WEBVTT - Behind Getting Committed 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.140 So they came down in the ambulance when they came 0:00:07.140 --> 0:00:09.180 to talk. They were like, Well, we're not too sure 0:00:09.180 --> 0:00:12.960 It's a grey area. Like, how can this be grey? 0:00:13.050 --> 0:00:15.390 There's a ball of her hair beside her and she'd 0:00:15.390 --> 0:00:18.270 been cutting her hair. We're concerned she's mentally not well. 0:00:18.270 --> 0:00:20.490 We do need help. They did take her away. And 0:00:20.489 --> 0:00:23.669 I'm telling you, it was heartbreaking because she was trying 0:00:23.670 --> 0:00:26.010 to run away from them and they were grabbing her 0:00:26.010 --> 0:00:29.910 by her pants and she was fighting. Finally, they got 0:00:29.910 --> 0:00:32.730 her in the ambulance. So she went to Surrey Memorial 0:00:32.729 --> 0:00:36.180 Hospital for two months. And in the emergency, when they 0:00:36.180 --> 0:00:39.000 took her in, she was screaming at us, saying that 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:43.870 I'll never talk to you girls ever again, like me yelling. 0:00:43.890 --> 0:00:45.900 We were just making sure she was going to be okay. 0:00:55.340 --> 0:00:59.360 Well, situations like this are incredibly hard to imagine having 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.640 to call the police or an ambulance in this case 0:01:01.940 --> 0:01:04.460 to have your loved one committed to a psychiatric facility 0:01:04.459 --> 0:01:07.100 for their own safety or for the safety of others, 0:01:07.459 --> 0:01:10.429 all with the hope of getting them the treatment they 0:01:10.430 --> 0:01:15.559 need and deserve. It's called involuntary admission and treatment, and 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:17.959 it's a key part of the B.C. Mental Health Act. 0:01:18.530 --> 0:01:21.170 The B.C. Mental Health Act provides guidelines on how to 0:01:21.170 --> 0:01:25.160 admit and treat people who are experiencing a serious mental 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:29.360 health crisis. Untreated mental illnesses can cause a person to 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:33.530 experience any nausea, which means they lose insight into the 0:01:33.530 --> 0:01:37.310 fact that they are ill and will not accept voluntary 0:01:37.310 --> 0:01:40.280 treatment even when their illness may be causing harm to 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:45.050 them or to others. My name is Faydra Aldridge and we're 0:01:45.050 --> 0:01:49.160 kicking off the third season of Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined, 0:01:49.490 --> 0:01:52.280 a podcast about mental illness brought to you by the B.C. 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:57.470 Schizophrenia Society and other B.C. partner organizations. Today we are 0:01:57.470 --> 0:02:01.730 speaking with Vanessa Nelson. Vanessa is a regional educator for 0:02:01.730 --> 0:02:04.760 the BC Schizophrenia Society in the Okanagan and she has 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:09.019 a very personal connection to this topic. Vanessa's daughter, Mira 0:02:09.020 --> 0:02:12.680 was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18 and 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:17.090 is now 22. And during these years, Mira has been 0:02:17.090 --> 0:02:22.790 involuntarily detained under the B.C. Mental Health Act multiple times. Vanessa, 0:02:22.910 --> 0:02:25.250 thank you for being here today to share your story 0:02:25.250 --> 0:02:27.620 with us. Welcome to the podcast. 0:02:28.010 --> 0:02:29.120 Thank you very much. 0:02:30.139 --> 0:02:34.850 So, Vanessa, let's talk about Mira and how mental illness 0:02:34.850 --> 0:02:38.060 has affected her life and your life. 0:02:39.540 --> 0:02:42.300 To say that it's been a nightmare is an understatement. 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.320 It's affected us at every level. This is truly one 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:50.730 of the worst illnesses that I've ever witnessed. And it's 0:02:50.730 --> 0:02:56.130 been embarrassing. It's been heart wrenching and life changing. It's 0:02:56.130 --> 0:02:59.880 been a constant emergency situation for the last three years. 0:02:59.910 --> 0:03:04.890 The amount of hospitalisations that have happened, the very public breakdowns. 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:10.680 Everyone in the community knows that something's wrong. And it's 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:14.910 been horrible for her. Horrible for the whole family. There 0:03:14.910 --> 0:03:19.950 really are no words to describe the confusion and how 0:03:19.950 --> 0:03:23.940 unrealistic it seems that all of this happened. And I 0:03:23.940 --> 0:03:28.860 think it's so taboo to tell members of the community that, oh, 0:03:28.860 --> 0:03:33.150 she's got schizophrenia. It's a very feared term when a 0:03:33.150 --> 0:03:36.540 family gets a diagnosis of cancer. They're wrapped up in 0:03:36.540 --> 0:03:41.880 blankets and brought casseroles. And when schizophrenia happens, nobody wants 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:45.210 to talk to you. Nobody wants to discuss it. 0:03:45.510 --> 0:03:48.180 Like you said, there are no words. So thank you 0:03:48.180 --> 0:03:51.210 for sharing that. I know you could never summarize what 0:03:51.210 --> 0:03:55.560 it's like to see your daughter experiencing psychosis, but can 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:57.990 you just give us a picture of what some of 0:03:57.990 --> 0:04:00.900 her symptoms were and what you saw your daughter go through. 0:04:01.470 --> 0:04:03.990 At the onset? She wasn't even diagnosed at the time. 0:04:03.990 --> 0:04:06.720 We had no clue what was going on. It was 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:10.530 so far outside of my experience that I didn't even 0:04:10.530 --> 0:04:14.309 know what to do and the hell that erupted. She 0:04:14.310 --> 0:04:16.710 really was not in her right mind. She was in 0:04:16.710 --> 0:04:21.210 a completely delusional state and had to call the cops. 0:04:21.690 --> 0:04:27.390 She waffles between different personalities and different moods like lightning. 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:33.210 So one second she'll be very manic and squealing. You 0:04:33.210 --> 0:04:37.869 can actually hear her laughter blocks away and it makes 0:04:37.870 --> 0:04:41.610 the hair on your body just stand up because it 0:04:41.610 --> 0:04:47.460 is so undeniably unhinged. She gets very angry at the 0:04:47.460 --> 0:04:50.940 drop of a pin. Often times in conversation, she's so 0:04:50.940 --> 0:04:56.279 scattered that she's jumping between all of those different emotions 0:04:56.339 --> 0:05:01.110 all at once. A lot of religious jargon just spewing 0:05:01.110 --> 0:05:05.640 out of her mouth and just wild accusations against everyone. 0:05:05.820 --> 0:05:08.230 She did not know she was mentally ill. She had 0:05:08.230 --> 0:05:13.890 an a signature. She started drinking heavily. Really coping with marijuana. 0:05:13.890 --> 0:05:18.450 Just the cleanliness, the change in her hygiene. She started 0:05:18.750 --> 0:05:25.230 having hallucinations, accusing family members all around her of atrocious crimes. 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.620 She thought we were trying to kill her. The paranoia 0:05:28.650 --> 0:05:33.090 was so confusing to have to hear because she's always 0:05:33.089 --> 0:05:37.229 been very smart, very concise with her speech. But she 0:05:37.230 --> 0:05:42.120 started getting very disorganized, not understanding what was going on 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:42.780 around her. 0:05:43.290 --> 0:05:46.740 Let's go back. And how did she finally go from 0:05:46.740 --> 0:05:50.370 that psychotic state and being placed in a hospital? 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:54.570 Well, she had a suicide attempt, so they took her 0:05:54.570 --> 0:05:57.960 to the hospital. Then she was in there for a 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:01.560 couple of weeks that time. There were so many emergency 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.930 calls that had to be made at the onset of 0:06:03.930 --> 0:06:08.460 her illness that it's hard to even remember sometimes because 0:06:08.730 --> 0:06:11.040 it was all so filled with trauma. 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:16.169 Wow. So your daughter was taken into hospital. She didn't 0:06:16.170 --> 0:06:19.529 want to go. How did she respond to that? 0:06:19.980 --> 0:06:24.539 Oh, it was hard. I mean, throughout the hospitalization, she 0:06:24.540 --> 0:06:27.330 tried to escape. They had to lock her up in 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:32.880 solitary confinement in what essentially was a cell. So there 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.729 were lots of moments where she wasn't treated with the 0:06:35.730 --> 0:06:39.930 care that somebody who was very ill should receive. And 0:06:39.930 --> 0:06:44.580 that's not on any of the lovely professionals that have 0:06:44.580 --> 0:06:47.010 worked pretty much around the clock to try and save 0:06:47.010 --> 0:06:49.890 her life and to get her healthy. What else do 0:06:49.890 --> 0:06:52.440 you do? So I understand why she tried so hard 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.460 to get out. It varies, right? Sometimes she knows she 0:06:56.460 --> 0:06:59.730 needs to go to the hospital and has been very 0:06:59.730 --> 0:07:03.029 willing to check herself in if she feels unsafe. But 0:07:03.029 --> 0:07:06.390 a lot of times she's definitely taken and against her will. 0:07:06.390 --> 0:07:11.290 And those times have involved police. They've involved community members, too. 0:07:11.340 --> 0:07:14.100 So a lot of times when she had her breakdowns, 0:07:14.100 --> 0:07:17.010 they would have been in public places. The shop owner 0:07:17.010 --> 0:07:20.670 has called in on her and have gotten calls from 0:07:20.670 --> 0:07:24.210 restaurants saying, hey, we had to call the ambulance for 0:07:24.210 --> 0:07:28.180 your daughter. It's been a community wide endeavour to get 0:07:28.230 --> 0:07:32.070 to keep this kid safe. I'm super lucky because she 0:07:32.070 --> 0:07:34.170 does have a lot of people watching out for her 0:07:34.170 --> 0:07:35.070 who do care. 0:07:35.460 --> 0:07:37.200 It takes a village, doesn't it, Vanessa? 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:38.430 Oh, definitely. 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:44.660 Now, some provinces don't allow for involuntary treatment. Obviously, things 0:07:44.660 --> 0:07:47.270 didn't go as you would hoped or your daughter would 0:07:47.270 --> 0:07:49.820 have hoped. But what do you think would have happened 0:07:49.820 --> 0:07:53.810 if your daughter had not received involuntary treatment? 0:07:54.110 --> 0:07:58.920 She would not be alive. Flat out without the involuntary treatment, 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:03.810 without the medication, without having her kept in a safe place, 0:08:04.170 --> 0:08:08.430 she simply wouldn't be alive. And in this past psychosis 0:08:08.430 --> 0:08:11.700 that she's had, she was just recently put under the 0:08:11.700 --> 0:08:15.300 Mental Health Act again. We almost lost her so many times. 0:08:15.660 --> 0:08:17.430 I can't even count how many times she was in 0:08:17.430 --> 0:08:20.760 the hospital and how many phone calls I received from 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.400 the police in the middle of the night. How many 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:27.390 texts from her mental health team. And it's been terrifying. 0:08:27.510 --> 0:08:30.929 And the reason that she went into psychosis the second 0:08:30.930 --> 0:08:33.780 time to such an extent was because she was taken 0:08:33.780 --> 0:08:37.290 off of the Mental Health Act and so was no 0:08:37.290 --> 0:08:40.920 longer required to take her medication. And as soon as 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:44.550 she went off that medication, she went into an immediate, deep, 0:08:44.670 --> 0:08:46.380 terrifying psychosis. 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.320 Now, you had said that you were receiving texts from 0:08:49.380 --> 0:08:52.559 the police and the mental health team and other organisations 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:55.860 within the community. What did they tell you in those texts? 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.849 Very little because of confidentiality, Right. I got a lot 0:08:59.850 --> 0:09:04.470 more information when she was younger. So during her first psychosis, 0:09:04.470 --> 0:09:08.910 people were still giving me information. Now, when she's ill, 0:09:08.910 --> 0:09:11.010 she doesn't want anyone to talk to me. They're very 0:09:11.010 --> 0:09:14.729 bound by confidentiality, at least with the mental health team 0:09:14.730 --> 0:09:18.380 in the hospital. The community members are not so bound 0:09:18.380 --> 0:09:22.040 by confidentiality. So that's how I've been getting my information. 0:09:22.670 --> 0:09:25.880 It's been terrifying. And it's terrifying for her, too. She 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.370 doesn't know what's happening to her a lot of the 0:09:28.370 --> 0:09:29.830 time right now. 0:09:29.929 --> 0:09:33.979 If she doesn't recognize she's ill, why would she voluntarily 0:09:33.980 --> 0:09:36.920 get treatment for something in her mind she doesn't have? 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:41.979 Oh, exactly. Trying to get her to accept treatment or 0:09:41.980 --> 0:09:45.309 accept medication when she's in that space, when she won't 0:09:45.309 --> 0:09:48.939 even talk to anybody is impossible. I'm deeply grateful for 0:09:48.940 --> 0:09:52.479 the fact that the Mental Health Act exists and that 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.600 she has been put on it, because otherwise I would 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.920 never see my daughter as who she is beyond the illness. 0:09:59.950 --> 0:10:05.050 Now, when your daughter is taken in, receives treatment, what 0:10:05.050 --> 0:10:07.240 happens when she gets out of hospital? 0:10:07.660 --> 0:10:12.219 Typically between February and now, I would say she's probably 0:10:12.220 --> 0:10:16.360 been taken in and released 20 times. They don't keep 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:20.350 her for long because she refuses treatment. And it took 0:10:20.350 --> 0:10:23.020 a really long time to actually get her put back 0:10:23.020 --> 0:10:26.650 on the Mental Health Act. So she would just be 0:10:26.650 --> 0:10:29.860 released right into the streets. And because she went into 0:10:29.860 --> 0:10:33.850 such a severe psychosis, she lost her jobs, she lost 0:10:33.850 --> 0:10:39.429 her apartment, nobody would take her in because once again, schizophrenia, 0:10:40.330 --> 0:10:46.300 she doesn't qualify for any of the community housing situations 0:10:46.300 --> 0:10:50.439 because of her mental illness. So it's been horrific. When 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:54.700 she was released from the hospital, medicated the first time 0:10:54.820 --> 0:10:58.930 and started doing well, building her life back together, making 0:10:59.170 --> 0:11:02.050 about a million apologies, it's very hard when she comes 0:11:02.050 --> 0:11:05.500 out of a psychosis because all of the guilt and 0:11:05.500 --> 0:11:10.420 shame and tough conversations that she has to have with 0:11:10.420 --> 0:11:14.650 everybody she knows and everybody she's encountered has been such 0:11:14.650 --> 0:11:18.400 a tough road for her. And this time, especially because 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:22.150 she ended up going viral on TikTok. We were walking 0:11:22.150 --> 0:11:25.120 down the street the other day and she was looking 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.210 beautiful for the first time in a very long time. 0:11:28.210 --> 0:11:32.770 And some jerk rolled down his window and started laughing 0:11:32.770 --> 0:11:36.850 and pointing at her. And it was just the most 0:11:36.850 --> 0:11:42.189 heartbreaking moment. And she has to live through that on 0:11:42.190 --> 0:11:47.230 a nearly daily basis. So it's having those tough conversations 0:11:47.230 --> 0:11:50.860 with her. Like, yes, people have seen you at your worst. 0:11:51.220 --> 0:11:54.010 You can either run or you can stick around and 0:11:54.010 --> 0:11:58.120 show them your best because she is amazing. She's one 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.210 of the most gifted poets I know. She works hard. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.929 She is incredibly resourceful. I just have to have faith 0:12:04.929 --> 0:12:07.959 that she's going to come out of this again completely 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:11.260 and hopefully not get so sick again. To tell you 0:12:11.260 --> 0:12:13.660 the truth, I didn't think she would get so sick again. 0:12:13.660 --> 0:12:16.660 So my hopes were quite dashed when she went into 0:12:16.660 --> 0:12:20.080 this psychosis because she was doing much better. 0:12:20.670 --> 0:12:22.660 And where is your daughter today, Vanessa? 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:29.330 She has temporary housing at a family member's home while 0:12:29.330 --> 0:12:32.240 they're away for summer. I know she is supported by 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.839 a 24 hour mental health team and they check on 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:36.500 her every day. 0:12:38.620 --> 0:12:42.640 You're listening to Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined a podcast 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:47.020 brought to you by the B.C. Schizophrenia Society and by partner organizations. 0:12:47.650 --> 0:12:51.370 I'm your host, Faydra Aldridge. This podcast would not be 0:12:51.370 --> 0:12:54.880 possible without the support of the community. From the bottom 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.309 of our hearts, we want to thank you for caring 0:12:57.309 --> 0:13:01.930 about serious mental illness and everything that's around it. Together, 0:13:01.929 --> 0:13:06.590 we truly can make a difference. Welcome back to Look Again. 0:13:06.620 --> 0:13:10.520 Mental Illness Re-examined. In this episode, we're talking to Vanessa 0:13:10.610 --> 0:13:16.340 about her daughter's experience with involuntary psychiatric treatment due to schizophrenia. 0:13:17.210 --> 0:13:19.880 But before we continue and talk more about the B.C. 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.570 Mental Health Act, let's listen to this clip between two 0:13:23.570 --> 0:13:27.380 people sharing their experiences with involuntary treatment. 0:13:31.700 --> 0:13:33.800 And you kind of treat it like someone that that 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:36.830 can only wear hospital clothes. And it's kind of hard. 0:13:36.830 --> 0:13:39.200 But at the same time, too, every time I had 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.350 a psych admission, I come out doing much better. The 0:13:42.350 --> 0:13:44.720 key part for my recovery was that I had to 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.320 get sober, that I can't keep telling myself that dropping 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:52.490 the Xanax, dropping mushrooms, dropping pot and hash and all 0:13:52.490 --> 0:13:56.180 these drugs and alcohol that was really helping me. So 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:01.280 involuntary admissions to psych was a godsend for me because 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:03.590 that got me to get stable again. 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.500 For me, it was I think it was my first 0:14:07.500 --> 0:14:10.320 time when I was deep in psychosis. So I was 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.890 23 and yeah, I don't really remember a whole lot, 0:14:13.890 --> 0:14:16.920 but I do remember they handled it quite well. The 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:21.840 involuntary admittance. I was pretty easygoing. Like I, I kind 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.150 of knew that I had to go, but I didn't 0:14:24.150 --> 0:14:26.100 want to be there in any way, shape or form. 0:14:26.970 --> 0:14:29.340 So they kept me for quite a while. I wanted 0:14:29.340 --> 0:14:31.830 to leave every single day. It's like prison. It really 0:14:31.830 --> 0:14:33.990 feels like prison. I mean, I've never been to prison, 0:14:33.990 --> 0:14:37.820 so I can't necessarily say, but I've been to prison. It's. Yeah, 0:14:37.930 --> 0:14:42.990 it's like that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's reassuring. Thank you. 0:14:47.730 --> 0:14:53.130 But yeah, it really is. Is a truly unenjoyable experience. 0:14:56.050 --> 0:14:59.830 Whoo! That was pretty powerful. Vanessa So after hearing that clip, 0:15:00.460 --> 0:15:04.810 how does that compare to your daughter's experience when she 0:15:04.810 --> 0:15:08.320 was taken into hospital under the Mental Health Act? 0:15:08.770 --> 0:15:12.010 Oh, yeah. Very similar. It really is like prison. She 0:15:12.010 --> 0:15:16.420 was stripped down and sprayed down and put by herself 0:15:16.420 --> 0:15:19.390 in a cell because she was a danger to herself. 0:15:19.660 --> 0:15:23.260 It was very difficult because not allowed to visit her. 0:15:23.500 --> 0:15:27.820 It was so confusing and so heartbreaking. 0:15:28.420 --> 0:15:31.180 When you care for someone, it is just so difficult 0:15:31.180 --> 0:15:33.490 to see them hurting and to know what to do 0:15:33.490 --> 0:15:37.450 to help them. Based on your personal experience, how do 0:15:37.450 --> 0:15:40.870 you think we should be balancing this need to protect 0:15:40.870 --> 0:15:42.910 our loved one and ensure that they get the help 0:15:42.910 --> 0:15:46.390 that they need while also dealing with a feeling that 0:15:46.390 --> 0:15:50.710 we could be potentially hurting that relationship with that person? 0:15:50.890 --> 0:15:52.480 How do we balance this, Vanessa? 0:15:52.990 --> 0:15:57.310 Oh, it is such a tough one. Obviously, communication strategies 0:15:57.550 --> 0:16:00.550 like the LEAP method are so helpful. They have been 0:16:00.550 --> 0:16:04.930 gold in helping me communicate with my daughter. And as 0:16:04.930 --> 0:16:07.720 far as services, I just would love to see a 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:11.710 more care centered approach that the professionals who are involved 0:16:11.710 --> 0:16:15.520 be utilized in that manner to offer a more comfort 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:19.690 based environment and the recognition that when people are in psychosis, 0:16:19.690 --> 0:16:22.690 they are suffering and they are sick. I don't understand 0:16:22.690 --> 0:16:27.070 how we can separate physical illness and mental illness, and 0:16:27.070 --> 0:16:30.640 doing so causes so much stigma that our loved ones 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:34.660 are not getting the correct type of help for the 0:16:34.660 --> 0:16:38.560 severity of their illnesses. Right. And I would like to 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.920 see them safe. There needs to be a safe place 0:16:41.980 --> 0:16:46.720 for ill people to recover. And it's not on the streets. Honestly, 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.900 when my daughter is in psychosis, she's not capable of behaving. 0:16:50.020 --> 0:16:53.140 She's not in reality. She thinks she is a superhero. 0:16:53.150 --> 0:16:56.020 She thinks she talks to God. She thinks that she 0:16:56.020 --> 0:16:59.480 is constantly being raped. She thinks that her family are 0:17:00.220 --> 0:17:03.970 just even saying it out loud is a terrifying thing. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.780 And that's just my case. I talk to people on 0:17:07.780 --> 0:17:11.290 a daily basis who have experienced the same thing, and 0:17:11.290 --> 0:17:14.290 their loved ones have died because there was no safe 0:17:14.290 --> 0:17:17.020 place for them to go. So when we're talking in 0:17:17.020 --> 0:17:20.410 voluntary treatment, so many of the people who need to 0:17:20.410 --> 0:17:23.890 have involuntary treatment are not receiving it, and there's just 0:17:23.890 --> 0:17:26.830 simply not enough space. The state courts for. 0:17:29.010 --> 0:17:34.320 Yeah. Vanessa, my heart not only breaks for Mira that 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.860 she feels that in her mind that is a reality. 0:17:38.100 --> 0:17:40.800 But my heart also breaks for you that you as 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:43.770 a mother have to witness your baby go through that 0:17:43.770 --> 0:17:45.389 kind of trauma and that kind of pain. 0:17:45.990 --> 0:17:49.470 It's definitely been quite constant heartbreak. 0:17:51.859 --> 0:17:56.570 So, Vanessa, there would be a lot of mothers, siblings, aunts, 0:17:56.780 --> 0:18:02.630 grandmothers listening to this right now. What advice would you 0:18:02.630 --> 0:18:07.490 give somebody who has a daughter or a sister or 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.900 an uncle with a serious mental illness and they are 0:18:12.260 --> 0:18:16.010 debating whether to call police and to get them into 0:18:16.010 --> 0:18:18.680 hospital to get the help that they need and deserve? 0:18:18.950 --> 0:18:21.830 I would say call. Make sure that when you call, 0:18:21.950 --> 0:18:25.429 you request somebody who is very used to dealing with 0:18:25.430 --> 0:18:28.730 mental health, because it's sometimes the moments that we've had 0:18:28.730 --> 0:18:31.790 to make those emergency calls when people weren't trained in 0:18:31.790 --> 0:18:35.540 mental health. They've gone very sideways. I would say to 0:18:35.630 --> 0:18:37.950 you got to keep believing in them with all your heart. 0:18:37.970 --> 0:18:43.190 Even when communication is not always possible because boundaries are important. 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.420 You can't put yourself in a potentially violent situation or 0:18:47.420 --> 0:18:51.920 situation where you're getting hurt constantly or stolen from or 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.370 taken advantage of. So sometimes you've got to love them 0:18:55.369 --> 0:18:58.520 from afar and just hope that somebody is taking care 0:18:58.520 --> 0:18:59.179 of them, Right. 0:18:59.630 --> 0:19:03.169 Well, so, Vanessa. Love them from afar when you have to, 0:19:03.170 --> 0:19:05.930 but ensure that they get the help they need and 0:19:05.930 --> 0:19:07.400 they may not like you at that moment. 0:19:08.180 --> 0:19:11.510 Oh, no. She has been so livid at me for 0:19:11.510 --> 0:19:13.670 phoning the police or the hospital. 0:19:14.540 --> 0:19:16.909 That's a love of a mother, for sure. Yeah. 0:19:17.570 --> 0:19:19.670 That's why I wanted to do this, because I have 0:19:19.670 --> 0:19:23.510 been quiet. When she was first diagnosed, I didn't tell anybody. 0:19:23.540 --> 0:19:26.359 I was just living in fear that somebody would find 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.480 out or see her. But this time, it's honestly been 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.780 so public. She has been banned at restaurants that I 0:19:32.780 --> 0:19:36.440 go to for running through them, grabbing people's drinks and 0:19:36.590 --> 0:19:41.120 throwing things. It's like everybody already knows anyway. Everybody's seen 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.460 my kids. Why not try and reframe it a little bit? 0:19:43.460 --> 0:19:47.689 Because she is so awesome. I can't even stress that enough. 0:19:48.020 --> 0:19:50.540 All of these people who are running around in psychosis 0:19:50.540 --> 0:19:54.410 on the streets, they're awesome people. There's somebody awesome people 0:19:54.650 --> 0:19:58.129 and they deserve just as much care. Somebody with cancer 0:19:58.369 --> 0:20:00.380 and I am tired of her not getting it. 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.910 Well, thank you so much for joining me today. And 0:20:04.910 --> 0:20:08.600 I just truly appreciate you sharing all of your experience 0:20:09.050 --> 0:20:13.280 and sharing and talking about your beautiful daughter. And Vanessa, 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:15.290 you were just one of the many families struggling to 0:20:15.290 --> 0:20:17.990 find ways to cope and to help their loved one 0:20:17.990 --> 0:20:21.650 who lives with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness. And 0:20:21.650 --> 0:20:24.169 the Mental Health Act, as we know, is a very 0:20:24.170 --> 0:20:27.680 important resource and tool that families need access to. So 0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:30.050 it's there when they need it. We need to keep 0:20:30.050 --> 0:20:33.530 talking about this very important topic. So, Vanessa, thank you 0:20:33.530 --> 0:20:37.310 again for sharing your thoughts on this issue and for 0:20:37.310 --> 0:20:40.190 being so courageous to share your personal story. 0:20:40.550 --> 0:20:41.640 You're very welcome. 0:20:41.660 --> 0:20:45.379 Thank you. And a huge thank you to you, our audience, 0:20:45.380 --> 0:20:48.379 for joining us for this episode. Together, we can change 0:20:48.380 --> 0:20:51.800 the narrative around mental illnesses like schizophrenia and put an 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:55.219 end to the many myths and stereotypes that we were 0:20:55.220 --> 0:20:58.730 talking about today. If you have any questions or comments, 0:20:58.730 --> 0:21:01.790 tweet us at b c schizophrenia. And to get our 0:21:01.790 --> 0:21:05.840 latest episode, be sure to hit follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 0:21:05.900 --> 0:21:09.110 or anywhere you listen to podcasts. We hope you can 0:21:09.109 --> 0:21:11.359 join us next episode. Talk to you soon. 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:19.910 This podcast is brought to you by the B.C. Schizophrenia 0:21:19.910 --> 0:21:22.879 Society and the B.C. Partners for Mental Health and Substance 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:26.300 Use Information. We're a group of non-profit agencies providing good 0:21:26.300 --> 0:21:29.990 quality information to help individuals and families maintain or improve 0:21:29.990 --> 0:21:34.460 their mental wellbeing. The B.C. Partners members are Anxiety Canada, B.C. 0:21:34.460 --> 0:21:38.990 Schizophrenia Society, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, Canadian Mental 0:21:38.990 --> 0:21:43.310 Health Association's B.C. Division, Family Smart, Jessie's Legacy, The North 0:21:43.310 --> 0:21:47.380 Shore Family Services Program and Mood Disorders Association of B.C., 0:21:47.390 --> 0:21:50.240 a branch of Lookout, Housing and Health Society. The B.C. 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:53.330 partners are funded and stewarded by B.C. Mental Health and 0:21:53.330 --> 0:21:57.080 Substance Use Services, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. 0:21:57.260 --> 0:22:00.830 For more information, visit here to help dot B.C. dot ca.