Morinville woman shares personal story of mental illness

Wendy Enberg had her first psychotic break in 2006.

Her mother thought she was having a stroke and called 911.

Enberg describes the break as having "lost complete touch with reality."

"I couldn't speak, I couldn't stop this deep wailing coming from me. I wasn't aware of anyone around me," she says. "It was a complete mental breakdown."

After several days in hospital, Enberg received her diagnosis. She had borderline personality and major depressive disorder.

All the symptoms of mental illness she experienced since adolescence then started to make sense – withdrawal and isolation from intimate relationships, impulsivity and reckless spending.

"You feel things in an overwhelming way. All the feelings people experience, we feel 10 times as intensely," explains Enberg.

The diagnosis came as validation, she says. There was something medically wrong with her; it wasn't something she could just "put her mind to and get over."

It was an important turning point in her life.

As part of her treatment, she began to write about her mental illness. Last year the 41-year-old Morinville resident started a blog. In August she created a Facebook page called Mental Health Matters dedicated to the discussion of mental illness, addictions, resources and advocacy.

The page is filled with daily posts of inspirational quotes, links to YouTube videos, news articles and links to blogs.

"I was journaling but I also wanted to get my story out of me, I needed to get it out into the universe," she says. "To know that people were reading, it just inspired to me to keep writing."

Enberg's page recently hit the 5,000 "likes" mark.

People send messages and comments from around world she says, from as far as China, Britain and the Netherlands, as well as from all over North America.

Enberg tries to like and reply to every comment she gets on the page because "the most important thing for people is to know that they're not alone."

"I found many support groups on Facebook. I've never met the people and I probably never will, but I still feel like they're my friends and they give me a lot of support," she says.

Online support groups are a great way for people with mental illness to connect, notes Enberg, because leaving the home for help can be a huge obstacle.

Peer support

Enberg says her goal is to move out from behind the computer screen and became an advocate for patients with mental illness.

Recently she completed the Wellness Recovery Action Plan program through Alberta Health Services. She worked with peer facilitators to create a "wellness toolkit." The toolkit identifies triggers and early warning signs, a crisis plan, post crisis plan and support system.

It is these types of peer-lead programs – in which a person with experience provides hope and acts as a role model in recovery for patients – that Enberg would like to see more of, especially in Morinville. Many mental health programs are offered in Edmonton, which can be an inconvenience.

Programs such as Working on Wellness groups and Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals are co-led by peer educators and mental health professionals. AHS has recently trained and hired peer navigators to help patients navigate the mental health maze. The navigators work at the new Wellness Network in downtown Edmonton.

Currently, there is one full-time mental health therapist and child psychiatrist two-and-a-half days per month at the Morinville Mental Health Clinic, as well as one school linked therapist.

On average, the clinic receives nine referrals per month, says information provided by AHS. The data for January and February shows that 90 per cent of patients were offered an appointment within 30 days of referral. All urgent referrals were seen within two weeks.

AHS says it will begin recruitment for a new mental health service provider for the Morinville area soon.

"There are resources out there, but they're hard to find, especially when you're in the mental state that caring for yourself is all you can manage," adds Enberg.

Mental health education groups are also offered through the St. Albert and Sturgeon Primary Care Network throughout the year.

"The most encouraging thing I can tell people is to ask for help. You do not have to go through this alone," she says.