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Dispelling the myths surrounding mental illness

By Ellie Reimer

Elaine Froese is on a mission to make the world a friendlier, safer, more welcoming place for people suffering from a mental illness.  Froese, author, columnist and certified farm family coach from Boissevain, was the guest speaker at the Eden Foundation's Planting Hope and Healing coffee and dessert night at the Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church Nov. 9.A near-capacity crowd of over 350 people came to hear Froese speak at
the event, which raised $15,000 for the programs of Eden Health Care Services.Energetic and vivacious, Froese is the picture of health, and not what one might expect from someone suffering from a mental illness.  And she's not.  Not now, anyway.  But she did.

Twenty-six years ago, Froese gave birth to her daughter and was plunged into a nightmare that eventually included 23 treatments of electroconvulsive therapy (shock treatments) before she began to emerge from the darkness of depression into the light of hope and healing.  "It was the worst case of post-partum depression the doctors had ever seen,"she said.  Her path took her and her husband Wes from the hospital in Boissevain to Winnipeg, and finally to the Eden Mental Health Centre. Frequently fighting tears, Froese spoke of her journey toward recovery, and of the many people who were an integral part of that journey.  "I wish everyone could get care at Eden," she said. "Eden's reputation for care. is among the highest in the country,"  And she told of the many people to whom she has spoken of hope to in the years since, as she has followed her career as writer and speaker.  Her goal is to destigmatize mental illness, Froese said.  "I am not 'mental'," she said. "I have had a mental illness"  Froese encouraged the audience to listen and  to walk alongside loved ones suffering from mental illness.  Give the gift of touch. Bring food, and give cards, and especially cards which include a passage of Scripture, she said.
"Those of you who are Bible-believing Christians, you should never underestimate the importance of giving the Word when you give a card," she said.  A faith-based organization, Eden Health Care Services include the acute care facility in Winkler along with community programs like Segue Career Options, Eden Residential Care, Eden East in the Steinbach area, Recovery of Hope, Mennonite Addiction Services, and the Winnipeg Initiative.

Reprinted, with permission from the Winkler Morden Voice