Crossing the finish line of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a feat unto itself. But distance and time weren't Virginia McKinnell's only obstacles. She was running to shatter something far more formidable: the stigma of mental illness.
Virginia was just 18 and in her first semester of university when she showed signs of a mood disorder. "My symptoms began with racing thoughts," she says. "I couldn't sleep. For a fairly controlled person, I was out of control."
Following a psychiatric assessment, Virginia was told she had bipolar disorder.
"It took about 30 seconds for the doctor to deliver the news. It also took about 30 seconds for me to choose to ignore it," Virginia recalls.
For six years and through three manic episodes, two depressive ones and countless medications, Virginia resisted her diagnosis until a life-threatening psychosis landed her at Sunnybrook.
During her month-long treatment, Virginia learned to accept her mental illness, to be more compassionate with herself, and to participate in her care.
She also realized that she needed to do something to help herself and others suffering in silence because of what others may think.
"A mood disorder requires a tremendous amount of courage and resilience — both of which are hard to summon when you're ashamed."
Virginia started Mind Over Miles, a running club raising funds and awareness for mental health. The club's Facebook page features a powerful video testimonial by Virginia, encouraging others to join the team and share their own experiences
with mental health.
The club's Facebook page features a powerful video testimonial by Virginia, encouraging others to join the team and share their own experiences with mental health.
Virginia and her running-mates set a goal to run the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and raise $20,000 to support the Murphy Family Centre for Mental Health at Sunnybrook. On October 21, 2018, Virginia completed the gruelling 42.2-kilometre
race, and she and her Mind Over Miles team raised more than $70,000 for Sunnybrook.
"Our success was only possible thanks to the 90 runners and over 900 donors supporting team MOM. It was a beautiful reminder to me, and hopefully others, that there is strength and community in vulnerability. When I finally did speak up,
I realized just how big my support system really is."
The Murphy Centre will be Sunnybrook's new psychiatric inpatient unit within the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre, which received a funding commitment from the province in the spring and is now completing the multi-stage approval process
before breaking ground.
Virginia is determined to keep running and raising awareness about mental illness. "If we share our stories and support each other, then the next 18-year-old girl who goes off to university and is hit out of the blue by a mood disorder
won't feel so alone and scared and reluctant to accept her diagnosis out of fear people might judge her."
When it comes to shattering the stigma, there's no question this young woman will go the distance.
