E139 Focus on Facets - Mental Wellness

Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 139
Date: September 24, 2024

Participants: Sheila Webster, John Webster and Elise Seifert
Guest: Cheryl Rickers and Beth Beattie

Start Times and Segments:

[0:00:16] What’s On Your Mind: Cheryl and Sheila have conversations flowing from segments in our July episodes.

[0:11:42] Flipside of the Coin: We introduce our 8-week project we’re calling Focus on Facets. Talking through which episodes to play during our 8-week project, which starts today.

[0:31:26] Expanding Minds Interview: [Focus on Facets 1: Mental Wellness] We interview lawyer Beth Beattie. Her story of living and working with bipolar disease is well publicized. She revealed her bipolar disorder at work after keeping it secret for 14 years. She’s been a mentor to law students and junior lawyer on how to foster their own mental health. She works to eliminate stigma associated with lawyers who face mental health issues. It’s so important for business leaders to publicly disclose their mental illnesses. Beth is one of the brave leaders willing to do so.

Quotes and Take-Aways:

John – A key to my approach to balance is that I seized on 8 facets of wellness (or call them areas or categories): Mental, Physical, Spiritual, Economic, Environmental, Artistic, Intellectual and Social Wellness.

Beth – The problem was the stigma associated with being bipolar. The stereotype was an is that we are inherently unstable and unreliable, and I didn’t want to be seen in those terms. So, I kept my illness quiet for 14 years.

Beth – When we are trying to help someone who seems to be going through something, it’s important to reach out and ask them what they need rather than us assuming what they need.

Beth – I feel terrific. I found the disclosing process to be incredibly cathartic and empowering after 14 years living as a condensed ball of angst worrying about people finding out about my illness. After I disclosed publicly it was like an explosion where all sorts of good things happened. The most important is opening the conversation and helping others get the help they need.

Beth – For some people who disclose at work, there is a risk that there is going to be a jerk who’s going to say something negative. What I’d say to a person whose disclosing is yeah there is a jerk, but there are many many more supportive people around you. The supportive people far outweigh the jerks, so I would rely on support from the majority of people and try not worry about the jerk too much.

Guest Information: Beth is Senior Counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General Civil Law Division, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Long-Term Care Branch.  She has a broad litigation practice. Beth Beattie “came out of the mental illness closet,” as she puts it, after 14 years of working as a lawyer with bipolar disorder. Her story has been broadly featured on television, newspaper and other media. Beth has made presentations to thousands of people, including professionals and the public at large. Beth works hard and volunteers much time to help improve the lives of those living with mental illness as well those who care for them.

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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-)   Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura, Julie and Riley