“Everyone sees me as super successful, but I’ve been struggling for years”: What we heard at the Town Hall on access to treatment and services for ADHD into adulthood

Individuals with depression and their caregivers shared stories and raised questions on access to depression treatment and services in Ontario. [...] The experiences shared also suggested a lack of infrastructure available specifically to new parents when it comes to their own health and well-being as the post-birth healthcare system tends to focus on the infant rather than the parents and how they are coping. [...] While participants discussed the benefits of medication, almost all participants raised the issue of dealing with side effects, particularly at the onset and when attempting to taper off the medication. [...] Improving support for how to get off of medications prescribed to treat depression was expressed as many people in the patient community knew this to be a difficult process, particularly for certain antidepressants, which prevented some participants from wanting to start medications to treat depression initially. [...] There was also discussion of the importance of teaching psychotherapy-derived self-help strategies for coping with depression at a young age so that individuals can learn early in life how to recognize and manage symptoms of depression, and when to seek help.