{"id":50882,"date":"2018-05-07T13:07:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T17:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=50882"},"modified":"2018-05-07T17:38:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T21:38:43","slug":"learning-to-live-with-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/05\/learning-to-live-with-mental-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to live with mental illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nothing bad could happen once the birds started singing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alone in the middle of the night, 13-year-old Arlene Arch clung to this thought, desperately hoping for morning. Darkness made her mind race with irrational fears that something terrible would happen once she fell asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’d stay up until I heard the birds,” recalled Arch, who is now an administrative assistant for Brock’s Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre.<\/p>\n

As Brock marks\u00a0Mental Health Week<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with a series of activities May 7 to 13, Arch is speaking out about what it’s like achieving success and happiness while living with a mental illness. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI spent my childhood pretty much not sleeping \u2014 ever,\u201d she said. She never wanted to sleep alone, often sneaking into her older sister\u2019s bed. On nights when her sister refused a bunkmate, Arch would pace back and forth, alternating between barricading her bedroom door and checking her parent\u2019s breathing to see if they were still alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was really young I would fall asleep on my bedroom floor next to the closed door so that I could see the crack of light. As long as I could see my parents\u2019 feet or feel their presence, I was fine,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arch\u2019s anxieties were not limited to night. The sound of police sirens any time of day sent her into hiding and negative news reports instilled deep fear. \u201cIn the late \u201970s there was a story about killer bees coming. That immobilized me,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her family wasn\u2019t worried about her; they considered it normal for a child to be apprehensive and afraid of the dark.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents just thought I was a nervous child,\u201d she said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t recognize my behaviour as a sign of mental illness. It wasn\u2019t something that was talked about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Circumstances in her late 20s led to one of the deepest ruts Arch has ever experienced.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of bad things happened,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to stop taking additional qualification courses, my employment contract ended and I struggled to pay rent. It was enough to start an onset of panic and anxiety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She developed <\/span>a fear of vomiting (emetophobia) and became <\/span>agoraphobic because she was afraid to have a panic attack in a public place.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI walked around with a bag in my purse for at least three years,\u201d she said. “I couldn\u2019t go out. I couldn\u2019t grocery shop. I couldn\u2019t eat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Standing 5-foot-5, Arch deteriorated to 92 pounds. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her early 30s, she was diagnosed with four illnesses. In addition to agoraphobia and <\/span>emetophobia, she has general anxiety disorder and a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) called Pure O. She doesn\u2019t experience the compulsions commonly associated with OCD, but her mind never stops.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI worry from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep,\u201d she said. \u201cAt<\/span> my darkest moments, there are absolutely terrifying images that come at me every second \u2014 so quick that I can\u2019t catch up with the first one before the second one comes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After her diagnosis, professionals told Arch that she wouldn\u2019t lead a normal life, stressing an inability to work. She refused to accept this and strived for better, devoting hours researching her illnesses and spending hundreds of dollars on psychologists, cognitive therapy and talk therapy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no way I was going to sit at home and wither away if there was something I could do about it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more than two decades, Arch led a successful career in journalism and publishing. She is also an active member of the Niagara community and served as a Thorold city councillor from 2010-14.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arch has been working at Brock since May 2015, achieving full-time permanent status nine months ago in the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s both ironic and wonderful that I ended up in this department because it\u2019s helped me deal with my own well-being,\u201d she said. \u201cWork is a wonderful distraction. It\u2019s also a necessity. Coming in is something I have to do to survive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A regular workday, and mornings in particular, can be exhausting for Arch. She spends most of her time doing intake for students in need of accommodation or counselling, all while her mind continues to race. If she experiences difficult symptoms, she practises coping exercises, like deep breathing and refocuses her attention using her five senses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI focus on five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell and one thing I can taste. It takes my mind off of the thoughts that are terrifying me in that moment,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are days when she wishes she would call in sick or come in late, but she pushes through, often practising meditation and exercise to get herself moving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a moment when I first wake up and I think, \u2018is this going to be the day that I don\u2019t make it through?\u2019 At the end of the day, I pray \u2014 I thank God \u2014 that I did,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arch has shared her experience with co-workers and self-identified her mental illnesses with Brock\u2019s Health Management office. She encourages fellow Brock University employees who are struggling with a mental illness to talk with their supervisors and Health Management, and seek accommodation should they require it.<\/span><\/p>\n

She stresses that Brock is a safe environment for people to disclose their disability and illnesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had nothing but positive support from HR, the departments I\u2019ve worked with, my co-workers and especially my union,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not embarrassed or scared that I will lose my job because of my mental illnesses.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees can self-identify to Trevor Hall, Acting Health Management Consultant, or Kathryn Walker, Manager of Health Management and Wellness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>All medical information is kept confidential within Health Management,\u201d said Walker. \u201cIf accommodation is required, an individual plan based on medical limitations and capabilities will be created in collaboration with the individual, their supervisor, the health management consultant and, if applicable, the union.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More information about Brock\u2019s accommodation process can be found on the<\/span> Human Resources SharePoint site<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Employees can also access services offered by Brock\u2019s Employee and Family Assistance Provider,<\/span> Morneau Shepell<\/span><\/a> and consult their<\/span> Green Shield benefits<\/span><\/a> booklet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Health Management has planned<\/span> several workshops this week<\/span><\/a> in recognition of Mental Health Week, including a fundraiser and barbecue for the Canadian Mental Health Association, and workshops on mindfulness, yoga, smoothies and essential oils.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see that Brock is doing something for Mental Health Week,\u201d said Arch. \u201cI\u2019m proud to be part of an organization that recognizes the week and plans events that bring attention to mental health.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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