For most of his life, John Barnes kept his pain bottled up — hiding behind busy workdays and a firm belief that he could manage things on his own.
There is a history of alcoholism in John’s family, and his mother suffered from bipolar disorder, a condition he figures he inherited. He was also later diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Manic episodes, reckless spending and racing thoughts were part of his reality — though he didn’t always recognize them as symptoms. John fooled himself into thinking alcohol could fix his problems, but that was only a mask.
“A friend of mine summed it up well,” he shared. “He said, ‘When you’re manic, you open a lot of doors, but when you go into a depressive mode, you slam all those doors back shut.’”
In 2023, John experienced a severe manic period and a deep depressive crash. Isolated, missing work for weeks and struggling with suicidal thoughts, he knew something had to change. He sought help at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland and, the next day, was admitted to Waypoint’s Acute Assessment Program (AAP).
“I walk in and I’m with people that have very obvious mental health issues,” he recalled. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God. There’s no denying it now. You have to speak to doctors. You have to open up.’ But as scary as it was, I felt a load off my shoulders.”
