JANET Meagher didn’t accept she was mentally ill until everything literally came crashing down around her. Now, almost 50 years later, she is satisfied knowing she has helped a lot of people in need pick up the pieces of their own lives.
The 71-year-old Engadine resident was named co-recipient of the Australian Mental Health Prize, along with Victoria’s Professor Allan Fels, in November.
Janet was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1969, after a terrifying experience that saw her disappear during a visit from her sister.
She was found at Sydney Airport after crashing her car into the international terminal.
Janet said she had noticed signs of mental illness for a number of years in the lead up to the incident, but her work teaching had helped her keep her illness contained.
“I was feeling like people and things were invading my life; people were spying on me. All sorts of things like that,” she said.
“For a while you manage, but then it becomes all encompassing, overruns your life – and every aspect of it.”
For Janet, that period came during the summer holidays of 1969. But still she tried to tell herself that as an intelligent person, she could work through her problems, not understanding her mind was being affected by powers outside her control.
“I disappeared into my madness. I had a visit from my sister, asked her to wait for me for a minute and never came back.”
Janet has no memory of the ensuing crash; she only remembers waking up in a private psychiatric hospital and later being moved to Gladesville Hospital.
She was never expected to be released.
“There were lots of treatments, there was a lot of electro conversion therapy and I can’t say any of it was miraculous. I think the thing that helped me the most was the connections I made with staff on a personal level.”
Janet eventually returned to the community towards the end of the 1970s.
She said it was doctor’s advice that convinced her to pursue a life of advocacy for people facing similar circumstances.
“My doctor used to say to me, ‘Stop being angry. If you can put that energy into fighting what you’re angry about, you will be able to make a big difference’.”
She began to study legislation, industry codes and practices, as well as human rights.
Janet became a tireless advocate for mental illness and disability, along with her late husband Peter, who had cerebral palsy and a hearing impairment.
She was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her advocacy in 1996 and has served on many committees including the NSW Consumer Advisory Group and World Federation For Mental Health.
Janet was the inaugural co-chair of the National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum, which was formed from the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council Mental Health Standing Committee in 2005.
She remained active on the board until her retirement three years ago. In that time, she said, she has seen mental health services flourish.
“Our human rights are being acknowledged and protected.
“I’m not saying everyone’s rights are necessarily being respected, but at least we have accepted some of us are quite capable of being rehabilitated and reaching for hope and recovery. I was put away for the rest of my life and I didn’t stay.”
