Kindred spirits

Likelihood that you will suffer from a mental disorder at some point in your life: 1 in 5

In the years following my own struggles with depression, I would occasionally come across a brave soul who would tell me about their own issues. Only in conversation with a kindred spirit did I feel safe revealing my own story. Years later, after joining the public service, if the kindred spirit was a co-worker, I would often still hold back for fear of my employer finding out my secret.

Projected rank of mental illness in terms of "disease burden" by the year 2020: #1.
Percentage of work days lost in Canada accounted for by mental illness: 30%.
Rank of mental illness in terms of medical disability claims: #1.

Conspiracies are funny that way. They can work for you, or work against you. In those earlier days, I conspired to keep my secrets, only sharing them with those very few people in my life who could "relate" to them. That conspiracy slowed down my recovery for years.

Now, I am hoping to join a much larger conspiracy: one of cooperation. I want to join with Daniel Alfredsson, Clara Hughes and Luke Richardson in their conspiracy to bring this issue into the healing light of day. I'm ready to talk.