Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

For years, Nicole Regher lived fear of her abusive husband.  When they were dating Nicole thought her boyfriend kept close track of her because he cared. Almost as soon as they were married he became violent.  Nicole escaped her marriage and now helps women like her at Gillian's Place, a shelter for abused women in Niagara, where she is Director of Development & Violence Prevention Progra...

Indigenous peoples are at a much higher risk of mental illness and addiction than the general population. Culture and traditional healing is central to the overall wellness of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. Renee Linklater, Senior Director at Shkaabe Makwa at the Centre for Addiction and Mental health, says trauma and racism has passed through the generations – especially the horrific abu...

Last June, my friend Steve Gallagher shared his story with me about living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). It was just before the #walktoendALS and Steve and I talked about living with the disease and  advocating for ALS. There are really no treatments. Health Canada has announced a new drug trial but it will be at least a year before testing is finished. I'm replayling the interview with St...

When Paul Lea was in his late 50s he had a massive stroke affecting 25% of his brain. He pretty much gave up on life when he was diagnosed with vascular dementia. With help from his daughter and sheer determination Paul retrained his brain and developed coping skills.  But his advocacy for people with dementia has made the biggest difference.  Paul is part of the Centre for Addictions and Mental H...

Close your eyes and imagine yourself running into a burning building, putting out the flames and saving someone caught in the fire. Firefighter Rob Leathen has been doing just that for 30 years. Rob describes his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that has been part of his life for most of his career. Rob works hard on his own life but also with others suffering with PTSD.  He is part of the Ce...

It's estimated that 700,000 people die by suicide world wide every year.  In Canada, 10 people die by suicide every day.  Another 200 people will attempt so.   Dr. Javeria Zaheer from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health talks about how to recognize the signs of suicide and reach out to a person you believe is in danger. Visit camh.ca for more information on suicide.

Losing a loved one is hard. Grieving is hard. But grieving, gathering with friends and family and sharing  memories is what helps us slowly deal with loss.  The pandemic stole that from all of us. My father-in-law died in February 2020, a month before the first lockdown. It was so hard for the family to grieve in total isolation.  Grief specialist Dr. Darcy Harris, a professor at the University of...

Brian Hansell lost his son Paul to suicide in 2010 when Paul was just 18.  While Brian will never recover from his son's death he celebrates his life with the Paul Hansell Foundation committed to raising youth mental health awareness in Canada. The Foundation's #ConvoPlate are travelling around the world starting conversations about mental health about the importance of mental health in...

Eram Chhogala, an emergency trauma nurse who works at two major hospitals in Toronto, talks about 17 months of extreme stress working on the frontline of the pandemic, treating people with severe COVID 19. There were days the ER was so full of patients, nurses and doctors were forced to treat people in hallways. Some nurses are considering leaving their jobs once the pandemic is over.

It's the end of the summer and kids in Ontario are going back to school in person for the first time since last March. That's on top of the 20 weeks when schools were shuttered in 2020. Angel Graham is a social worker at Pathstone Mental Health, which provides mental health services to children.  She shares TIPS on prepping your whole family for back to school, a time that can be particu...

Author and mental health advocate Darcy Patrick talks about his new book The Big Let Go.  Darcy talks about how he let go of control so he could gain control of his new life moving forward from his depression. Darcy had struggled for over 38 years from depression and had to make a call for help which was one of the most difficult things he had ever done. Since the release of Darcy’s book his life...

Many of us think of hoarders as the people on TV who have rooms full of junk, or at its worse, so much stuff they have to walk through warrens to get around their house.  Elaine Birchall has been working with people who hoard for the 20 years. 

Emergency trauma nurse Eram Chhagola talks about 17 months of stress working on the frontline of the pandemic, treating people with severe COVID 19 in emergency room hallways.

 "You can talk to me about mental health and dogs" or "Be kind to your mind" are just two of the anti-stigma messages on clothing from the online store ownyourstigma.com.  Allison and Brian Gilbank are trying to reduce the stigma of people living with mental illness with t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and mugs. A portion of sales is donated to mental health organizations and chari...

People are drinking more and using more drugs as we reach 15 months of COVID in Canada. The international HR company LifeWorks released it's monthly Mental Health Index for May 2021. The May report focuses on the increase in alcohol and drug use and how it's affecting mental health.

Sarah Conlon shares her experience as a transgender woman.

Physical and sexual abuse against women increases when there are stay at home orders or lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Abusive men who are home all the time are likely to hurt their spouse or partner more often. Women are not able to reach out for help because their abuser is home. Nicole Regher is from the women's shelter Gillian's Place.

Pathstone Mental Health is a children's mental health organization in Niagara. Their online TV video chats led by mental health experts and professionals help children understand topics like resiliency, anxiety, gratitude, self-awareness. https://pathstonementalhealth.ca/pathstonetv/

Steve Abma