What are some ways to manage your diagnosis?

Over the years we have tried many things to help with mymental health. What has worked for me in the long run is weeklyequine therapy, weekly dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)counselling, weekly psychological appts, and medication. It tooka long time to find the right combination. I struggled for manyyears thinking it would never get better. I want other kids toknow to hang on and keep trying things - even if you don’t seehow they will help.

What has been your experiences in accessing mental healthservices?

We have had both good and bad experiences with mental healthservices. Overall, it has been lifesaving! I have definitelyexperienced stigma – including professionals thinking I amsomehow faking the intensity of trying to live in my own brain -but overall, it has been good. My parents have been great infinding services and funding to help me. Right now, we arelooking to try to get a psychiatric service dog for me becausethis has been recommended as something that will help. This hasbeen hard because my disabilities are invisible, unlike deafnessor blindness. We are going to keep trying.

Has culture played a role in your mental health journey?

My family are Métis and have deep roots with the earth. We havemany traditions into my journey for mental health wellness. Mygrandmother and my family grow our own gardens and harvesteach fall. Each spring we tap birch to have birch water toreplenish our bodies after a long winter. We also harvest berries

I was born with Fetal Alcohol effects. As I got older, I wasdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder, PTSD, and borderlinedisorder traits.

What would you want people to know about living with theseillnesses?

This is something that I work hard at every day. I want people toknow to be kind to themselves, reach out for help, and that theyare not alone.

What would you have wanted to know at the start of yourjourney?

To trust that there was going to be help. That medication canreally help.

What has made it possible to talk about your illness?

Having amazing family support, regular therapies, andmedication. Without a system of supports in place I would not bewhere I am. Even though these supports can seem to be a lot attimes, they are important to keep my mental health on track.

This submission is a part of Métis Nation BC's Mental IllnessAwareness Week Campaign 2021. In support of this campaign,Métis participants have volunteered to share their stories ofliving with a mental illness. The goal of this is to work topromote understanding and reduce stigma through sharinglived-experience stories. Thank you to our incrediblevolunteers for sharing their story, and for sharing with us allmessages of hope, resilience, and understanding.

Disclaimer: We recognize that everybody has a unique path when they navigate mental illness, and all experiences are unique. Please know that the individualexperiences shared here are not intended to represent the experiences of all those living with a mental illness. These submissions are not intended to provide medical ortreatment advice, but rather to provide understanding, hope, and reduce stigma.

JESSIE'S STORY:

A TEEN LIVING

WITH MENTAL

ILLNESS

M e n t a l I l l n e s s A w a r e n e s s W e e k 2 0 2 1

Content warning: this story contains discussionaround suicidal ideation and self-harm

Going for walksRiding my horseGoing for drives with the music onBathsPlaying with our cats and dogColouringVisiting with family and friendsWatching funny movies

each year. This is very social and fun as our family all does it together. Myauntie has started to teach me how to weave willow baskets as well. Thesetypes of activities encourage family connection and I find them to be veryhelpful to my mental health. We also (before COVID) always have big familygatherings for holidays where we all get together for meals. These largefamily gatherings are very important to keep connected to my loved ones.

How has living with this illness shaped who you are today?

I spent many years feeling like it would never get better, and that I was aburden. I now see that things can and will get better. I spent years when Iwas younger being scared of people in authority because I felt they did notunderstand or have enough experience with kids with mental healthstruggles. I felt as though they didn’t take me seriously, and didn’t believeme. Thankfully my parents have helped me to advocate for better supports,and safer spaces for people with mental illness. Our family’s advice is that ifsomething is wrong, keep talking and find the right people to help. In onecase we even went to the ombudsman!

What are your favorite self-care activities?

Some of my favorite self care activities are:

I am 17 years old and in Grade 12. I was in foster care when I was reallyyoung and then adopted. I have struggled with mental health for many years.I have self-harmed, and suicidal thoughts are part of my struggles. I am asurvivor of suicide attempts. It was tough to get through, but I am a survivorwith lots of help from my family and my support team. I am very passionateabout riding horses. We have eight and I own one of my own. She is a barrelhorse and we do barrel racing together - she is also four months pregnant, sowe will have a baby horse by the spring of next year. I am hoping to advocatefor teens with mental health challenges and hope to bring change to some ofthe system. I am looking into becoming a police officer when I graduate, andam looking into mentoring programs with the RCMP to explore career ideas.

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION:

Métis Crisis Line: 1-833-METISBC (1-833-638-4722)

Canadian Mental Health Association BC: https://cmha.bc.ca/

Foundry:https://foundrybc.ca/

Here to Help BC: http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/about-us

From Here to Help BC:

Generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, is amental illness. It belongs to a group of illnessescalled anxiety disorders. People living with GADworry much more than other people, and theyworry more often than other people. They oftenworry about many different activities of dailylife, such as their home, work, finances, family,health and the future. People living with GADalso find it hard to control or stop worryingonce they start to worry.

Day-to-day worries are a normal part of life. Infact, some worry is actually a good thing. Normalworry tells us when we might be in trouble orwhen something might be wrong. If we didn'tworry at all, we'd probably have a hard timegetting out of bed and off to work. It's alsoperfectly normal to feel more worried thanusual if you're experiencing a stressful ordifficult event like losing your job.

Worry becomes generalized anxiety disorderwhen it's an extreme reaction to daily life, whenit's difficult to control, when it happen mostdays for several months and when the constantworry affects your body and your life. Manypeople with GAD say they can't remember thelast time they felt relaxed. The disorder can lastfor a long time, though symptoms may feelbetter or worse at times.

Generalized anxiety disorder affects between 5%and 6% of people at some point in their life. It isimportant to remember that anxiety disorders areone of the most treatable mental illnesses. Peopleliving with an anxiety disorder can and dorecover, and can lead full, healthy lives.

Take a moment to learnmore about GeneralizedAnxiety Disorder.