Thank You!

 

Since this article was published in the Barrie Advance last week, I have had an enormous amount of support and encouragement in my efforts and other efforts from those around the community doing their part to "stop the stigma." I have to thank all those who are supporting this blog, who read the article and passed on the information to a friend or family member or co-worker, anyone who has joined the stop the stigma facebook group, and Laurie Watt from the Barrie Advance for supporting me, and others and their journeys with mental illness. From my whole heart, thank you.

Barrie woman empowers self, others

Barrie woman empowers self, others. Make-up artist Krystie Ann

 

Assivero is sharing her experiences with anxiety and depression and quest for help in her new blog.

 

Laurie Watt photo

 

BARRIE - A Barrie beauty professional wants to put a new face on mental illness.
Krystie Ann Assivero, 25, is working to stop the stigma attached to mental illness with a new blog she started in the wake of organizing the first Let’s Celebrate Mental Health event here on March 28.
“I had been depressed since 2003,” said the St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School graduate. And as she matured and made her way in the working world, she added anxiety to her struggles.

“I had to go to the doctor,” she said, adding that many people do not seek medical help and instead wait for things to improve by themselves. But that may not happen.
“Just coming out of wintertime, everyone starts to feel better. But if you suffer from depression the sun is just not going to make you feel better.”

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness at some time in their life. Approximately eight per cent will experience major depression, and another five per cent experience anxiety disorders.
Statistics also show that suicide accounts for 24 per cent of deaths among those age 15 to 24, and 16 per cent among those age 25 to 44. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women in early to mid adulthood, the CMHA says.

Still, nearly half of those suffering from anxiety or depression have never turned to a doctor for help.
And yet that’s what made the big difference in Assivero’s life.
 “I didn’t want to take any medication, but there are other treatment options. It was a chemical imbalance. My condition was so severe I needed to go on meds to stabilize it. Now I’m feeling much better,” she said.
She was also unaware of the resources CMHA and other organizations such as the Center for Inner Freedom have to offer.

Explaining her condition to her family and friends has also created a support network, which reduces feelings of loneliness and hopelessness, Assivero said. Educating them has empowered them to help her even more.
That’s also why she’s starting her blog – to give others a place to share and support each other.

“Hopefully people will start to be able to talk about mental illness. When you start talking about it, you feel better, because you’re not carrying it on your shoulders,” she said.

Her blog is found at www.stoppingthestigma.blogspot.com


lwatt@simcoe.com