“My kids always knew I had a mental illness. Host Varda Étienne — suffering from bipolarity and borderline personality disorder, diagnoses she revealed in 2009 in Damn crazy — designed the documentary series The invisible children from his own experience. “Selfishly, I did it for myself, because I could see the effects and the repercussions of my disease on them. I also said to myself that I should not be the only one, she confides. Then, I realized that I had never seen a program which gives the place and the occasion to these children to express themselves. It was therefore more than necessary to do something about it. »
Invisible children are thus the nickname of those who have a parent suffering from a mental health disorder, those whom no one really notices. Very often, they carry on their shoulders the weight of an equally imperceptible evil which is not theirs. While, according to official figures, nearly 20% of the Quebec population is affected by this type of disease during their lifetime, we guess that the number of minors concerned is considerable.
I was able to see how these children, once they become adults, show resilience and unconditional love for their loved ones.
Mathieu Caron is one of them. Now in his thirties, he remembers in particular for The invisible children that at the age of 8, the hospital staff had asked him to monitor the medication taken by his schizophrenic mother after a stay in psychiatry. Shortly after, she took her own life, leaving her son powerless in spite of herself. “This testimony has shaken me a lot, but also calmed me. I was able to see how these children, once they become adults, show resilience and unconditional love for their loved ones, says Varda Étienne with great emotion. Nobody, during the shooting, said to me “me, I would have liked to be moved from my parents’ house”. Touching but never pathetic, the documentary series surprises with the accuracy of its tone, and skilfully juggles between confessions by anonymous people and public figures and interventions by mental health specialists.
The paradoxes of mental health
“These children have a lot to share,” she continues. When the production of Invisible children was launched, it only took a moment for the team to be overwhelmed by the testimonies. “I’ve always thought that when you’re around someone with mental health issues, whether it’s spouses, friends, colleagues, etc., you have a choice. to leave. A child, no”, specifies the designer of the series, who here puts her eloquence at the service of the cause.
If the fact of publicly evoking mental health issues is more topical than ever, Varda Étienne cannot help but see a certain form of hypocrisy in it. “Making awareness campaigns is great, but very concretely, there are still people who are judged or who lose their jobs because of their state of health,” she explains. And the media are no exception. After letting the idea mature for about ten years, Varda Étienne only decided very recently to materialize The invisible children. “I would have thought to receive more interest from the producers”, she is surprised.
After several refusals, she finally discussed it with Véronique Cloutier, “who is not, however, in lack of proposals”, laughs the host. The key woman in the Quebec audiovisual landscape will embrace the project almost instantly. A few months later, the result makes the creator of the documentary series “humbly proud”. ” Thanks to Invisible childrenI can say that I made a success of my televisual career , admits it with all the petulance which one knows him.
A Quebec that abandons its children
But Varda Étienne is far from being satisfied with this personal satisfaction and wishes to push the reflection further. According to her, “Quebec does not love its children enough”, and she does not hesitate to appropriate the terms heard in The thieves of childhood by Paul Arcand. “These invisible children, who will nevertheless be tomorrow’s elite, are left to fend for themselves. It takes an emergency response, ”she warns.
“I hope that by watching The invisible children, the government will grasp the extent of the problem, will question itself. And, if so, what could he do to help them? Varda Étienne has thought of everything. “We must protect our children and set up a system of rapid care, why not in a respite home, during hospitalization or a crisis of a parent? »