Mental Health News Update: April 9-14 2011

Here's a look at some of the mental health headlines for the week of April 9-14, 2011.

• On Saturday, April 9, the Vancouver Observer did a story on comedian David Granirer, founder of Stand Up to Mental Health.



• On Monday, April 11, the Toronto Star reported on the appointment of Pat Capponi, a woman living openly with mental illness, to the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board.



• Also on Monday, The Province reported on Amanda Schell, a recipient of the Courage to Come Back Awards.



• On Tuesday, April 12, the London Free Press reported on renewed funding for a study examining the relationship between poverty and mental illness.



• On Thursday, April 14, the Ottawa EMC reported on the launch of CHEO’s 2011 “Let’s Keep Kids out of Hospital” awards, recognizing teachers, volunteers, coaches, and social workers, who work to prevent injury and illness in children and youth.

Do you have more mental health news to share? Post your links below!

You can also share news on the Face it: Mental Illness Awareness Facebook Page.

Mental illness runs strong in my family.

2010 Face of Mental Illness, David, share his thoughts about mental illness and his family.



Mental illness runs strong in my family. Many of my family members past and present have experienced all or some of schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. I find it quite interesting that many family members are reluctant to get help--such as psychosocial-rehabilitation counseling and medication additions and/or adjustments--but my family was quite adamant about getting me help, starting with hospitalization, then outpatient psychiatric treatment, and finally one day a week counselling at CMHA Winnipeg Region within the Rehabilitation and Recovery program with a highly skilled, hard working, dedicated, and empathetic community mental health care worker.

Now I am the family member who has schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety under control with sufficient appropriate medication, and effective stress management, organization, and time management skills. I am in the position of helping my family members not simply cope but to advocate for them to get the mental health care help that they need. It is hard though since--for reasons unexplained that I cannot yet figure out--they are reluctant to follow the path of recovery that I took even though they know it works. As such, it is quite frustrating for me to be somewhat powerless when trying to help my family, especially since one family member is experiencing what I experienced to such a degree that it is like déjà vu for me. It is like I am re-living the acute mental illness again with him rather than the chronic stage of mental illness effective management that I was at before he needed a calming communication outlet that I provide. My family helped me, now I must help them.

I think it is important for families to realize the challenges of helping or caring for family members with mental illnesses and in fact, watch out for "transference" since it is stressful for family members in this position of care for an individual with a mental illness. This is a reason why we need to strongly address barriers to mental health care system access. During Mental Illness Awareness Week, I will be participating within a two day forum entitled "Which Doors Lead to Where: How to Enhance Access to Mental Health Service: Barriers, Facilitators, and Opportunities for Canadians' Mental Health. It is important to consider community mental health care services such as the related mental illness support groups (4 Fort Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, has a multitude of mental health organizations and mental health peer support groups which can be very helpful as I found when talking during patient to patient group therapy while living at the three psychiatric wards that I was committed to by family). Additionally, there are other resources for the mentally ill family member and the other family members at CMHA Winnipeg Region which includes workshops such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mental Health First Aid, and Live Life to the Ultimate.

David Albert Newman, CGA, CIA, ACCA (UK), B. Comm. (Hons.) with Distinction
"Anything is possible if we let our mind wander away from standardization towards creativity."
φ = π – 2^2/φ^2 + e

Marie's vlog: How you can heal

Here is a regime Marie uses daily that has helped her maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Anyone with mental illness can move to wellness and recovery, but it takes work. Take a view on what has helped Marie!

Blinked and missed Blind River, so sprung into Spragge

Checking in with Ted "dr. j" Jablonski on his SAD no more 2010 Canadian Tour. Here's what Ted's been up to.

SNM Tour Day 38



It poured most of the night off and on. So what started out looking like a potentially very rainy day (again) turned from overcast, to cloudy to clear and SUNNY - it was a glorious and much needed! As much as the sky changed, so to did the landscape, transforming from rock and lakeshore to lush farmland and back again. From coniferous outcroppings to deciduous forests, from fishing camps to livestock farms and everything in between. The wind was breezy and gusty at times but overall we got in great mileage and it was a good solid day on the road. We wanted to get at least to Blind River but ended up going past to camp out in Spragge.

When I saw a flock of Canadian Geese honking overhead in a ragged V, I thought it was Fall again. When it warmed up and the sun was shining, summer was giving in that easy in Ontario and this is great, I could easily take a few more weeks of sun and heat - bring it on. We saw an unusual number of hawks today, one which flew along the highway with us for quite some time. There was at least one large eagle, a gigantic osprey nest on a railway pole, and some very large geese in a field (?snow geese - no white markings of a Canada Goose and creaked instead of honked.

Les got a early morning run in again today (Joe, she's been fooling you all these years - she loves getting up early and exercising!!) and Monique got in a cycle this afternoon. I think we've moved from camps to cottages and I had to bite my tongue not to stop and go look at lakeshore developements which were springing up all over the route we were travelling on, I know, I know - I've got enough properties, but it can't hurt to just have a look, can it??

Tour Day Sponsor is Alberta College of Family Physicians - thanks for the acknowledgement and support.

Random quote of the day
"There's no place like this"
on an Ontario travel brochure "Yours to discover" (OK, and we are!!)
can't argue this point as we're making our way across this immense province.

a bit of Canadiana with Ted's Tiny Trivia Teaser

The three Bruce brothers; Elliott, Thessalon and Desbarats started the first Copper Mine in Canada (aptly called Bruce Mines) which unfortunately adversely affected a significant number of workers, blinding them from copper poisoning mostly around the area now known as Blind River.

A little known fact - TRUE or FALSE

As our cell phones now have service again, we were finally able to talk to Gabrielle who is coming back from a special wedding just outside of Halifax made even "more special" by Hurricane Earl - a true candlelight cermemony, reception, after party etc etc. One everyone will certainly remember!

Follow Ted's tour travels on his SAD no more 2010 blog

Stigma

2010 Face of Mental Illness, Jennifer, responds to a reader comment on a recent Sudbury Star article about her experiences with mental illness. Read the original article here, the reader comment here and Jennifer's response below.



Maybe Harold A. Maio from Florida is right - that Stigma is a poor word choice attached to mental illness.

Maio responded to a Sudbury Star article about me, and iterated why the word was a poor choice to use. He wrote, " ... I do not associate stigmas, no matter who the authority attempting to persuade me. It is a choice I made following the women's movement, which refuted our pretense of the "stigma" of rape. "
Then he went on, "I am sure Ms Forsythe, trained in psychiatry, and president of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, is aware of the psychology of the term and those who impose it. She errs to be among them."

What does Stigma mean anyway? Well, let's examine the definition of Stigma: a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as one's reputation.

Hmmm... now I can agree with Maio's comment, and see that it has a very negative connotation. A connotation that we are trying to erase, right?

The synonyms for Stigma are equally negative and offensive: bar sinister, besmirchment, black mark, blame, blemish, brand, disfigurement, disgrace, dishonour, imputation, lost face, black mark, scar, spot stain......wow eh?

For myself, I can't see living with bipolar disorder as a mark of disgrace or infamy, nor a stain on my reputation. In the story, I had told the journalist, that at times, I consider bipolar disorder to actually be quite helpful.

So, what other word can we use instead of that one? How about Stereotype? Here's the definition of that word: 1. An idea, trait, convention, etc., that has grown stale through fixed usage. 2. A set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly.
And the synonyms for Stereotype include: pigeonhole, institutionalize, convention, formula, mold, pattern.

I really do believe Stereotype is a better word to use... because after all, the stereotypes of mental illness include words like crazy, insane, coo-coo, weird, loony, crackpot, out to lunch, schizo, wacky and so on....

And by the definitions of both words, Stereotype is perhaps more suitable because words and phrases associated with mental illness have grown stale, and are broad sweeping generalizations and tend to pigeonhole people who live with mental illness.

Through the MIAW campaign, it's stereotypical thinking that we're trying to eliminate, through shedding light on mental health issues, as well as showing Canadians through the Faces campaign, that there are success individuals living very productive and happy lives.


Chi miigwetch,

Jennifer Ashawasegai

Down days

When I last wrote, I had joined the gym. I've been going about four to five times per week over the past five weeks. I've been feeling much better with much more energy and have generally been excited about life without any signs of hypo-mania.

But for the last couple of days, I have been depressed. Not Edgar Allen Poe depressed - more like Eeyore depressed.

I know why that happened. I skipped a few workouts last week, and was late to get into my routine this week. I certainly realize how important getting regular exercise is to my body and my mind... and even though - I still missed a few workouts. However, I'm not going to be too hard on myself because I'll get back on schedule and things will smooth out once again.

I was back it this morning - and my workout sure was gruelling!!! I did it though. And I'm very happy I got myself through it. In the beginning of my workout, all that really kept me going was how I was going to feel after - an improved mood which would last throughout the day!

And yes, I do feel much better. I'm feeling somewhere in between Eeyore and Tigger....


--
Sincerely,
Jennifer Ashawasegai

Further Medical Counsel

Something tells me there is more to my story than I currently know.

By no means am I a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. Rather, it is a very brief account of symptoms that exist prompting me to seek further medical counsel to see if I have co-morbid schizophrenia and autism. I speculate that the autism (in this case I refer to high functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome Disorder along the autism spectrum) occurred first, followed by childhood trauma, then depression and anxiety, and finally the break from reality with schizophrenia from the lifelong trauma.

I take three drugs for schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, and two of those types (anti-psychotics and anti-depressants) are also used for treating autism symptoms. Although reliability and validity of online tests may be open to criticism, I feel that I should seek face to face medical counsel to discuss early childhood symptoms, (including hand biting from frustration of not achieving independent child play goals) and adult symptoms.
Two of my biggest symptoms are short attention span on subjects I am not interested in (even if important) and intense focus in other subjects where there is interest (even if unimportant).

Other symptoms include:
• rigidity to routine
• discomfort to forced novelty
• social aversion of social situations
• intense need for privacy (much more than the average person)
• required rigid organization (when untreated with medication and counselling)
• hyperactivity, obsessive compulsiveness, addictive personality
• extreme sensitivity to information overload that the average person would process as normal
• prolonged childhood night terrors
• attention span and concentration difficulties (possibly related to ADHD)

I also have a hint of a narcissistic personality at times. I am also highly independent, require lots of alone time (much more than the average person), and I have a fascination and fixation on geometric properties and algebraic functions (so much so, my mind draws geometric shapes and equations--in my mind and superimposed onto reality--when I am not focused upon other thoughts).

David Albert Newman, CGA, CIA, ACCA (UK), B. Comm. (Hons.) with Distinction
"Anything is possible if we let our mind wander away from standardization towards creativity."
φ = π - 2^2/φ^2 + e

Learn more about autism

Hoarder, Positive Self Talk and the Internal Monitoring System

I am a pack rat/hoarder.

Before I was treated for schizophrenia, I used to be somewhat of a pack rat/hoarder but I was very particular about being organized (everything MUST be in the right place and at correctly precise angles--such as right angle, diagonal, etc.). After being treated for schizophrenia with medication and rehabilitation counselling, I am a much more relaxed person. Only problem is that in daily life, I have become VERY disorganized and an extreme hoarder. I am slowly learning to stop doing so with help from my brother, Kevy Newman. I am learning to group similar items together and to put objects away when I am done with them. In a sense, I am learning early grade school skills again.

When I sometimes get overwhelmed about this and even depressed, I reach back into my mental health toolkit that I learned at CMHA Winnipeg Region to practice positive self talk. I use positive self talk daily since, for me, schizophrenia is a chronic condition (I hestitate to fully call it a mental illness since that denotes only negative imagery and it dismisses benefits such as extreme creativity and innovation).

I still get visions in my mind during the morning that are neutral image events that run like movies in my mind from the past day, but then somehow the visions silently speak to me in a negative manner. It is very hard to explain. It is as if there is an injection of something into my mind that makes neutral images negative. But the positive self talk helps, since I tell the neutral images with the negative message to be quiet (I say this aloud), and then I re-affirm myself about my positive life with positive self talk.

A lot of this would not be possible, if it were not for what I have coined the brain's "Internal Monitoring System" (IMS). I assert that this IMS keeps the individual connected to reality. For instance, I still have symptoms of thinking that songs on the television weather channel are specifically designed/played for me with reference to my girlfriend as chosen by her and played by her, for me, by her contacting the television weather channel and telling them what to play. I may have a connection but so too may many other individuals. As such, my IMS brings me back to reality to know that my delusion is untrue. Another current delusion was that my girlfriend is really my nurse. Now, she has very caring and comforting qualities, in addition to being very attractive and intelligent, but she is not a nurse in the purest form. Thus, my IMS had to be reactivated to remind me that is a delusion and to enable me to share the delusion with her.

I like to think of the IMS similar to the disk check/diagnostic system of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) for a computer. It can self-check for errors and correct the file, registry, and logic errors. I think similar circumstances occur for schizophrenia once recovered. But, before recovery, the IMS goes into remission/hibernation. That is why sometimes individuals with schizophrenia,
1) become disconnected from reality (in probably most, if not all, cases),
2) cannot tell right from wrong (not in all cases).

Therefore, a critical key to studying schizophrenia acute and chronic psychosis (and other mental health issue psychosis) is to understand what the IMS is, and what activates, deactivates, and reactivates it.

David Albert Newman, CGA, CIA, ACCA (UK), B. Comm. (Hons.) with Distinction
"Anything is possible if we let our mind wander away from standardization towards creativity."
φ = π - 2^2/φ^2 + e

Is hoarding a mental illness?

Photograph by Global, Global


The Vancouver Sun recently published an article, Doctors debate whether hoarding a real mental illness, examining how hoarding is similar, an yet, different to mental illnesses such as obsessive compulsive disorder.

Do you think hoarding should be classified as a mental illness?

My visit to Hiawatha First Nation

One of the 2010 Faces of mental illness, Jennifer Ashawasegai, discusses her recent visit to Hiawatha First Nation where she spoke about her experiences living with bipolar disorder.



Hiawatha First Nation is a beautiful community on the north shore of Rice Lake.

I was invited by the Community Health Nurse, Martha Calback-Ladouceur to speak about my experiences living with bipolar disorder.

I was very nervous, since in addition to living with bipolar disorder, I also experience extreme social anxiety at times. The talk in late July was also the first time I spoke publicly to any group.

A handful of community members showed up for the 'lunch and learning' session. It was a very informal setting and held outdoors, which was a real plus for me, and helped alleviate some of my anxiety.

The group was curious and respectful, and one woman came out and told the group she also lived with bipolar disorder. She was diagnosed more than a year ago. Another community member talked about a niece and a nephew who have bipolar disorder.

We mostly focused on coping mechanisms. I learned quite some time ago how to live with my disorder, but sometimes I need a refresher, which is what I got out of the talk at Hiawatha First Nation, because we spoke about balance through food, sleep and exercise.

Those are the three important things I must always remember to do. That is to have proper sleep - and that's not always possible when I'm going through a hypo-mania, because I feel I need less sleep; a good diet - with not too much sugar because I can't handle the 'crash' from sugar; plus adequate exercise.

I've recently returned to the exercise part, and am feeling much better and feel like I am beginning to maintain a steady amount of energy. Exercise also helps to alleviate or stave off the dark beast that is depression.

I would like to say Chi-miigwetch (thank you) to the community of Hiawatha First Nation for inviting me, for the great food and for their respectful and honest discussion.

Now, it's off to the gym for me!!!! :)


By Jennifer Ashawasegai
Read Jennifer's blog

Strategies that lead to recovery

2010 Face of Mental Illness, Marie Asuncion, vlogs about her personal strategies for recovering from mental illness.

Watch Maire's Video

What are your strategies for working towards recovery and living successfully with mental illness?

Relaxation Techniques

When I first went to CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) Winnipeg nearing the end of 2005 and into 2006, I had returned to work at a restaurant (as a cook and a dishwasher) that I had worked at during my University years. This was quite depressing since I was highly educated but paid barely above minimum wage, and I could not make ends meet without using extensive amounts of credit cards.

Fortunately, I was enabled by my CMHA Winnipeg Rehabiliation and Recovery worker to successfully obtain employment with the Province of Manitoba as an Internal Auditor which soon led to a promotion two years later to Internal Audit Project Leader. What joy that was to obtain that job role!

But, along the way, I needed to learn relaxation techniques that I still use periodically when required. These were quite numerous that I learned from my worker and she indicated that the techniques should be thought of as part of my tool kit.

My tool kit included practicing square breathing, listening to relaxing music, watching entertaining movies, stretching, organizing my home, eating a proper diet according to the Canada Food Guide and getting plenty of rest (both sleep and breaks). What a world of difference this made! I could finally distract my always busy mind by relaxing!

There are two final techniques that I used and continue to use when I find myself becoming too stressed (some stress is positive to motivate).

The first technique is remembering the story of the stone cutter. The stone cutter hits the stone for the 99th time and cannot believe the stone will not crack as needed to reveal the contents inside. He/she is about to give up, when he/she decides to give one final swing. Well, the 100th hit cracks the stone! This reveals that it wasn't the 100th blow alone that caused the stone to crack but that it took all 100 blows. The moral of the story is to break down big tasks into smaller tasks to manage more successfully towards an end goal, to realize that all activities done towards an end goal are important, and to never lose faith and to keep resiliency in the face of adversity no matter how badly discouraged and frustrated you get.

The other final technique is to visualize myself in the role that I will be playing. Athletes use this visualization of success in their athletic role to go through the mental motions. The physical motions then follow. If this visualization does not work (rare) then I visualize my former worker who provides me with encouragement. I can then move forward to accomplishment by managing my stress and completing whatever work is at hand.

For these last two techniques, in this perspective, anything is possible and I can do whatever subject matter I set my mind to.


David Albert Newman, CGA, CIA, ACCA (UK), B. Comm. (Hons.) with Distinction
"Anything is possible if we let our mind wander away from standardization towards creativity."
φ = π - 2^2/φ^2 + e

Submitted by Laurie Corzett

Too brite days
midnights that refuse to
abide dark and secret
when empty phrases chant
to fairytale Moons
I tell myself
This is no ordinary room
This is no fleeting flittering life
This is a magical passageway
sparkling like mica, like miracles

Quiet traces
luminescent impression
a trailing kite tail binds
silent whimpers, sojourning whispers,
tears shining behind mime smiles

Crone's gnarled fingers, playing
to spite agony
simulate touch
beyond ache,
too brite cell,
crouching scarred shadow
I cast silhouette of metamagic gypsy
hand
offering

Laurie Corzett - libramoon42@mindspring.com
http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

A Note about the Canadian Health Care System and Beyond: Treatment Quality Primary, Quantity Secondary

By David Albert Newman
August 3, 2010

This post discusses a very strong point of interest of mine: quality over quantity health care treatment.

This article shows the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) advocating pay for performance based upon quantity of patients treated.

A piece rate system (pay for performance) based upon the QUANTITY of patients treated is NOT a good solution. That rewards expedient performance. That is the problem with the current health care system: patients are treated TOO quickly by doctors when they finally see them after waiting for too long and the patient ends up with suboptimal care.

The solution: pay for QUALITY of CARE measured by LESS FREQUENT follow up appointments and/or fewer hospitalizations from conditions that could have otherwise been treated sooner or better.

Quality over quantity better manages the health care operations bottleneck: waiting times. I have studied this in my MBA Operations Management course about queuing theory and line balancing to manage the bottleneck by adding resources to equalize a system flow.

We need to adopt a new model of health care that I have coined: Think. Consult. Reflect. Act. (TCRA).

Doctors rely too much upon their own knowledge and skill rather than consulting a peer for his or her thoughts and a second opinion. That is extremely rare in professions.

The consult may take more time up front BUT in the long run the patient may recover with fewer repeat contact points to the health care system.

This is important since while many doctors think they are infallible, they are like the rest of us: they make mistakes AND their mistakes are often more serious due to the nature of their work of treating human beings who are ill, either acutely or chronically, and who may be getting worse.

It's time to change the culture of doctors to REQUIRE that they consult UNLESS IF and ONLY IF the diagnosis and treatment is very routine.

The current system BEFORE a negative change to a piece rate system of pay for performance relates to my poor health care treatment when I had ulcerative colitis in my mid-teens that almost killed me (I went to hospital at 98 lbs at 5' 10" tall and I was there for a week or so). This family physician not only did not diagnose my ulcerative colitis, he provided medication that moved food through my body faster since he thought I had an ulcer. That exacerbated the already chronic diarrhea that was dehydrating me and leading to my rapid weight loss. Thus, he broke the rule of non-malfeasance in the duty of care for me as the patient.

As for my mental health care, I was diagnosed incorrectly during 2000. I can't recall if the doctor was a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but based upon talk therapy, he must have been a psychologist since psychiatrists rarely perform talk therapy; rather the psychiatrist is a pharmacologist toward mental illness treatment.

During 2000, the psychologist stated that my long dead grandmother did NOT have schizophrenia even though she had finally been diagnosed with schizophrenia by a very prominent Winnipeg psychiatrist when she was quite old; how can a subsequent psychologist make a differential diagnosis about a relative, my grandmother, who had been dead for years and then extrapolate to me that I also did not have schizophrenia even given my paranoid behaviours of my wall posters staring at me and persecuting me? I was treated for anxiety with medication that controls the heart rhythm. This too is an act that broke the rule of non-malfeasance in the duty of care for me as the patient.

That is a SERIOUS error since I suffered for 5 more years before being hospitalized three times during 2005 where I finally received the diagnosis of schizophrenia (with depression and anxiety as a result since I could not recover properly and I had no idea at the time before diagnosis what was wrong with my brain, along with the following reality). I had lost all jobs, I had no positive cash flow income, I almost lost my house, and I almost killed myself since I was highly suicidal. The EI system funds ran out and then they came back at me for not properly declaring the little side income I did earn in my poverty.

I would have been gone and not only my family and friends would have lost me; I believe in myself and my ideas and the world would have lost those too.

The underlying problem in my case for both the family physician and the psychologist: no peer consult and over confidence in their knowledge and skills to properly diagnose completely ignoring me, the patient, and the input from me and my family. The CMA does have one thing correct: the patient MUST be the center of care. That is the whole point of the health care system.

I think the Hippocratic Oath needs to be recalled by all medical doctors regardless if they are a general practitioner or a specialist. This patient was almost killed twice by insufficient and inappropriate medical treatment and it is not only my goal, it is my moral duty, to minimize that same occurrence for other patients who may be too ill to fight for their human rights of proper health care treatment in Canada and elsewhere in the world.

David Albert Newman, CGA, CIA, ACCA (UK), B. Comm. (Hons.) with Distinction

"Anything is possible if we let our mind wander away from standardization towards creativity."

Being Scene

‘The artists are reaching for something inside’



Being Scene is an art exhibition which showcases pieces by artists who have experience with mental health or addiction issues. It combines pieces from artists with formal training, as well as, those with no training at all.

The exhibition pieces do not follow a mental health theme, artists contribute whichever pieces they would like. Rather, this is an opportunity for artists who have faced mental health challenges to express themselves creatively and share their work with others.

This article on "Being Scene" appeared in Sunday's Globe and Mail.

Read article here

Mental health and the workplace: An experience

In her most recent video, 2010 Face of Mental Illness Marie Asuncion discusses managing your mental health while in the workplace.

"A brief experience with mental health and the workplace. See how you can handle mental health and having a full time job, and what you should do as a person with a disability to ensure you use your rights!
"

Watch Marie's video

Aron Firman's struggle

"Schizophrenia, drugs were his demons", by Morgan Ian Adams, appeared in The Barrie Examiner on July 23, 2010.

This article discusses Aron Firman who lived with schizophrenia and drug addiction. Sadly, he died from the use of a Taser during a confrontation with police officers after an altercation with another resident in the group home where Aron lived.

Four weeks after his death, his family is still trying to understand how this happened, and how it could have been prevented.

Do you think increased understanding of mental illness would have helped in this situation?


Read article

OPEN CASTING CALL - Manitoba

Hello MIAW friends and supporters.

2010 Face of Mental Illness Dr. Ted Jablonski is busy preparing for his 2010 SAD no more Canadian Tour this fall when he will cycle, run and speak across Canada to raise awareness about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and inspire action to overcome it.

Ted needs your help!

Do you, or someone you know, have Seasonal Affective Disorder and want to share your story?

Be a part of Ted’s video project to raise awareness of SAD

If you live in Manitoba and want to share your story about living with Seasonal Affective Disorder, email and we will put you in contact with Ted to be part of his 2010 Sad no more tour video project.

OPEN CASTING CALL! Seeking – Male and Female participants, of any age, with Seasonal Affective Disorder, currently living in Manitoba. You don’t need to be a professional actor, just a real person, playing yourself and speaking honestly in your own words.

Find out more about Ted’s tour at www.SADnomore.ca

Thank you for supporting Ted and MIAW!

Dr. Ted Jablonski: SAD no more tour: Countdown to Departure!

2010 Face of Mental Illness, Dr. Ted Jablonski is about to kick off his SAD no more tour!

We wanted to share his message and ask for everyone's support in getting his message out. Please share this page with your friends and help us raise awareness of seasonal affective disorder and support Ted in his bike across Canada!

Hi everyone,

First of all, a big thanks for your ongoing support and involvement. We are truly grateful to all of you for your hard work on our behalf. Now the real FUN begins!

The SAD no more Canadian Tour 2010 start is less than 2 weeks away. The first event is a pre-tour promotional/educational event occuring at Fort Street Cycle in Victoria on Thursday July 29, 2010. There will be some education about SAD and inspiring talk as well as a silent auction of bikes and cycling accessories, tour merchandise and "dr j" musical memorabilia. Thereafter a bit of final preparations and the tour will start on August 1st at Mile 0.

The website is fully updated, all social media has been going for a while and a daily blog will be started very soon. TOUR SCHEDULE is now well displayed so no confusion about where I will be on any given day, the google map system will be deployed as the tour actually starts moving.

I am fully relying on each and every partner to promote this tour with the energy and excitment that it deserves.

Depending of the event, this is a unique opportunity for physicians, allied health care workers and the public to learn more about Seasonal MDD (SAD), hear a motivating story from an excellent and inspiring speaker :) and be part of a national Tour. There is much to be learned about this poorly understood mental health issue and hopefully many questions will be answered about the practical "nuts and bolts" of the condition. For the media, the story is much the same. This is an awareness to action campaign and in the broadest sense, public awareness of how to get started in making changes to improve overall health (physical and mental) and essentially be SAD no more. Akin to getting physicians out to CME events, the media will need cajoling, coaxing, prodding, etc to pick this up and hopefully everyone is up for the challenge of pushing hard to get the story out there.

Monique and I have been preparing for this tour for 2 years and you must know that much sweat and tears (not much blood has been shed yet) has gone into this project. We rely on you all to relay our dedication and enthusiasm to everyone "in the field" so that we can continue to gain attention and momentum as the tour kicks off and gets going across the country.

Thanks

Dr. Ted Jablonski, 2010 Face of Mental Illness

Filmmaker starves himself for three months

D'Arcy Mann starved himself for 100 days to raise awareness of the serious effects of mental illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia.

During the 100 days of this stunt, D'Arcy would limit food to half an apple for breakfast, a can of tuna for lunch, and the other half an apple for dinner.

"The 100 day project won’t likely change any minds of those who already have the anorexia demon inside them, as they often rationalize their behavior and lash out at anyone who tries to convince them otherwise. But I do hope it reaches out to people in the early stages and convince them that it’s just not worth it. Similarly I hope that people who have rationalized being overweight or even obese will take an introspective look and consider how they’re shortening their lives."

Visit D'Arcy's blog to learn more