Where my towel is

Search This Blog

Additional writings

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Posts I've written on other sites:

But You Seem So Strong

on #SickNotWeak

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Comments

Why I Speak Up

Today, January 31, 2018, is Bell Let’s Talk Day . For those not familiar with this day, it’s an annual campaign to increase awareness about mental health, break down stigma and raise funds for mental health initiatives in Canada. When it first launched in 2010, I was inspired by the brave souls who shared, in such a public way, their stories of living with mental illness, how they worked every day to fight their illness and the stigma surrounding it. I was blown away by how many people this national conversation reached and the funds ($86,504,429.05 so far) it’s generated for mental health initiatives. Last year, I stopped watching from afar. Last year, on Bell Let’s Talk Day, I stepped up. I spoke up. I shared my struggle with depression. Those closest to me already knew about it, but that day I shared it wider — posting it on Facebook, Twitter and a blog I resurrected that day. I was emboldened by the Let’s Talk initiative; I was scared too. I needn’t ha...

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post. It’s been a tough spring and summer. A very busy year at work, combined with adjusting to a diagnosis of bipolar II — and all the medication trials and errors, and the side effects that come with each tweak and change — wore me down: physically, mentally and cognitively. Brain fog made sorting through my thoughts and articulating them difficult, to say the least. Exhaustion didn’t help. The longer I went without writing (even journalling), the more daunting the prospect became. I was frustrated: frustrated with what I saw as slow, excruciatingly slow, progress. I waited to write when I felt better, when I had something more positive, more hopeful, to share. I waited and waited. As these thoughts bounced around in my mind again today, a snippet of a song popped into my head: “the waiting is the hardest part.” It’s from a song by Tom Petty — a singer/songwriter/musician who passed away earlier this week. I saw hi...

Reboots and Reality

I started back to work in January, on a gradual schedule, after an eight-month absence. This time last year, I was trying to balance a diagnosis of Bipolar II, along with the medication cocktail crapshoot (including side effects) that came with it, the dizzying array of psychological treatment options, and holding down a demanding job. Turns out, despite my faith in my resiliency, I couldn’t do it all. I had to take a leave of absence. The road to recovery is long and it’s not a straight line. It curves, dips, goes up in altitude and plunges down into caverns; sometimes, in foggy conditions, it veers completely off course. It took eight months of acclimatizing to my condition, finding the right medication mix, receiving psychological treatment, and shoring up my mental health toolbox, before I felt that I had enough of a handle on this illness to return to work. I’d rebooted my mental health; now it was time to reboot my career. As much as I wa...

Powered by Blogger

Additional writings

Posts I've written on other sites:

Comments

Post a Comment