A new video produced for the St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation is gaining global attention as World Mental Health Day is marked.
The images are powerful, reflecting the many faces of mental illness, but the people in the video aren't actors - they're members of the London community whose lives have been touched by mental illness.
Among them is Brett Batten, a former patient at St. Joseph's and a mental health advocate.
“I may have bipolar disorder but that's really not who I am,” he says. “I'm a brother, I’m a son, I’m an uncle, I’m a best man.”
The video features a series of brief images without any spoken words. It debuted last week and it's receiving a lot of attention on YouTube. The message is that mental illness could happen to anyone.
Michelle Campbell, president of the St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation, says it wasn't difficult to find participants.
“One in five Canadians are going to have mental illness in some fashion touch their lives…the people that we worked with, who came forward with their stories, who I believe were so courageous in doing that, have the same interest. They want to make sure that those walls come down and that by sharing those stories they know that's going to go a long way to building more of the public understanding that we need."
The video also includes messages of hope in terms of research and treatment.
But Batten is optimistic the video will simply inspire greater understanding, "I just hope people take the time to consider what it might be like for someone living with a mental illness."
