Missing man's breakdown raises questions about mental illness

He's sunburnt and emotionally drained, but a White Rock man missing since June 9 is home.

Daniel Bouchard arrived home late Saturday, after disappearing without a word nearly two weeks ago.

"He called Friday from Mexico asking for help," Bouchard's father, who is also named Dan, said. "He was in Acapulco and had been robbed. (He) had no money and wanted to come home."

Daniel Bouchard, 20, hadn't been seen or heard from since around 9 p.m. June 9, when he headed home on foot from a night out with friends. He was reported missing the next morning, after he failed to show up for work.

Bouchard's dad said his son told him he left for Mexico Tuesday (June 10) morning to get away from "a lot of pressures."

Outside the White Rock RCMP detachment Monday morning, the soft-spoken young man told reporters he suffered an emotional collapse.

"I just had a little bit of a breakdown and I had to get away for a while," he said. "I just needed some time away."

Bouchard apologized to his family, friends, the RCMP and the community for the concern his actions caused and expressed gratitude for the support shown for efforts to locate him.

He also apologized to the families of other men who have gone missing in the past year, for the added grief his story caused.

"My heart goes out to their families and friends because I see what I put my family through," he said. "Hopefully, their situation is like mine and they will come home to their families."

He pledged to "make good on all the damage," and to ask for help if life starts to feel out of control again.

What a complete Jackass. This guy needs to be billed for wasting police resources - or, more likely, charged with mischief. Such an idiot.

My greatest wish is that people will stop treating mental illness as taboo and realize that it is all around us, a part of our daily lives. I hope the discussions that CAMH and The Globe have started will continue. I'm 23 years old and will be starting my PhD in September. All my life I've struggled with symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD and ADHD, and while my battles aren't always apparent to those around me, they take a huge toll on me. The happiness many people take for granted is something I constantly struggle to obtain. I dearly wish that there had been greater awareness of mental health issues while I was growing up. Early childhood treatment likely would have made my subsequent life much easier.

"One in five Canadians will experience a mental illness in his or her lifetime. It is a pervasive presence in almost all of our lives. And yet we rarely speak of it," writes Globe and Mail editor-in-chief Edward Greenspon.

"The mentally ill are not different; they are us. As a society, we have thrown off many of our social stigmas, but not yet those surrounding mental illness."

People with mental illnesses face a stigma that can prevent them from getting care. It also stops the public from seeing the problem. Has mental illness affected your life or that of a loved one? Share your experiences with globeandmail.com readers and let us know what single change in society or policy would help the most.