'Providing a light': Anorexia patient and psychiatrist-in-training hopes to transform mental health care
CTV
Eating disorders affect as many as a million Canadians, can be difficult to treat, and has the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness. One patient is training to become a psychiatrist in hopes of transforming how eating disorders are treated.
She spent five weeks in the hospital, where therapy included forced feedings. They were “very, very traumatic experiences” that had a profoundly negative and lasting impact, she says.
After she was discharged, her care continued on an outpatient basis. Over many years, she saw numerous doctors, tried many different types of psychotherapy, counselling, medications, and treatment settings, but remained depressed, anxious, and sometimes even suicidal, and had another major hospital stay when she was 17. What worked for others was not working for her.
Eating disorders can be difficult to treat and are not as well-studied compared to other mental illnesses, yet affect as many as a million Canadians, according to the National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED) and Statistics Canada.
Because of the physical manifestation of the disorder, some estimates suggest 10 to 15 per cent die due to medical complications like heart disease -- the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness, according to one study cited by NIED. The suicide rate among those with eating disorders is also high. And even more concerning is the increasing number of younger people at risk of developing an eating disorder, experts say.
Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend.
While Canada is well known for its accomplishments in space — including building the robotic arms used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station — the country still has no ability to launch its own satellites. This week, Ottawa committed nearly a quarter‑billion dollars towards changing that.
March is Liver Health Month, and while many people think about alcohol and diet when it comes to liver health, a growing risk factor is chronic hepatitis B.
It’s an enduring stereotype that Canadians are unfailingly nice, quick to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong. But an online urban legend claims the opposite of Canada’s soldiers, painting a picture of troops so brazen in their brutality that international laws were rewritten to rein them in.
Friday marks the first official day of spring in the northern hemisphere, but it will still feel like winter this weekend for many Canadians, as snow, sleet, rain and sub-zero temperatures are forecast across the country.
A social media post from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week shows a big-eyed macaque staring out from behind bars.
Young people in southeast England and beyond are lining up for the meningitis B vaccine after an outbreak killed two people, sparking supply warnings from pharmacies and raising broader questions about the best public health response to the disease.
Many wage earners are engaging in “microshifting,” a flexible scheduling approach that involves tackling job duties in short, productive bursts instead of a single nine-to-five stretch.
Tyson Atleo, a hereditary leader of the Ahousaht First Nation, says the creation of three new forestry areas to be managed by his community and two others on the west coast of Vancouver Island marks the realization of a long-standing promise.
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries worldwide, Canadian universities are emerging as key players – not only in developing technology but in teaching students how to use it responsibly.
Switching up your exercise routine does more than fight boredom. Engaging in varied forms of movement may significantly boost your longevity, according to research.
A seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Ottawa’s Rothwell Heights neighbourhood is currently the most expensive home on the market in the capital.
David Suzuki, the geneticist-turned-environmentalist, who is days away from his 90th birthday, reflected on his legacy as he prepared to release his latest book, “Lessons from a Lifetime,” which compiles photos and stories from his life, as well as testimonials written by those he inspired.