It takes a certain kind of courage to introduce yourself to a stranger by saying, "Hi, I'm Victoria Maxwell. I was diagnosed with rapid cycling, mixed-state bi-polar disorder with mild temporal lobe epilepsy."
It's not only a mouthful, it's scary to anyone not familiar with psychiatric terms. But Maxwell has made it her life's work to raise awareness of mental illness, through her public speaking and her one-woman show Crazy for Life that will be performed in Gibsons on Tuesday, May 2, during Canada's Mental Health Week.
Maxwell doesn't mind that her own roller coaster ride of bipolar disorder and psychosis is so public. She even refers to herself jokingly as the "bi-polar princess.""I don't have as much to lose as others," says the Sechelt resident. "I want to have people understand and have more compassion."
Her play reveals her own story of experiencing and surviving the illness, and it is told in an engaging way. "The story can be funny as well as moving," she said.
Maxwell had her first psychotic episode at age 24 while working as a television actor when she played opposite such stars as John Travolta and Johnny Depp. Her budding career took a nosedive while she fought with an illness that is characterized by a rapidly changing state of euphoria giving way to depression. She was hospitalized and spent the first few years in denial. It took her 10 years to get back her life. The irrepressible desire to perform was rediscovered when she saw an ad for submissions to KickstART, an arts festival celebrating the disabled. Festival audiences encouraged her to continue with performing, and Crazy for Life was born. She's now on medication to stabilize her moods, has become an advocate of the power of therapy and has acquired a great degree of self-acceptance.
What's the secret to healthier life? Just like mom told you, she says, eat well, rest, exercise, have healthy relationships. She's 39 now and knows there is no cure, but she is able to manage her life. Her Crazy for Life consulting company assists organizations to raise awareness, particularly around employee depression, an illness that costs work places money and time. Depression has a good recovery rate, she points out, and people need to know this. In the course of her appearances as a performer and mental health educator, she often find herself talking with parents who are worried about their depressed children and are in great need of help.
You can't go it alone. Maxwell commented on the six-bed psychiatric facility that opened in Sechelt recently, only to close again in March. "It's unacceptable in our population not to have something available," she says. "And it's important that when it's opened, it has to stay open. We need to know it's dependable - a supervised place, not just a crisis line."Maxwell's live show has played to critical acclaim and sold-out crowds across Canada, the U.S., Great Britain and New Zealand. Coast audiences may remember that she appeared at the Raven's Cry Theatre last October and is now back by request. This time, she will tape the show to be offered to the mental health community worldwide, over the Internet on a pay per view basis or in an affordable form for those individuals living with mental illness.
The one-night-only per-formance is on May 2 at 7:30 p.m. Various local community health groups will be invited to attend along with the general public. This particular show is a free performance; reservations are necessary and seating is limited. Cameras will be rolling throughout the show. For reservations, email Diedra Goodwin at [email protected].
