Posts

Reflections on Mental Health and #BellLetsTalk

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As most of you on social media already know, this past Thursday (January 28th) was the 11th annual Bell Lets Talk Day. Most years, I have enthusiastically shared Bell’s posts, alongside everyone else. But this year I felt uncomfortable doing so, and so I decided to read, reflect, and write instead (which is what I often do, when I feel uncomfortable or unsettled about something). In a recent opinion piece in the Rabble, Andrew McEwan writes: “(Bell) Let's Talk takes up significant room in public discussion of mental illness in Canada, and it's revealing to question the campaign's framing of mental illness, as well as its ties to a capitalist understanding of health. Bell Let's Talk simultaneously individualizes the issue of mental illness and corporatizes the solution.” https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/views-expressed/2021/01/beyond-wellness-how-bell-lets-talk-limits-our-understanding In the rest of the opinion piece, he shares why he believes this is a bad thing. I rea...

3am Christmas Morning / Covid / 2020 Reflections

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Merry Christmas from beautiful, snowy, Kitchener! Today I am going to try to stay positive, and focus on the little things that I am grateful for. I shared some photos on social media, of some days/moments over the past couple of weeks, when I was truly happy. But 2020 (and especially these past few weeks) have not been easy for me (and I know it has not been easy for most others as well). Life is not supposed to be easy. But living life’s normal ups and down’s, with the added layer of a pandemic, has been extra hard. At 3am this morning, when I couldn't sleep, I decided to start (another) blog. I like writing. And I like sharing my writing with others (sometimes). I might not post again, but I thought I would try one post for now, and see how it goes.  2020: what a year it has been! I probably do not have anything new to share, that others have not thought or felt or shared already as well. But it always feels helpful to me, to write things down. And one of my biggest regrets of 2...