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MENTAL ILLNESS ISN’T RARE; ONE IN FIVE CANADIANS WILL EXPERIENCE IT IN THEIR LIFETIME. WHAT IS RARE IS WHEN AN ENTREPRENEUR DECIDES TO ‘COME OUT’ AND TELL THE WORLD ABOUT IT.
This article represents Paul Vincent’s coming out. Not out of the closet, but “out of the fog”.
“It’s sort of like, ‘I’m gay—here I am’, or ‘Look at me, I have HIV/AIDS’.” Only Vincent, a 53-year-old entrepreneur living in St. John’s, Newfoundland, says he suffers from mental illness, specifically attention deficit disorder (ADD) and chronic depression. He sees the publicity of a magazine article as a way to confront the stigma associated with mental illness and as a means to “free” himself from the societal “shadows” where the illness is still swept. Most importantly, he wants to help other entrepreneurs and business people who may suffer from mental illness by forming a local support group.
“I was always a big fan of helping folks, especially in Vancouver where we lived for years and where AIDS was a big issue in society, but I honestly now understand the stigma. Boy do I understand the stigma, because all of a sudden I was in the same boat, and there are a lot more like me.”
Vincent is keen to name his support group “Rare Birds” after the 2001 Hollywood movie shot in Newfoundland, because he related to one of the “oddball” characters played by actor Andy Jones. The use of the word ‘rare’ may be deceiving. Mental illness is seen by some experts, at least in terms of anxiety disorder, as an “epidemic.”
According to figures provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20 per cent of Canadians of all ages, cultures, education and income levels will experience a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime. Research indicates major depression impacts eight per cent of adults; 12 per cent suffer mild to severe anxiety disorder; one per cent experience bipolar disorders; and another one per cent is affected by schizophrenia.
It is rare, however, for an entrepreneur or business person admits to the broader community that they have mental illness. “It’s only in recent times that we hear people like Margaret Trudeau come forward, but there are others,” says Vincent, listing Sir Winston Churchill, the late prime minister of Great Britain; Sir Richard Branson, an eccentric British billionaire industrialist; Axel Rose, lead singer of Guns N’ Roses; and actor Robin Williams.
“It’s time to put a face to this illness. We’re not dangerous people, we’re not manipulative people… there’s another side to us, a very positive side, and we can function in society quite well.”
In Vincent’s case, he’s the founder and chief proponent of Far Atlantic Yachts Inc., a company trying to establish a refit and repair yard in Newfoundland for luxury super yachts. To pull it off, Vincent must attract an international partner, and while interest has supposedly been expressed in a prospectus he prepared this past fall, he doesn’t fear that his “coming out” may jeopardize a potential deal.
“The idea stands on its own,” says Vincent. “If tomorrow I thought I was a roadblock to this happening… if I were at the table, I would leave the table—unequivocally. I challenge anybody to read this (prospectus) and say it doesn’t stand on its own merits. That’s success for me now.”
Still, Vincent’s poor mental health has cost him and his family dearly over the years.
In fact, the cost of mental illness to the Canadian economy is staggering: an estimated $51-billion a year, with 500,000 workers off sick everyday nationwide due to mental health problems. It’s generally acknowledged that mental health statistics are difficult to gather, primarily because of the stigma attached with coming forward. Companies, for example, are only lately starting to measure what’s been coined ‘presentism’, workers who show up for work but remain largely ineffective because of mental illness.
“Part of the problem is (that) mental illness is not visible,” says Lorne Zon, interim CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). “I mean, you phone in sick, right? You don’t phone in and say, ‘I’m not feeling mentally healthy today’.”
Ryan, just following up on our conversation of two weeks ago about this article – out of the fog
+ for those of us who have been on the other side we have been left feeling quite hurt by this story, paul is made out to be the victim here yet he is using this angle to cover up again and completely misses a mention of all of the victims in his wake. there is much more to this story than he has shared, he has selected to share what he needed to have in the public domain to make his case and in doing so has done the same thing to you and the publication…making you victims as well… wanda
Wanda, It sounds like you are looking for an applogy for the pain caused by this man and mention victims more than once. It would be evident that where there are illinesses there are thoes who suffered because of it (parents watching a child go through chemo for example, but their restitution comes when their child goes into remission). In Paul’s case, you are hoping for the apology and want the acknowledgement of wrongs done to you and/or others. I don’t disagree with you. Where there were wrongs, there should be restitution. Did you know that you can gain your own freedom from forgiveness. When you forgive him (and tell him so), then you no longer hold in your hands the hurt for these things. Then the responsibility rests with him to make it right or not(it sounds like some officers of the law have been helping him with that..just one of thoes reasons one might stay in the closet so to speak). In the meantime…..there are many people who are afraid of all of thoes reprocussions of ‘coming out’; and each one will have face their own dragons whatever they are. In this article I saw someone willing to speak to the thousands of people who are afraid to reveal their ‘secret’ and the rest of the population afraid of them, that they’ll do something wrong that they’ll hurt us, phyiscally or emotionally, maybe we live with someone who’s ill. This is a story we needed to hear and act on. Too many in the closet and the rest of us keeping them there is just wrong. I hope in the end you find what you’re looking for. As for me, I don’t think this would be the forum to correct thoes wrongs. That should be done in person; don’t you think.
As a (small scale) fellow victim of the tiring cons played out by Paul Vincent I have to say that I am offended by this article. The audacity to compare himself to someone who is coming to terms with their sexuality or suffering from HIV in am attempt to cover his criminal activity is appalling. There are plenty of people in our city suffering from ADD and chronic depression who are not out conning people out of thousands of dollars, sending homes into ruins and breaking families. It will be clear to his victims that this is again another attempt at conning the system. Vincent is undeserving of compassion for his “illness” and instead should be issuing a formal apology to all of the people he has hurt. I may be harsh in my statement, but this article is an absolutely absurd fabrication in an attempt to get away with what he has done.
And Wanda, Thank you for speaking out.