TorontoSun.com - Canada- Stigma of mental illness takes toll - Torontosun.com (web site ref.)
Publication: Torontosun.com (web site ref.)
Date: Tuesday August 19th, 2008
Word Count: 336
Summary
is also schizophrenic. The Edmonton resident told his story to hundreds of doctors at the Canadian Medical Association
's annual meeting yesterday. It was a human glimpse at a problem the physicians have
Notes
MONTREAL -- Austin Mardon says when people learn he is schizophrenic, they sometimes fear him, act disgusted or
seem embarrassed. So great is the stigma associated with mental illness, that when he introduces his wife, people assume
she is also schizophrenic.
The Edmonton resident told his story to hundreds of doctors at the Canadian Medical Association's annual meeting
yesterday.
It was a human glimpse at a problem the physicians have put atop their agenda this year: Fighting the discrimination
mental health patients endure.
But that help must start at home, according to former senator Michael Kirby, the head of the new Canadian Mental Health
Commission, who said doctors are part of the problem.
LESS OPTIMISTIC
Of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, five are linked in some way to mental illness, he said. And although
Canada has produced hundreds of reports on acute care, there has been only one national report on mental health -- done
by the Senate committee Kirby chaired for 10 years.
In one study, he said, 44% of people with mental illness said they experienced discrimination from their doctors. Other
studies have shown mental health workers are three times more likely than the general population to favour restrictions on
mentally ill people, and are less optimistic about their long-term prospects. Psychiatrists were the most pessimistic.
"If your doctor has no hope for recovery, where does that leave you?" he asked.
Kirby's commission got good news from the federal government yesterday. Health Minister Tony Clement used the
meeting to announce $75 million in new funding for the body, giving it $130 million for the next decade.
MONTREAL -- Austin Mardon says when people learn he is schizophrenic, they sometimes fear him, act disgusted or
seem embarrassed. So great is the stigma associated with mental illness, that when he introduces his wife, people assume
she is also schizophrenic.
The Edmonton resident told his story to hundreds of doctors at the Canadian Medical Association's annual meeting
yesterday.
It was a human glimpse at a problem the physicians have put atop their agenda this year: Fighting the discrimination
mental health patients endure.
But that help must start at home, according to former senator Michael Kirby, the head of the new Canadian Mental Health
Commission, who said doctors are part of the problem.
LESS OPTIMISTIC
If the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, five are linked in some way to mental illness, he said. And although
Canada has produced hundreds of reports on acute care, there has been only one national report on mental health -- done
by the Senate committee Kirby chaired for 10 years.
In one study, he said, 44% of people with mental illness said they experienced discrimination from their doctors. Other
studies have shown mental health workers are three times more likely than the general population to favour restrictions on
mentally ill people, and are less optimistic about their long-term prospects. Psychiatrists were the most pessimistic.
"If your doctor has no hope for recovery, where does that leave you?" he asked.

Austin Mardon, CM
Telephone: 1-780-378-0063
Post Office Box 1223, Main Post Office,
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA,
T5J 2M4
Email: aamardon@yahoo.ca
Web site: www.austinmardon.org