Adam Maier-Clayton says mental illness has ruined his life and he wants to die.

The 27-year-old Windsor, Ont., man suffers from depression, anxiety and a psychiatric condition called somatic symptom disorder, which leaves him in extreme pain with no clear physical cause.

鈥淭here is no cure for what I have,鈥� Maier-Clayton told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淲ith modern science we don't understand mechanically what is going on inside of my brain.鈥�

Maier-Clayton wants the federal government to make doctor-assisted death available to mentally ill people like him, who feel like they鈥檝e exhausted all treatment options.

But the current law does not include people with mental illness. It allows assisted dying only for consenting adults "in an advanced stage of irreversible decline" from an incurable illness and for whom natural death is "reasonably foreseeable."

A review is underway to consider whether the law should be expanded to include the mentally ill, mature minors and people who want to make advance requests due to dementia or other 鈥渃ompetence-eroding鈥� conditions. The results of the review are expected in December 2018.

In the meantime, Maier-Clayton has taken on an advocacy role, speaking out against the restrictions in the assisted dying legislation and the limitations of the mental health system.

Despite trying numerous medications and undergoing extensive therapy, Maier-Clayton says nothing has restored the quality of life he had a few years ago.

A business school graduate who once had a promising future, he now relies on disability assistance payments and lives at home with his father.

鈥淭he only way he can really escape from the pain is by sleeping,鈥� Graham Clayton said of his son. 鈥淓ven then, at times it wakes him up.鈥�

Clayton said most tasks -- even reading and talking -- exhaust his son to the point where he stays in his room for a day or two. Maier-Clayton suffers from headaches, burning sensations, and nausea, among other problems.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pain you can鈥檛 see, but it鈥檚 pain nonetheless,鈥� Clayton said.

Working out briefly helps reduce his pain, but he has found no long-term relief.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard,鈥� Clayton said. 鈥�(I thought) by this point in my son鈥檚 life he鈥檇 be starting his career and I could just sit back and enjoy watching him progress. And it鈥檚 just been the opposite.鈥�

Clayton said he supports his son鈥檚 advocacy and believes that assisted-dying law should be changed to include the mentally ill.

鈥淭he people who are making these laws are people who鈥檝e never experienced acute suffering,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want my son to keep suffering, suffering, suffering鈥e is in pain and I believe him."

Mental health advocates are against assisted dying for the mentally ill, saying that most psychiatric disorders can be treated with proper, accessible care.

But that鈥檚 a problem in Canada, where mental health funding represents only seven per cent of the national health budget, compared to 10 or 11 per cent in many other industrialized countries.

When connected with the right support, advocates say even the worst cases of mental illness can be addressed.

鈥淲e believe recovery is possible,鈥� said Rebecca Shields, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association鈥檚 York Region and South Simcoe branch.

鈥淲e see it happen every day when (patients) receive the right treatment and support and I hope that everybody receives that help and support.鈥�

But for Maier-Clayton, the support he鈥檚 received so far made no difference.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the fact -- some people aren't going to get better, we don't have treatments for them,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it is illogical to keep someone alive when they are suffering.鈥�

With a report from CTV鈥檚 medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip