Battling mental illness? Seek treatment
Overcoming the stigma associated with your disease is key, say Austin Mardon and Victoria Throckmorton.
If it wasn’t for his transparency, one might not even suspect Austin Mardon lives with schizophrenia. With an upcoming publication entitled Ardross: From Prairie to Castle, raising a foster child, and actively advocating for better mental health care, Mardon doesn’t fit the villainized profile of a person with schizophrenia that the media tends to portray.
“I might be mentally ill,” Mardon says, “but I’m relatively mentally healthy.”
The key to maintaining a functional lifestyle with an often-debilitating illness? Acceptance and early treatment.
Mardon grew up in Lethbridge and when he was five years old, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She never came to terms with her illness and would not take her medication regularly. Her public outbursts eventually sparked the attention of local authorities and it was mandated by Child Protective Services that Mardon see a child psychiatrist.
Mardon describes his first session in Dr. David Davies’ office as terrifying, but he urges youth to trust their doctors and school counsellors.
“They’re not the enemy (and) they’re not there to hurt you. They’re there to give you lifelong skills.”
As an adult, Mardon can see the benefits he gained from therapy. Davies helped Mardon cope with the vicious bullying he endured when his mother’s illness became public knowledge.
He also suspects exposure to therapy at a young age delayed his development of schizophrenia. Most individuals are diagnosed in their late teens and early 20s, but Mardon did not display symptoms until he was 30, which improved the ability of treating them.
While he refused to take his medication when he was first admitted to the University of Alberta Hospital, his father convinced him to listen to the doctors. Twenty-five years later, Mardon has never once strayed from his medicine.
Unfortunately, due to the stigma surrounding medication for mental illness, many individuals choose to stop taking them.
Some think that if they resist their diagnosis and treatments, they can avoid being associated with the negative stereotypes attached to schizophrenia.
However, studies have shown the risk of relapse for schizophrenia doubles when patients stop taking their prescriptions. Mardon knows first-hand that accepting one’s illness will make the challenges posed by that illness easier to overcome.
“I still suffer from side effects and symptoms … but my quality of life is much better … I have a life and I’m involved.”
The reduction of stigma within society is a crucial step toward enhancing mental health care. Mardon insists individuals are responsible for listening to their doctors, but a greater understanding of mental illness will allow others to feel safe and accept help. Additionally, fostering a positive discourse about mental health in schools can help reduce the feeling of shame or fear children may have.
If young people who are struggling with an undiagnosed illness can access adequate mental health care, they can learn coping mechanisms to deal with their illness in a healthy manner. The longer an illness goes untreated, the more damaging the symptoms become and can even lead to suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among youth in Canada.
While Mardon admits that going to therapy when he was an adolescent did not prevent his schizophrenia, his resilience and ability to persevere stem from the benefits of investing in a child psychiatrist.
For those who feel they have no one to turn to, Kids Help Phone offers 24-hour anonymous counselling services and referrals. They can be reached at 1-800-6686868 or online at kidshelpphone.ca