MAIN PHOTO: Braeden Lightfoot opened up about his mental health journey, saying if not for music he’s not sure where he would be. He also gave the analogy of mental health being like growing a flower. (Healey photo)
WINDSOR JUNCTION: Braeden Lightfoot isn’t sure where he would be without music.
The 17-year-old has battled mental health issues over the past three years since being diagnosed when he was in Grade 10.
He began to notice something wrong with him when he didn’t want to do anything he used to like to do
“It just spread to other aspects of my life like school, and then I was like missing work. And then I started missing class. And then I failed multiple classes,” said Lightfoot during a recent socially-distanced interview at his family’s home in Capilano Estates in Windsor Junction.
It escalated soon after.
“I killed my social life, not on purpose, but just because I just didn’t feel like getting out. Music was a tough one,” said Lightfoot. “It was something that I just sort of forced myself to do, even if I didn’t want to do it because I had to do something. And that felt like the most productive thing I could force myself to. And that’s basically just what fill up my life.”
Lightfoot played flute from the sixth grade at Waverley Memorial School up until his last year at Lockview High.
He also plays guitar; bass; and drums, having self-taught himself however did take some guitar lessons and drum lessons at Joyful Sounds during the lowest of times. It was key in his recovery, he said.
“It gave me something to put myself into,” he said. “The people I’ve met and interacted with because of music has definitely helped. One person that comes to mind would be the LHS band teacher, Miss Burtt. She was a big help.
“When she heard what was going on, she sat me down and told me never feel pressure to do anything in my class, if you need to just go into a separate room and sit down for the entire class. Go ahead. I’ll understand. So that definitely having that helped a lot.”
Before his Grade 12 year, he got accepted into a program called Adolescent Intensive Services (AIS) with the IWK.
He went on a tour of the school program facility when there were no other kids there, just a bunch of empty rooms with chairs. This was also just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning in N.S. in 2020.
“I was expecting to be there with like five other kids,” he said recalling what he thought the first day was going to be like. “I walked in and there was just one kid because of the pandemic.
“I was there for two days and they shut everything down and everything went online.”
He has continued with the work during this lockdown while at home.
When asked what he would tell others who might be experiencing mental health issues, Lightfoot explained it like he was a flower, needing sunshine and water.
“There’s going to be days where you either forget to water it or the sun doesn’t shine just because you don’t want to,” he said. “That one day doesn’t mean it’s going to die. You always have the opportunity to water it the next day or the day after that.
“Just because you have one bad day doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way forever. You have chances to turn it around for yourself, whether it be by yourself or with the help of others. And there’s ways to do it that don’t hurt you or others, like instead of just blocking it off and just repressing it all. Your mental health should be treated as a flower.
“It can sometimes look ugly and wilted. Other times it can look pretty and bloomed. It’s just a matter of finding that sweet spot of water and sun.”
So, what is Lightfoot’s water and sun?
“My water would probably be music,” said Lightfoot. “Can I go without it for a while? Yeah. Can I live without it? Most likely not.
“My sun would be the people around me, and my family.”
He says he does have days he goes without water and sun, but he has people to lean on until the next day.
“It’s the days that you don’t have both that are the hardest and it’s just really a mind over matter thing,” he said. “I was able to function on the days without water or sun because of having that abundance of water and sun on the other day.
“I was able to learn how to keep myself going without things that I used to think that, oh my God, if I don’t have this every day, I’m just going to lay in my bed forever.
“There’s a bunch of things that go into making a garden grow. That stuff is also what makes you grow.”
