When I began putting together this narrative of my experiences, I had no idea where to start. I was feeling a little lost. Normally I’m very on top of things, I do my readings two weeks ahead of schedule and like to get assignments done a week before they’re due. But for some reason, I found myself procrastinating about working on this. I think it had something to do with the fact that finding words to form a coherent and cohesive discussion about my experiences with mental illness was extremely intimidating and scary. In the beginning This is me when I’m 3 on my first day of school. Apparently I was NOT happy to be going. Although I didn’t start feeling the symptoms until later in my teens, anxiety is something I’ve been dealing with for as long as I can remember. My parents put me in a bunch of different sports when I was a child and I can remember becoming extremely anxious before a swimming lesson or a softball game, the week leading up to it filled with dread. Reading through report cards from Grade 2, I read comments from my French teacher about how I cried a lot, especially [...] continue the story
No Matter What: Mark Lukach at TEDxMonterey
Published on May 17, 2013 Mark Lukach is a freelance writer based out of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and author of “Where The Road Meets The Sun,” a memoir about fear, loneliness, uncertainty, and his family’s battle with mental illness. In his TEDxMonterey talk, Mark reflects on the adversity he and his wife have faced over the past few years and suggests that, more than ever, a deep and lasting commitment to the people we love might just be an ancient idea worth reviving.
Health Through Movement: How Nia Changed My Life
By Jennifer Hicks
After 34 years living in my body, I became an expert. That is, an expert in myself. And I discovered, after all that time, that I am not ordinary.
I have Bipolar Disorder. But that’s not what makes me different. I am unique because of how I have learned to manage my Bipolar Disorder. Yes, I need medication and psychotherapy, but there’s more to my wellness plan. I use Nia – a fitness practice which not only offers me physical fitness, but also a lifestyle, and now a profession.
Looking at me, you’d never know I have a mental health issue. Spend a little bit of time with me and you still likely wouldn’t guess. Ask my family or friends about its impact on my life, and they probably wouldn’t be able to pinpoint anything “abnormal”. In fact, people would actually describe me as engaged, ambitious and driven. Looking at me from the outside, this mental illness thing appears to be rather invisible in my life.
Still, appearances, as they say, are deceiving. I do swing between abnormally elevated and depressed moods.
It’s difficult for folks to appreciate the considerable amount of energy I use every single day to level out my moods. [...] continue the story
Asylum Squad – A Mad Pride Comic
Saraƒin is a Toronto area cartoonist, writer, illustrator, and activist. www.asylumsquad.com began as a self-appointed therapy during a year long psychiatric incarceration. Her first novel, Asylum Squad Side Story: The Psychosis Diaries collects the earlier strips, which were first uploaded to an online blog during Saraƒin’s hospital passes.
Saraƒin lives with the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, which was brought on by chronic marijuana and automatism usage. She has been mentioned in the Globe and Mail, the Torontoist, has been published in the U of T’s Ars Medica, Bitch magazine online, and has spoken at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine during the 2012 Comics and Medicine conference. Her dream is to make a living doing art alone.
Change and The Close Sisters
Glenn Close, the founder of http://BringChange2Mind.org, tells the very personal story of how mental illness affected her family. Visit http://BringChange2Mind.org for more information on how you can help combat the stigma around mental health.
October 21, 2009