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<\/a>Although she herself has not personally struggled with mental-health issues, Meredith has certainly felt the ripples of mental illness, as it has affected her own family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have lost members of my family to suicide,\u201d she says. \u201cIt really touches so many more people once you share your story, and once you do, they are usually more apt to share theirs, and\u2014lo and behold\u2014our humanity comes forward, and we can shine a light on the fact that we have more in common than not. I have also had depression run in my family, so mental-health issues are no stranger to my family and many folks that we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
First-year Camosun Psychology student Cameron Webster volunteers for the BCSS and has participated in the event in previous years.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come to jump, they come to spectate, they come to speak, and some people come to do all three,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Webster has dealt with schizophrenia; he was hospitalized in the summer of 2014, and it still affects him to this day, although now he is taking medication and is in a more stable condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still sometimes have residual symptoms,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was terrifying. I was delusional, I was hallucinating, I had problems with cognition and organized thinking\u2026 It was a scary time, because lots of weird stuff goes through your head, and you can\u2019t even trust your perception of reality. I\u2019m doing lots of public speaking, where I talk about the things that I\u2019ve been through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robyn Thomas is a first-year jumper and mental health awareness advocate who will be speaking at the event. She sometimes volunteers for the Stigma Free Society, where she speaks to elementary-school, high-school, and university students. She became involved with the cause after having her own recent brush with mental-health issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had my own experience with psychosis a year ago,\u201d says Thomas, \u201cso February 18 is a memorable date for me, because that\u2019s when I was released from the hospital last year. It was just a really dark time where I didn\u2019t feel hopeful that I would ever recover, so I thought it was kind of cool timing, too. I really just want to share my story and inspire people to be able to come forward and be able to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas also believes there is a certain stigma attached to mental health, and that it is perhaps not taken as seriously as other kinds of illnesses or injuries. She will be jumping, although she won\u2019t be doing it naked\u2014she finds bungee jumping and public speaking frightening enough as it is. She will also give a speech about mental-health awareness and assistance; for her, even giving the speeches is conquering a fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot easier to talk about physical health,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, if I was in the hospital with a broken leg I would probably post it on Facebook and tell all my friends. But when I was in the hospital, in the psych ward, I didn\u2019t want anyone to know. Bungee jumping definitely freaks me out a bit. Talking about my mental-health struggles is something that I think is fear-conquering enough. Public speaking and presenting on mental health is something that I do now quite a bit, so I\u2019m slowly getting more comfortable with it.\u201d<\/p>\n