Kim Mik-Girard

Sean Winger

After graduating from university, Kim quickly began climbing the corporate ladder until stress triggered a psychotic episode that later shifter to depression. As Kim’s life unraveled, her thoughts shifted increasingly to suicide. A sign of hope finally came when she was diagnosed with the most severe form of bipolar disorder and she met with a treatment team at CAMH. With the help and support of her CAMH caregivers, Kim transitioned back to work and her regular routine. Today, she devotes extensive time to volunteering at CAMH; leading several support groups and reaching out to those in crisis through the Telephone Support Line.

Prior to getting help, Sean’s life saw him on the floor thinking about how much cocaine and OxyContin he needed to inject to kill himself. He had lost his friends and most of his hopes and dreams until he called CAMH’s opiate addiction program, whose number was on the back of a CAMH brochure. Within two weeks of joining the methadone clinic, Sean stopped all illicit drug use. Today, with the support of his family and CAMH, Sean is a support coordinator at a pain management and dependency clinic where he is providing case management and addictions counseling.