Mental Health

Whether it’s you or someone you care for, mental health issues can affect all of us.

The cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well–being of every person in our region is important. Your gift empowers and supports some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Quinte Health Belleville General Hospital is a Schedule 1 facility providing a continuum of health care services from crisis intervention, acute inpatient admissions, day hospital community and outpatient support. Our program team and facilities provide resources so that patients can rest, heal and recuperate.

1 in 4 Canadians will experience a mental illness or addiction in their lifetime so your donation will help us continue to deliver compassionate care in a safe, stigma free environment.

The Mental Health Programs we support are committed to promoting the fullest care to each patient:

Mental Health Inpatient Program 

The intensive treatment area provides a secured environment to support intensive assessment and care for patients requiring continuous observation.  All admissions to the inpatient unit must be approved by a psychiatrist or a member of the psychiatric staff.

Crisis Intervention Centre  

Located on the 4^th floor (WCA 4) at BGH, this is a community mental health program with a multi-disciplinary team trained in acute mental health situations.  The mental health crisis may have been brought on by relationship breakdown, the loss of a loved one, forms of abuse or any number of life stresses.  Our affiliation with Quinte Health and the Department of Mental Health allows patients access to the many clinical and technical resources here.

Transitional Outpatient Centre

The Transitional Outpatient Centre provides services for clients experiencing serious psychiatric/mental health issues.  Services offered are comparable to those offered at the inpatient unit, except the patient attends during business hours and weekends only.  Services provided are aimed at preventing admission to the in-patient unit.  Along with programs in anxiety management, depression and stress relapse, the Centre also offers programs for people with chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia and other psychotic mixed mental illness.

Working towards a healthier future together

You’ve likely seen the impact of mental illness.  Many of our friends, colleagues, loved ones or family suffer in isolation, unable to access support.  That’s why Belleville General Hospital’s programs were designed to address the full spectrum of need to allow access to care for patients across the region.  As a Foundation it’s our responsibility to ensure that we provide important equipment for these areas and have funds readily available for any capital expansion projects.

Support extends beyond a hospital stay

Through our community network and connections, the Mental Health Program can provide lifesaving care to the people closest to us.  Supportive equipment, tools and strategies allow our caregivers at Belleville General Hospital to better assess mental illnesses and aid with highly specialized treatments.

Create better access to Mental Health care and promote a shared understanding of our communities’ most vulnerable members      

Mental illness is a shared struggle. Donating online is an easy and convenient way to support equipment purchases, technology upgrades and expansion projects within this area.

Matt’s story

I didn’t have any history of mental ill health until 2009, when I had depression after being laid off at work following a car accident.  A year later, a series of events led me to become manic and psychotic, my relationship had broken down, I started spending longer periods alone and I was experiencing strong flashbacks to the night of the accident.

Initially, my mania led me to believe that I was invincible, I was sleeping very little, consistently recounting how I’d survived an accident and had so many new plans for the future.  Because of this mania I was given drugs to bring me down, but the high dosage caused me to twist into an episode of depression where I was subsequently hospitalized for three weeks at BGH after my family expressed concern for my well-being with my local Dr. here in Belleville.

It was at this point that bipolar disorder was finally diagnosed.  After leaving hospital, I went back to live with my parents, since Jenny* had long but moved out of the house we owned.  I was so low at this point; I did not leave my bed for two weeks and had stopped eating.  It took me the better part of six months to start feeling better after much care and encouragement from my step dad and mom.

At this point I returned to my old job as a mechanic but found that my colleagues’ attitude towards me had changed; they didn’t seem to know how to talk to me anymore.  They seemed to be walking on egg shells around me and didn’t appear to include me in the usual workshop banter.  My boss also started to scrutinize my work and undermine me to the rest of the guys.  I left the shop shortly after.

I experienced further manic episodes in 2010, 2011, 2012 (during one of these I believed I would be the next Evel Knievel), fantasizing about picking up speed on the Bay Bridge and jumping over the Bay of Quinte.

This was a dark period for me but I pushed through and found some solace for a few years, without any further episodes, sticking to my meds and still staying at my parents.

After two years without a further episode I became manic in December 2014 caused by the stress of worrying about my mother who was diagnosed with cancer.  I remember her talking about the consultation with Dr. Levesque and believing that I had the power to save her, which of course was fantastical given I had no medical background.  Her prognosis was good and I quickly recovered once we realized, after surgery, that she was going to be ok.  I’d spoken continuously to the team at the Crisis Intervention Centre during this period and it was at this point I decided to give up smoking and drinking, to try and lead a healthier lifestyle.

In 2015 I experienced perhaps my worst episode.  This time I became obsessed thinking that my step dad was going to leave my mother and became quite abusive towards him.  After a fight in the kitchen one evening, they took me to hospital, where I spent a week as an inpatient in the Sills Wing.

This really was the turning point for me and helped me get my life back on track and towards some form of normality.

The doctors were incredible and after increasing my medication, referred me to an external program that allows me to check in without the need for continuous re-admittance.

Over the years I have gradually learned to accept being Bipolar and I’m aware that I may have moments of relapse.  This is why I feel now is the time to share my story and experiences in hoping to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness.  The team at Belleville General Hospital do an incredible job and have truly helped me move through some dark places over the past 10 years.

I would encourage the community to donate to keep these range of mental health care services on our doorstep.  They certainly saved my life.

* Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

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