Anita David

Hallway Group Co-Chair
Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC)

Lived Experience Strategic Advisor
BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services (BCMHSUS)

Social Media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidanita/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.david.90410

Affiliated Websites:

MHCC: https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/
BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services: https://www.bcmhsus.ca/leadership-research-system-planning/leadership-system/mental-health-substance-use-network

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Anita’s Spotlight

CHA Learning and the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) are proud to spotlight one of the many healthcare professionals across Canada working to make mental health and suicide prevention a greater priority in healthcare settings.

This spotlight reinforces the importance of our Talking About Suicide course—a quick-to-complete micro eLearning course created in partnership with family physicians, nurses, suicide prevention experts, and people with lived and living experience to help healthcare providers build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage in suicide-related conversations with their clients.

In the spotlight below, you’ll learn about Anita’s personal and professional journey: what led her to focus on mental health and suicide prevention, the initiatives she has been part of, and the meaningful lessons she has gained along the way. Her story offers insight, hope, and a powerful reminder that every conversation matters.

Anita was an integral part of the Talking About Suicide advisory committee, sharing her insights and expertise as a patient partner and person with lived and living experience.

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In Anita’s Own Words:

I’ve lived with mental illness and suicidal ideation for as long as I can remember, before I had the words to name them. I wore a mask of laughter and lightness, terrified that revealing the truth would drive people away. But masks crack. Mine collapsed.

For years, I denied what was happening, even while seeing a psychiatrist. I never spoke of the suicidal thoughts clawing at me. It felt safer to pretend. In time, I named what haunted me—a monster. It stalked me, whispered lies, tore into my confidence and worth. I fought back relentlessly, but eventually, the monster overpowered me.

At my lowest, when the ideation became action, my doctor intervened just in time. An ambulance came, and I spent six weeks under psychiatric care. That wasn’t the end, just a pause in the battle. I left vulnerable, at risk of losing my housing, income, health, and hope. The monster wasn’t gone. It returned stronger, feeding off every uncertainty and setback. Each day was a struggle to find reasons to go on.

Having also lost loved ones and acquaintances to suicide has been devastating. And then, after coming up for air from the sadness of loss, I have been left wondering why I still remain. But I endured, through therapy, medications, mindfulness, yoga, self-love, and so much more, to face the darkness. The monster still lurks, but I don’t necessarily fight back. I’d rather turn my illnesses into my superpowers, through the power of hope, as I walk through the rest of my life with grace and gratitude.

At the core is my commitment to creating safer, more inclusive spaces where people with lived experience are respected and empowered. I began by mentoring others with lived experience, sharing research and storytelling tools. By 2019, I had created and performed a solo theatrical monologue about my journey—the battle with my monster of mental illness and the transformation of pain into purpose. In 2020, I joined the MHCC’s Hallway Group, later serving as co-chair, and by 2022, became a Lived Experience Strategic Advisor, helping embed lived experience into the heart of committees, councils, and research. In 2024, I was appointed as the Canadian representative of the Global Leadership Exchange to help advance the importance of lived and living experience on a global level. This year, I received the King Charles III Coronation Medal—an unexpected honour recognizing my advocacy for mental health education and research, and for building bridges between patients, families, and healthcare organizations.

Tell Us About Your Professional Experience & Work in Mental Health…

Question: What inspired you to focus on mental health and suicide prevention? Was there a specific moment or experience that shaped your direction?

I focus on mental health and suicide prevention because we need to normalize it. I spent years in darkness, hiding my pain, but when I started to share it and it was met with empathy and compassion, I found value in myself and discovered a path that made me want to live, fully and completely. I work to get closer to that every single day. After my own experiences and losing people in my life, it has become even more important to me.

Question: Why did you choose to join the Talking About Suicide Advisory Committee?

It’s important for clinicians to know that their manner, attitude, and words matter. It only takes one moment of dismissive behaviour or words to isolate someone and reinforce feelings of emptiness. I always bring it back to trauma-informed principles. Being heard, seen, held in high regard, and valued is so important for a patient or client to know you are with them. Sometimes it is the first time they feel anyone has been there for them. The practitioner becomes the person they remember and the story they share when they reach stability in their recovery.

Question: What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in this work, and how have you overcome them?

It can be hard to be a person with lived and living experience in this work sometimes because of the people. I am not talking about those who have their own lived and living experience, caregivers, or people who see the importance of working on their mental health. These people recognize the strength needed for recovery and want to share and exchange knowledge for growth at the individual, systems, and societal levels.

It is the people who have never recognized whether they live with mental illness or have stigma resistance (like I did for most of my life), or who don’t know anyone in their family or their community who is open about mental health concerns. They often make judgments, and it becomes unsafe for others to share with them.

Question: In your view, how does mental health manifest most prominently in healthcare settings, and what are the first steps to addressing it?

In healthcare settings, clinicians and staff are often immersed in the illness rather than seeing each patient as an individual with innate gifts, strengths, and the ability to recover. I have had many opportunities to introduce myself as a person of lived and living experience and the reactions before I have even spoken a word are very telling of how I am regarded.

We need to stop viewing suicide as a sign of weakness, attention-seeking or retaliation against others, and instead bring the focus back to the person. The person needs time and space to share their experience without fear of judgement. It is not enough to simply know the words for trauma-informed care; we must embody them in how we make someone feel seen, heard, valued, and held in high regard. This means giving time and attention, removing blame, and connecting with the person to find out what is most helpful for them.

It is important to note that everyone is different, and a cookie cutter approach to this very sensitive work will result in failure. I also recognize that clinicians have limited time, but having peer support available to a person is invaluable for a shared understanding of an experience like suicide. A peer can empower a client or patient because, although they might not wear the same shoes, they have still walked the same mile.

Question: How do you think healthcare professionals can play a suicide prevention role in their daily work?

It is not enough to simply learn about trauma-informed care; think about it in terms of past experiences of how it might have been helpful or led to a better outcome for a client or patient. Be courageous in reflecting on your experience and envision how the situation could ideally have played out. Think about body language, positioning in the room. Are you looking into their eyes or taking notes in the system? Can you stop and give them your undivided attention? Can you ask respectful questions and build trust? Can you see the person, not the illness? It will take education, adoption, action, and above all, centring the humanity of every interaction because you might be the person who becomes the turning point for your patient.

Keep educating yourself. Be a learner both professionally and allowing your clients to be your teachers. A good place to start is the Talking About Suicide course. It’s free course and provides healthcare providers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to build trust with clients at risk of suicide, engage in meaningful conversations about suicide, assess risk factors, implement safety planning best practices, and provide appropriate support.

Question: Looking forward, what changes or innovations would you like to see in mental health care?

Socializing mental healthcare as we do physical healthcare. The first time I spent time on the unit, I was filled with anxiety because I was due to work in a few days. My friend, who was visiting me, shut me down by saying that I was in the hospital and that what I was experiencing is no different than if I had been hit by a bus! That brought it home for me. A mental health crisis is the same and needs to be cared for with the same attention and regard.

Practitioners should all be required to complete some soft skills training such as active and empathic listening, clear communication, and stigma-free and non-racist language. You can put all of this information in a PowerPoint but to have real impact, they need to work through case studies, hear stories of real experience, and feel emotion. They need to make the connection within their personal lives.

Question: What advice would you give to others who are passionate about tackling mental health in healthcare?

Change takes time. Change is a long game. You need to gain trust, show evidence – stats and stories to move those who think more logically as well as those who connect to the feelings. Think about the big problems you are trying to solve and include the insights and preferences of people with lived and living experience. Get to know them in one-to-one or group settings – through activities such as art, nature, or social exchange, as well as in meetings, councils, lunch-and-learns, etc. Find commonalities beyond the work.

Personal Insights & Advice…

Question: What keeps you motivated in this work, especially when the challenges seem overwhelming?

It can be hard to stay motivated as a person with lived and living experience working at health authorities, universities, and community groups, but I always bring everything I do back to the people I serve. Does it benefit them, and how? I tend to thrive and get excited by my work, and I try to ensure I have enough ‘me time’ to recharge.

Question: If you could give one piece of advice to healthcare professionals who want to improve mental health outcomes, what would it be?

Be open to unlearning what you think you know and be curious to see different sides and intersections in your work. By continuously learning, you will be able to adapt to changes.

Lead with curiosity and kindness, you may never know the ripple effect you have on each of your patients but there is someone out there who will never forget how you cared for them.

At the centre of everything you do, remember the humanity of your patient. Not the ID or health-number but who they are, what they have been through, what they are going through, and how they feel.

Question: What’s your favourite way to unwind after a long day of work?

In my limited spare time, I enjoy pampering myself with a facial, sauna and massage, stretching my imagination through writing and performing, finding peace through medication and yoga, and vying after the love of my super chill and chonky cat, Caaaaaat!

Question: If you weren’t working in healthcare, what career path would you have chosen?

I have always been a performance type of creative. I can’t draw or paint to save my life but give me an audience and put me on the stage! I would be (or still might be) an actor and writer. I dabble in classes from time to time but always pictured myself travelling the world with my tiny laptop, writing my stories and telling other people’s stories by embodying a character.

Talking About Suicide: Empowering Healthcare Providers, Instilling Hope in Clients

Earn up to 4 certified Mainpro+® credits!

The Talking About Suicide eLearning course is a free, self-paced micro-course designed for all healthcare professionals. In as little as three hours, gain the knowledge and confidence to navigate critical conversations about suicide, support those in crisis, and foster hope in your healthcare setting.

Enrol for free today!

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This program has received financial support from Health Canada.

Talking About Suicide Spotlight Series

The Talking About Suicide course was developed by dedicated individuals committed to improving mental health support and suicide prevention in healthcare. This special Spotlight Series highlights just a few of those individuals who helped shape the course and ensure its relevance and impact.

Click on the profiles below to explore their stories and learn more about the contributors behind this important work.