Overcoming The Stigma Of Substance-Induced Psychosis
By: Kat E If you told me 3 years ago that I would be riding the wave of cannabis induced psychosis with my teenage son J, I would look at you with complete bewilderment. Even though I’ve worked in the mental health & addiction field for years, I wasn’t prepared for what was to […]
It’s not my fault, it was an accident, I didn’t know.
My son Nicholas My beautiful boy was perfect in every way but one. His brain was broken. I knew it from day one and I was ready to do anything to help him, anything I could. As it turned out, that was going to be nowhere near enough to save him. A mother’s heart doesn’t […]
God why me?
By: Joanne Helm On a very cold day this year, I came home from work, sat on my bed with tears in my eyes, and asked God: why me? Believe it or not a voice in my head boomed out: why not you Joanne? Like many of you, I took my child’s mental illness, his […]
My Journey with My Son
By: A Toronto Mother We started noticing a change in our son at 14. The checkboxes for mental health red flags we are instructed to look for in our children were all there: School refusal? Check. Self-isolation? Check. Excessive sleeping? Check. Decline in academic performance? Check. Weight loss? Check. Expressions of hopelessness or worthlessness? Check. […]
The Case for Common Sense
By: Kathryn Eve When I was a teen, I developed a real problem with alcohol and drugs right out of the gate. My experience with addiction was fast and furious. It quickly went from being fun to just problems. Of course, I didn’t see my substance use that way. I saw it as a normal […]
A Funeral March for Change
By: Angie Hamilton, Executive Director, Families for Addiction Recovery Angie Hamilton (left) and Irene Reilly-Paterson (right) It’s April 16 – the National Day of Action on the Overdose Crisis 2019. On arriving at Queen’s Park, I’m offered a tombstone to carry. “Ryan Klein ‘Batman’ strong individual, loved cars, always down to party.” When I hesitate to […]
A Failure of Caring; My Son’s Death
Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease that kills thousands of people yearly. Our son, Ian Maude, died of this disease at 32. Ian died because despite the loss of life and huge societal costs of this disease, it is not taught in our medical schools. He died because his uneducated doctor provided him with […]
Our Journey with Myles
Myles was an intelligent, talented and caring young person. He loved learning and was an honor roll student. He was an active member in his school’s jazz band, concert band and choir, as well as being involved in many other extra-curricular activities. He loved his friends and family and was admired by teachers and […]
Our Journey With Matthew
At the age of 12, our son Matthew was diagnosed with depression. He was suffering from suicidal thoughts and was admitted on more than one occasion to the adolescent psychiatric ward. Matthew was prescribed different medications for his depression. In addition to depression, he started becoming very defiant to the point that he was expelled […]
Our Journey with Chloe
Chloe, our daughter, is 17. Chloe has been suffering with depression and anxiety for the last 7 years.
