People talk about how lived experience can make us better at our jobs because we have a personal understanding of what’s needed most. Megan Mantle, a Toronto social worker, psychotherapist and former crisis intervention specialist has lived experience in spades. It’s given her the motivation to start her own company and work to solve some of the most pressing challenges in healthcare in Canada.
She grew up on a vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., surrounded by gorgeous countryside and the charms that have made the area an iconic wine destination. Those early days were idyllic in many ways, until her dad got sick. He struggled with severe depression and became withdrawn and listless, spending hours in bed and on the couch. Her mom was working and running the household, so Megan, the oldest of four kids, felt she needed to take on the responsibility of being his caregiver.
“It was the obvious choice for me to help him, in my child’s mind, not knowing and not having the resources I do now. I actually thought that I could save him,” she says. Her commitment to her father in her last years of high school affected her academics, her social life and her own health.
“It was an overwhelming situation. It impacted my eating patterns, my sleep. That’s what stress does to the body and everyone responds differently to the pressure.” She holds onto the good moments, like when he told her he missed her when she wasn’t there with him, which at the time was like a reward for her devotion – which made the outcome more complicated and tragic.