Like nearly 3 million other Canadians, Josh Merifield suffers from a mental illness. Merifield’s mental illness is anxiety, which was diagnosed nearly five years ago.
Josh is a high achieving second year student at the University of Western Ontario. He is part of several clubs, and takes part in various school activities. Merifield works as a RezSoph at Western’s Perth Hall residence building. On top of being this ideal university student, Josh is a fighter.
He lets his mental illness serve as an inspiration to the first year students that he mentors. Rather than seeing his mental illness as a setback, he chooses to view it as something that pushes him to always work harder. Viewing his illness in this fresh light allows him to cope with the pressure of being a full time student, a mentor, and a survivor.
Unlike 93 percent of those with mental illness’, Josh fight’s this battle naturally. He chooses not to take the medication offered to him by doctors. He explains that his passion for playing music serves as his medication.
Josh knows firsthand that battling a mental illness is “no walk in the park,” and hopes that his struggle can be an inspiration to others fighting a similar fight.