob now has trouble being interested in work, enjoying the company of friends, concentrating, and making

decisions. His motivation is low, he isolates himself, and he seems kind of flat. So because it has changed Bob, it’s harder for you to see the

illness apart from him – even though with proper effective treatment, Bob should be like old Bob again.

What is our reaction to our friends and colleagues when they become mentally ill? Sadly, and in contrast to physical illness, it’s often

withdrawal. We back off just at the time they most need us to stay engaged. If they take time off work, we resent it. If they get hospitalized

for mental illness, we don’t visit. In many ways, it’s the exact opposite of what happens to Bob when his leg is broken.

Why should you care? At the individual human level, it’s about raising understanding and having compassion for friends, family and coworkers

during an especially difficult time. This is a set of problems found in every Canadian family.

Some years ago, I spoke with a group of about 50 employees who had worked together for some time about mental illness. At the end of the

session, one of them stood up and said, “I’ve worked here for 10 years. I have manic-depressive illness. Three times in the last 10 years,

I’ve had to take a couple of weeks off because I was ill. Each time when I came back, I knew you knew I had been ill. But each time, not one

of you came up to me and said the simple words, ‘How are you? What happened?’. I would have told you. It wasn’t a privacy issue. And it

would have meant so much to me.”

After she spoke, one by one every member of the group stood and said things like, “Well, my daughter has anorexia nervosa…actually, my

father was severely depressed…you know, my wife has been through post-partum depression”, etc. At the end of the session, we realized

that at some level, it was a personal issue for every person in the room. But it took one courageous person to stand up and talk about her

own experience. And I believe that once that door has been opened, people will walk right through it.

Everybody wins when people with mental illness and their families can talk about it and get the kindness, care and support that they would with any other form of

pain and human suffering.

Dr. Goldbloom is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Senior Medical Advisor, Education and Public Affairs, at the

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He trained in medicine and psychiatry at McGill University. He is Vice-Chair of the Mental Health

Commission of Canada, has written extensively on mental health issues and has provided talks to student, professional and public

audiences. Dr. Goldbloom also completed an honours degree, majoring in Government, at Harvard University and attended the University of

Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar where he obtained an M.A. in Physiological Sciences.