TVO- Mental Health Matters

TVO did a series of programs in May regarding mental health. I've included the one on Mental Illness in the family but you can go to the website and watch many more excellent talks.

For more information go to: http://theagenda.tvo.org/story/mental-illness-family 

Mental Illness in the Family

It Affects Everyone Involved

What happens when a family member has a mental illness? It can be a time of isolation and frustration for many families as they try to help their loved one.

Our Agenda program on May 1 focused on how family members are affected when a loved one suffers from a mental illness. Madhuri Ramakrishnan's grown son Vivek suffers from, and lives with, schizophrenia. He's been on medication for the past six years. Whenever the phone rings at home, Madhuri says, she feels a bit afraid. She can't help but fear the worst. Sarah Cannon's daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was five-years-old, and Sarah's husband lost his life to the same illness. He took his own life in the family home. We also heard from front-line health care workers on how families can best cope when a loved one suffers.

From blame, to shame, to stigma, to the legal implications and pressures faced by caregivers, and, finally, to coping, The Agenda examined the family affair that is so often mental illness.

As part of our Mental Health Matters programming, producers Sandra Gionas and Navin Vaswani hosted a web chat to coincide with the discussion, and were joined by representatives from ConnexOntario's Mental Health Helpline, and Kids Help Phone. It was another lively chat, as people joined us to tell their stories of mental illness, and how their own families coped. You can view a replay of our chat below: