Mental Health

“It’s a scary world … I’m just thankful to not have been a teenager in the world of the iPhone.” — Lynne McInally, clinical social worker, therapist and instructor at Humber College.

“For some people it’s almost a joke, like ‘yeah yeah yeah I had my ADHD day yesterday … when we know … it’s so different to have it 24/7.”

“It’s a responsibility I think as healthcare providers to be able to understand and to be more sensitized to the different backgrounds your patients are coming from. I’m sitting here in your office, you’re my therapist, it’s not my job to be like ‘Well no, this is how immigrant parents think.’ You need to step up and educate yourself.”

The Fulcrum spoke to three students with different perspectives on youth political involvement to explore their insights and opinions into mental health. It became a brief but telling exploration of the challenges, supports, and lessons of staying healthy in the halls of power.

“These are the things I hold close when I remember that while growing up I contended with some things that no ten-year-old should.”

From my personal experience as a Chinese-Canadian, I find that mental illness and mental health are issues rarely (if ever) discussed in Chinese and East Asian households. It continues to be considered a non-serious issue and taboo subject, resulting in its highly stigmatized state.

When you consider the far-reaching impacts of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), there’s good reason to put the PMS jokes and the period stigma aside, and get serious about understanding mental health in relation to menstruation.

Having OCD can have serious impacts on your own life and those around you, and downplaying it can make those who have experienced it—either themselves or through others—feel misunderstood and like they are not being taken seriously.

When mental illness is turned into a challenge to be overcome rather than a diagnosable and treatable issue, it turns asking for help into a shameful surrender.