Monday, October 10, 2022

Mental Health Hero

Local 302 member Melanie Walker has made mental health awareness her mission

By Alison Brown

As a recreation therapist in a long term care home, Local 302 member Melanie Walker focuses on improving quality of life through meaningful engagement in recreation. For the last six years, she’s helped the seniors staying at Heidehof For The Care Of The Aged in St. Catharines, Ontario, improve and maintain their overall well-being through the implementation of activity-based interventions.

While she’s always been passionate about mental health, working in long term care during the pandemic only brought it into sharper focus.

She’s made it her mission as a healthcare worker and CLAC steward to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by sharing her story in the hope it will inspire others to get the help they need.

She’s also proof that you can still achieve your dreams while living with a mental health condition. In June 2022, after seven years of hard work and dedication, Melanie graduated university with an honours bachelors degree in therapeutic recreation.

Tell me about your educational journey.

When I was 30, I went to Niagara College and got my diploma in recreation therapy, and was immediately hired at Heidehof. But I wanted more. As soon as I got my diploma, I could transfer to Brock University as a transfer student. I didn’t graduate until 2022 because I was working full-time at Heidehof and a single mom with two kids.

In the program, you have to do an undergrad thesis and a four-month, unpaid internship. I couldn’t do that, because I couldn’t take four months off and work for free. And a lot of the people I went to school with left the province for their internships, which was also not possible for me as I have two young kids. So I had to wait until I got 5,000 hours of full-time work before I could challenge my internship credit. That was the only credit I was waiting for, and that’s why it took me so many years to graduate, because I was taking it one at a time and was kind of stuck.

But I persevered because getting my honours degree was one of my educational and professional goals. And then COVID came, and that was a very stressful time at work and in my life in general. But I managed to do some online courses and got to graduate on June 15! I’m 40 years old, but I don’t care. I never thought I would achieve this. I’m just so over the moon.

Tell me about your mental health journey.

I’ve struggled with anxiety since I was a kid, but back then, everything was just kind of swept under the rug. I grew up very ashamed and didn’t want to talk about my struggles. I felt like there was something wrong with me, like I was a broken human and was never going to be a contributing member of society because I had so many issues and didn’t know how to cope with them.

I’ve been in therapy since I was 16, and I’ll be in therapy until I die. I’m a huge advocate for therapy. Just talking to someone is so, so important. I found that there’s power in speaking about it. And so many people don’t because they’re ashamed, and that stops them from getting the help that they need. But nobody can say they haven’t been touched by mental illness, whether it’s personal or a friend or a family member—there’s mental illness everywhere.

So one day, I decided, you know what? This is who I am, I can’t be ashamed of who I am, and I’m going to speak openly about my struggles. I went through anxiety, depression. . . . There were times I felt I couldn’t go on. But holding it in just reinforces bad patterns. If you talk about it, other people are then going to be more willing to open up as well.

How did the pandemic affect your mental health?

During a COVID outbreak, I was diagnosed with PTSD [also known as PTSI—or posttraumatic stress injury]. That really shook my beliefs about myself and my view of myself as a competent professional. I was worried that people would see me in a different light because I was struggling. But then I thought, I can’t be the only one in this facility who is going through this.

Working in healthcare during COVID felt like a war zone. You have to go into this state of fight. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. You’re in a different mindset.

I would cry on my way to work, but once I stepped through the facility’s doors, the switch flipped and I’d go into survival mode. And then I’d go home and be kind of numbed out. And then the next day I would get up and do it all over again. It was like that for seven weeks—that’s how long the outbreak lasted.

After that crisis, my doctor told me, “You need to take a stress leave because you’re showing signs of PTSD.” I didn’t want to go on leave because I love my job. I don’t feel like I’m working. That was so hard, because I kept thinking, why do I have to take seven weeks off when other people are fine and managing okay?

But when I took the time off, Heidehof was so supportive of me. They never made me feel ashamed. When I returned after stress leave, that’s when I started being more open with people. I realized that what we went through was horrible and that it’s okay to not be okay.

I’ve noticed over the last year that the more I speak up about my mental health, the more people are willing to also speak up about it and admit that they’re struggling, too. It’s made us colleagues closer because we’re able to express ourselves and be honest about the struggles we had to face.

Talking about mental health breaks down the shame; it breaks down the barriers. And the only way you can work through it is if you admit, I’m not okay, and I need help. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Why is it so important for healthcare professionals to take care of their mental health?

Burnout rates are a real problem in our field.

You have to say, I’m going to work on myself because I’m important, and I can’t help others if I can’t help myself first. If you don’t care for yourself, you can’t be an effective helper to anyone else. It has to start with you so you can give your best self to your residents, your patients, your clients.

I think a lot of people lose sight of that and keep giving more than they have to give and have nothing left for themselves. That is a dangerous place to be in.

Preventative measures need to be in place so there’s no breakdown and then burnout. You have to set boundaries and be aware of what you can handle. If you don’t, you’re definitely going to break down. It might not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen eventually.

When my doctor told me to take stress leave and take care of myself, I fought it. I was in the state of mind that I had to be at work and take care of everything. And the doctor said, “What if you’re not going to be able to do that? There’s going to come a point where you’re actually not going to be able to.”

People have to understand that they have to take care of themselves, to take time to process and rest, because you can’t be going at 100 percent all the time. Something will give out.

How do you take care of yourself?

I’ve always been the kind of person to have 20 things on the go, so the pandemic really forced me to slow down and practice different forms of self-care. Something like getting into bed and watching Netflix with a cup of tea can work wonders. I really like being in nature, going for hikes, and taking time to just appreciate my surroundings.

My self-care is rooted in mindfulness. You don’t need big, extravagant things or big vacations. I just try to be in serene environments, be quiet and calm, and away from the chaos. That’s my self-care.

What would you say to someone struggling with their mental health?

The most important thing is to talk about it. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Start having conversations with those with whom you feel comfortable and safe. Avoidance is very dangerous because it will come back to you.

I’m taking the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course through CLAC so I can help my coworkers access the help they need and find good resources. I can actually help them on their healing journey. And I do feel like starting to talk about mental health struggles gives people motivation to look after themselves and start the process. In a perfect world, none of this would be an issue.

But if we start to come together and have hard conversations, things will start to change.

The more I speak up, the more I see people reach out. And that’s so beautiful to see.

Beyond the Band-Aid

While taking care of your mental health and supporting your coworkers is an important step in the right direction, systemic changes also need to take place.

“If I won the lottery, and had lots of money, I’d ensure every hospital and long term care facility had a social worker on staff,” says Melanie. “There needs to be someone to take care of those who are taking care of others. The government should put more money into mental health resources that are affordable and available. I have an amazing psychiatrist and therapist that I’ve seen since I was 20. When I was off on stress leave, I was seeing her up to three times a week. I was lucky to not have to pay for that treatment, but imagine how much that would cost somebody who didn’t have that available to them?

“Workplace benefits often don’t cover enough. Mental health issues require time; you can’t set a time limit on somebody’s recovery period. So if your benefits cover $600 per calendar year, that’s just a band-aid. That’s maybe three sessions with a licensed psychiatrist or social worker. Oftentimes, someone’s mental health issues stem from childhood trauma or events in the past; one free phone call with a counsellor who doesn’t know me or my personal history isn’t going to help me effectively, nor will three one-hour sessions. That’s not how mental health problems work. That’s a huge problem that prevents people from getting the help they so desperately need: the availability of resources and the financial burdens of trying to access those resources.

“As a union steward, I can be the voice for someone who’s too overwhelmed to help themselves, because when you’re going through a mental health crisis, you don’t have the energy or motivation to make the phone call or research how to get help. I can support them and be with them when they make that phone call. I can explain things to them, because in my lifetime, I’ve had so much experience with the process of getting a therapist and doctor and advocating for myself. That’s why I’m taking the MHFA course, so I can be an even more effective helper.”

Mental Health First Aid Training

Get the tools you need to recognize and respond to mental health illnesses and crises with MHFA training.

This course was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and is offered in-person or online.

Melanie Walker

Mental Health Hero

Beyond the Band-Aid

Mental Health First Aid Training

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