The Mental Illness Awareness Week blog, sharing stories of recovery, personal experiences, and mental health/mental illness news.

5/21/10

Senior depression often overrlooked: Study

The high number of seniors who live in residential care homes and experience depression is a health concern that demands greater attention, according to a new report.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information gathered information about 50,000 seniors in nursing homes and similar residences and found that almost 45 per cent had symptoms of depression or were diagnosed with it.

Read full article

5/20/10

Welcome to Mental Illness Awareness Week 2010!





As Chair of the MIAW Committee, and a member of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH), I would like to welcome you to this year’s campaign.

This year, Mental Illness Awareness Week will run from October 3 – 9.
Please visit our blog regularly during the year to get updates on the campaign, and news on the state and progress of mental health advocacy in Canada.
We are also launching a new element to the campaign this year. Supporters can follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook

Our past and present Faces of Mental Illness will share their personal experiences and insights through this blog, on Twitter and Facebook. We encourage you to share your own stories by getting in touch with us through these social networks and through our website.

By sharing these stories we can reduce stigma, provide hope for others, and show that Recovery is Possible.
Sincerely,

Dr. Pamela Forsythe

Chair, MIAW Committee
Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health

5/18/10

Embracing Diversity by Wallace Malay


In this article, written for Vancouver Island University's the Nav, Wallace Malay shares his experience as a post-secondary student with bipolar disorder (manic depressive).

“Suddenly I came to the realization that I am not ashamed of who I am, and that others were accepting of who I was also.”

Read Article Here

Wallace Malay is one of this year's Online Faces of Mental Illness.