Considerations When Sharing Your Story of Mental Health Challenges

At the Mental Health Commission of Canada, we work to reduce stigma through amplifying the voices of people with lived experiences of mental health challenges. The decision to tell one’s story online or in person varies depending on one’s circumstances.

Published: Dec 2025

Key Takeaways

Storytelling can be a powerful tool for changing thinking and reducing stigma by:
- Humanizing illnesses and issues.
- Creating a path for those who may want to share their stories.
- Demonstrating an openness for others to do the same.
- Creating culture change, one person at a time.

At one point, the Commission published a tip sheet called Sharing Your Story Safely. However, the word “safely” seemed like an overpromise. Who can promise that there will be no fallout from publishing one’s life story? The internet seems to be a harsher place, fueled by angry algorithms and societal polarization. Despite this, the value and importance of reducing stigma through starting honest conversations around mental health cannot be underestimated. Another frame is the concept of sharing bravely, a viewpoint that takes into account competing factors. With this perspective in mind, we decided to re-examine these tips with insights from those who share their stories publicly.

According to research, contact—having genuine interactions with a person with lived experience of mental illness—is the single best way to combat stigma, says Jessica Ward-King, who publishes online as the StigmaCrusher. “And so, sharing my story is necessary. But it is not for everyone, every time.”

“I do think things are changing at a structural level,” says KJ Aiello, writer and author of The Monster and the Mirror: Mental Illness, Magic, and the Stories We Tell, in which they shared their story of mental illness, suicidal ideation, and institutionalization.

Aiello’s award-winning essay, published in The Walrus and titled Who Gets to Be Mentally Ill? received responses from around the world, including numerous media speaking requests and responses from healthcare professionals. After reading it, they became more aware of the concept of patient advocacy, which is the effort to bring patients to the decision-making table regarding their own mental healthcare. “That is a signal that there is an appetite to do better on an institutional level,” Aiello says.

The negative aspects

“When I share my story in person, I tend to get a lot of support and very little challenge,” Ward-King says, “but sharing it in print or video (particularly online) opens me up to a lot of keyboard warriors who do not hesitate to share their uninformed views of my experience with me.”

For Aiello, sometimes the questions pertain to their experience, many of which are well-meaning and come from a place of curiosity. In the extreme, however, Aiello says, “They want me to show receipts. They want more proof.”

Aiello says it comes with the territory. “If you are going to tell your story publicly, you have to be ready for intrusive questions, and you have to decide – before you put your story out there – what are my boundaries? Sometimes, people may not think that you have boundaries, but you do.”

Patient narrative and patient advocacy

As part of their book research and lived experience, KJ Aiello researched the role of a patient’s narrative, which means having their personal account, being included in their clinical records. They worked with researcher Virginia Ford-Roy on their McMaster thesis work for Powerless Patient: Reclaiming Agency through Patient Narratives.

In the past, Aiello had an incorrect diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, based on clinician observations. It took Aiello 15 years to fight for an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder type II with rapid cycling. Anytime Aiello tried to question mental healthcare professionals, they were either dismissed or perceived as “difficult.”

In Aiello’s records, which they requested over the course of two years and date back nearly two decades, they were often referred to as “resistant” and “hesitant,” with some notes even going so far as to say, “patient refuses treatment.” In Aiello’s opinion, this is a story told about them that would remain in their records and negatively impact their mental healthcare for years to come.

Aiello says having patient advocates to support those with mental health crises is a first step, along with more institutional training for clinicians, so that it isn’t the labour of the patient to inform professionals about culturally sensitive, culturally appropriate healthcare.

Those advocates can also serve as translators, Aiello says. “A lot of patients in the mental healthcare system may not know what is being directed at them – being formed (involuntary admission) or held on a 72-hour hold (involuntary assessment), or the medications,” for example.

Also, Aiello notes, that mental health professionals may think in a medical model—what treatment is required or what medication is used —rather than asking, “What are the factors around this?” They may include housing insecurity, financial insecurity, and lack of affordable mental health resources, to name a few.

“The medical model is very much a diagnosis-treatment-fixing pipeline,” Aiello says. “It also assumes that once ‘fixed,’ there isn’t a plan for a potential relapse. It’s very categorical, which is why it’s often ineffective. It doesn’t take into consideration all the other factors.”

Dr. Rachel Grimminck, a psychiatrist in British Columbia, is part of a team working to reduce stigma in mental health care. She notes that psychiatrists in Canada are trained in the biopsychosocial (spiritual) model, which emphasizes holistic practice. However, limited public funding for therapy creates a significant barrier to access for many people. In addition, health care providers often have little ability to address broader determinants of health – such as access to safe housing and food security – which strongly influence overall well-being.

The changing tide

KJ Aiello recently worked with a medical resident for a mental health issue and found their approach helpful. Some of the factors included:

Being heard and having their experiences validated.
Clarifying assumptions to ensure the clinician understood correctly.
Asking for patient input: “What is it that you are hoping for?”
Having treatment options and understanding the pros and cons of each approach.
Having a holistic plan that considers the patient’s experiences.

For example, in the past, Aiello was adverse to certain medications because of the side effects or their ineffectiveness, given their inaccurate diagnosis. They were characterized as “treatment resistant.” With their current healthcare professional, they weighed the options, considered Aiello’s current life situation, which included a stable home and support network, and suggested they revisit the plan in six weeks.

Systemic change is happening through medical schools and other training bodies.

The Narrative Medicine division at Columbia University works with clinicians and health professionals on collaborative skills and creative capacities to deepen self-awareness with a commitment to health care justice.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada, in partnership with CHA Learning, has a free e-learning course on Mental Health and Structural Stigma in Healthcare. It is for health system leaders, influencers, and any healthcare professional to better understand and identify structural stigma in their organization and how it contributes to inequity and poorer experiences and health outcomes for those experiencing mental health and substance use concerns.
Days of Awareness, such as during Mental Health Week, shine a light on mental health. For example, the 2023 theme, “My Story,” recognized the role of nuanced personal narratives. Florence K, a musician, CBC host, and doctoral candidate, shared her story of living with bipolar II, opening the conversation on mental health, illness, and treatment.
Grimminck notes that meaningful change requires not only health-care reforms but also government and policy action to address the structural social determinants of health and address power imbalances to achieve greater health equity.
The Mental Health Commission, in partnership with CAMH and other organizations, launched Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for South Asian Canadians, including training modules.

Tech: Power down for quality zeds

Experts frown on having a television in the bedroom.
If the bedroom doubles as a home office, use a room divider to block your view of the computer, which might trigger work stress.
Don’t bring a laptop or tablet to bed.
Avoid screens for an hour or two before bed.
- Blue light can trick the brain into thinking it’s wake time.
If possible, remove devices that emit light, such as digital alarm clocks.
- That will also help you avoid watching the clock if you have insomnia.
People who are on call for whatever reason may have no choice but to take their mobile phones to bed.
- Those who have the option should leave it outside the room.
- Even in silent mode, many phones make subtle noises that might not wake us up but can disturb the quality of our sleep.
If you use sleep gear that tracks your rest, try not to obsess over your “sleep score,” a tendency known as orthosomnia.

“Some of the wearables that people use, like the watch or, worse, the phones that people put on the side of the bed to find out how much deep sleep they’re getting, should be taken with a big grain of salt,” says Robillard. “If you feel like you slept better, you probably did.”

Ready to drop? You may consider Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

“The first-line treatment for insomnia should be Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia,” says Robillard. “And this should be started before people start any kind of medications.”

In combination with practical advice about setting up ideal sleep spaces, CBT-I helps people reframe their beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about sleep. It also stresses the importance of maintaining a regular schedule—both bedtime and wake time—if possible.

Not everyone can afford to pay for therapy, so the Canadian Sleep Research Consortium is developing digital tools to make CBT-I more accessible.

Rise and shine: Morning routines

There’s no shortage of opinions on the best way to start the day. One common bit of advice, though, is to always make the bed before leaving the house. Is it possible that a good morning routine can set you up for a more restful night?

“Sleep hygiene isn’t just about having a regular bedtime, it’s also about having a regular wake time,” says Dr. Megan Edgelow, an Occupational Therapist and associate professor at Queen’s University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Where possible, wake up at the same time every day.
Getting outside in the morning light right away can help us feel more awake, because it helps us with our Circadian rhythm—the body’s internal clock regulation.
Exercise is associated with better sleep, but when people work out too close to bedtime, it can interfere with sleep, largely because the heart rate is elevated.
- Edgelow says some researchers believe morning exercise is especially beneficial.
The best morning routines are highly individualized and have meaning for the person who follows them.
Morning routines aren’t a therapeutic answer to mental health disorders, but they can play an important role.

“A lot of people I work with clinically who have mental health conditions are lacking a routine or not happy with their daily routine,” says Edgelow, who works with people who have trauma-related conditions, PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression. “Just working with people on how they use their time contributes to their health, identity, who they want to be, and things they want to be connected to.”

Who gets to nod off? Sleep equity and sleep shaming

Although much sleep advice focuses on what individuals can do to get better sleep, there are systemic factors that interfere with people’s sleep that don’t necessarily have an easy fix. For example, many shift workers can’t always maintain a consistent sleep/wake schedule.

Some people who don’t work “nine-to-five” jobs experience Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD), a condition that stems from schedules being at odds with circadian rhythms and causes insomnia and fatigue. SWSD is associated with a higher risk of metabolic disorders, including cardiovascular disease.

“Sleep is something to reflect on at the societal level,” says the University of Ottawa’s Dr. Rébecca Robillard. “The sleep research community is increasingly recognizing that telling people they need to sleep more and take care of their sleep doesn’t really resonate with a single mom who has two jobs and four kids.”

Robillard says we need to avoid “sleep shaming” and, instead, look for ways to reduce systemic barriers to restorative sleep. She suggests one of the first places to look would be our daylight saving time policies because the time change is associated with a surge of hospitalizations, many of which are associated with accidents and self-harm.

“To look after our country’s health, we need to make sure that people sleep well,” she adds. “This has so many ramifications for mental and physical health, so giving a chance for us all to access sleep should become a public health priority.”

On that end, at least, there is some good news, thanks to several organizations that are working on addressing these inequities and/or advocating for making sleep a more even playing field. In 2023, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded $1,100,000 to the University of British Columbia so researchers could investigate public health interventions for sleep.

Resources

The University of BC Slumber Lab has various resources online, on YouTube, and on their blog.
The Canadian Sleep Research Consortium
Canadian Sleep Society
Anxiety Canada
Heart and Stroke Canada
Where to Find Mental Health Care in Canada