Promoting and protecting Canadian's mental health.

• Author: Louiseize, Kelly
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT HEALTH & SAFETY

It is hard to explain why Janet didn't show up for work in the morning.

It is hard for an employer to understand that it isn't laziness or a lack of interest in her job, but depression that has a hold on her.

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Somehow it is easier for bosses to understand cancer, an ulcer, a broken arm, even the flu.

Janet Mackenzie is a university graduate with a commerce degree who had worked in the private and public sector for a number of years before coming to a point where she no longer could handle a full-time job. Her illness was a combination of genetics and average everyday personal stress.

Deep down she knew there was something wrong, but she was very secretive about it.

"I did not communicate that to my employer because I was well aware of the stigma attached," she says.

Instead Mackenzie used up all her sick time and her benefits then quit when she could not fulfill her job requirements.

"At that time I was in a position to do that financially-not everyone can."

Problem was, her illness was not getting any better. Her depression hung around more often, isolating her from friends and loved ones.

It was then Mackenzie sought medical attention. Her doctor referred her to a specialist who put her on medication, but that doesn't change everything. It is one small building block toward a better life.

The rest is hard work, learning to cope with stress, developing a whole new lifestyle where she is not looking so much at what is ahead or behind, but what is in front of her and using positive attitudes to change her direction.

Today, Mackenzie is back in the workforce part time as a support worker for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The way to recovery for her is gradual, working on selfesteem issues, confidence, and finding contentment.

She had agreed to use her full name because she wants employers and employees to know that the illness is more common than they think.

And recent reports back her up. Bill Wilkerson, CEO of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, states $50 billion is the economic burden the country shares each year not including prescription drugs to treat these conditions outside the hospitals.

About one in four Canadians who need mental health care actually get it and only 24 per cent of those receive evidence-based guidelines from a physician, according to the past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, Dr. Don Miliken of Vancouver.

In Wilkerson's report...