Mental illness on application

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I'm applying in Canada and I'm struggling with how honest to be on my personal statement/essay. I have a history of mental illness (OCD, depression, eating disorder) which was at its worst in my mid-teens and is now quite manageable at age 23. This has never affected my academic performance (never dropped a class, CGPA is 3.96, MCAT 31) but it IS a really big part of why I want to be a doctor. I feel that it's important for people with lived experience to be in the medical field, and the support I got from my family doctor when I first sought help was really inspiring.

That said, I know that there's a ton of stigma against mental illness and this may just make admissions committees think that I won't be able to handle the pressure. How much detail should I go into? Has anyone tried this before?

 

[claduva94]

If it is managed I don't see it being an issue.

 

[SignOftheTiger]

I think you can perhaps pick one of the MH issues you've had (maybe the one that lead you to get help from your FM doctor in the beginning) and go from there discussing how that experience and subsequent experiences with the FM doc inspired you to go into medicine. I would refrain from divulging everything because Adcoms are all human and seeing someone who has a laundry list of MH issues, no matter how manageable/under control they are now would make them pause. Make sure you emphasize how under control your issue is now and what lessons you've learned from your journey that would make you a great candidate for medical school.

 

[Fargofargo]

I agree with above.

 

[ovenmitts]

From what I've heard, it's advised to stay clear from talking about your mental illness, but I have no experience with this.

I have wondered the same thing because I have a history of depression that I feel has shaped me as a person (in a good way, believe it or not). It seems risky to mention it, but at the same time, say in an interview setting you're asked about a challenge you've faced and how you dealt with it, is it really detrimental to talk about things like depression, OCD, eating disorders, etc.?