National Caregiver Day

Tuesday, April 5th is National Caregiver Day in Canada. Let us recognize families, friends, health professionals and communities supporting individuals and loved ones experiencing a mental health concern!

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have" - Margaret Mead

"Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Schizophrenia's Cause"

The internet was booming at the end of last week with an exciting development for the mental health community. "Scientists reported [last] Wednesday that they had taken a significant step toward understanding the cause of schizophrenia, in a landmark study that provides the first rigorously tested insight into the biology behind any common psychiatric disorder." Find the full article on the New York Times website, HERE.

A video on the subject from The Toronto Star can be watched HERE.

A break-down of research "Schizophrenia's strongest known genetic risk deconstructed" can be found on the National Institutes of Health website, HERE.

Recovery Story

I get asked a lot to share recovery stories that I've heard from people.  These stories can help to inspire hope, create normalcy for mental illness, and give people a voice who feel like they might not have one (or feel like people don't want to listen).  Here's a video from someone who wants to share his own experience with mental illness. 
This video contains a conversation about suicide.

Blame

Brene Brown on Blame is a must-see video, as known from Sympathy vs. Empathy. "Brene Brown considers why we blame others, how it sabotages our relationships, and why we desperately need to move beyond this toxic behaviour." Enjoy!

National Suicide Prevention Week 2015

September 7th - September 13th marks National Suicide Prevention week. Jamie Tworkowski from To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) writes:

"The lie is that depression and suicide are things that we can't talk about.
It's a lie that causes people to feel alone and live alone when it comes to their pain.  The truth is that, as people, we all relate to pain.  We all struggle from time to time, we all experience sadness, and we all encounter huge questions in this life.  All of that is part of this human experience that you and I keep waking up to.

And with all of that in mind, welcome to National Suicide Prevention Week.  This week, people all across America are pushing back at the lie.  Thousands more will join them on Thursday for World Suicide Prevention Day.  Together we will say that it's important to talk about mental health and suicide.  Together we will say that it's okay to be honest and it's okay to ask for help.  Together we will say we're not alone.

Project Semicolon

There are lots of different ways to start talking about mental health, advocating for yourself and supporting others.  Something that's gaining a lot of popularity right now is the Semicolon tattoo movement - which I love! A lot of individuals are using these tattoos as a conversation starter about mental health, and a reminder to themselves that their story isn't finished yet.  This project was originally started by Amy Bleuel of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who founded "Project Semicolon" in 2013 after losing her Father to suicide and dealing with her own mental illness.  There are so many ways we can spread awareness of mental illness, and even more so, to let people know they aren't alone.  We're all in this together!  
Here are some articles about the movement:

Article from The Star

UpWorthy article

Global News - tattoo raising funds for CMHA Calgary

COPMI Launches Video Series For Youth

COPMI: Children of Parents with a Mental Illness.

COPMI is an online Australian mental health information resource for children, teens and parents. Recently COPMI has launched a brand new video series for youth living with a parent experiencing mental illness. These videos provide a wide range of information based on specific illnesses, treatments, coping strategies and much more.

These videos aim to be both educational and engaging for youth and so they are filmed with youth who have experienced similar struggles.

http://www.copmi.net.au/kids-young-people/about-mental-illness

#WeAreAcceptance

"The world is filled with people who couldn't care less. Be the person who could care more."  - Anonymous

I want to be that person.  I want FAME to be that organization.  Those words stuck to me like two sided duct tape when I first heard them in the opening address at the NAMI 2015 Conference last week in San Francisco. They resonated through my brain like an echo chamber.

The messages were loud and clear.  For four days we listened, learned, shared, talked, networked and snatched up programming ideas.  All of it done with a view to being the organization that could care more.  To be the organization that would find better ways to support families, to look for new, fresh and innovative ideas that would families would embrace with hope and understanding.

Looking back over those days spent in San Francisco I think what I came to realize while listening to Keynote Speaker and Mental Health Advocate, Hakeem Rahim, was that for us to truly be able to succeed in recovery, we must first enter in to the journey of acceptance.  Until we have that we will never truly begin to be able to stamp out the stigma that is associated to mental health, mental illness or mental wellness.  At the end of his address he asked conference participants to use the hash tag #IAmAcceptance.  I looked over at my associate, board co-chair, Cindy Woodcock and said "that is FAME....except for us it will be #WeAreAcceptance"

The Rise of the Self-Help Apps

In a world that's become heavily reliant on smartphones, tablets and social media, mental health initiatives are finally taking their place in our electronic world. 

Good Reads

I recently read some interesting articles, and as much as I believe we have adopted these rationales in to our every day work, I think it is still beneficial to share with others.  Regarding individuals experiencing addictions, Johann Hari writes "So the opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection." in the article The Likely Cause Of Addition Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think.  The other article is Redefining Mental Illness from The New York Times, which discusses a new diagnostic system. Enjoy!

Mind, Body and Soul

Happy  New Year to everyone!  I hope your Holidays were full of joy, care, and peace; and that 2015 brings happiness and light to everyone out there.
I would like to start off this new year with reminder that our minds and bodies are all connected, and to take care of one, we have to take care of the other as well.  There is a huge focus right now on holistic health and recovery, and here is a perfect example of what's going on in our community to support people taking care of mind, body and soul:

"As a yoga devotee and founder of her own studio, Linda Malone is sharing her passion for the practice through a special program dedicated to helping people living with mental illness. Malone is the director of the Blu Matter Project, a not-for-profit organization acting as a bridge between its ambassador yoga studios and individuals living with depression and/or bipolar disorder."

Please read this amazing article to gain some more information on how yoga and mindfulness can help in the support and recovery of your mind and body.  

Lyrical Insight

While battering chicken fingers for the FAMEKids group, I was listening to the Hozier self-titled album (2014). The song "Arsonist's Lullaby" was on, and I found myself washing my hands too often to re-play it. I recommend taking a few minutes to listen to the song before reading on.

On a quest for more information, I came across this lyrics website: Rock Genius. Individuals can highlight lines/sections of the song and comment on what they feel it means to them (you can click on a line and an elaboration will appear to the right), and I found it particularly interesting to read what people thought and shared about this specific song.

Music has historically been a means of release for many artists and musicians, and many listeners have found an empathetic shoulder to lean on. [Cat Power being the first artist to come to mind]. Often layered with enigmatic lyrics and metaphoric language, musicians are surely opening the platform for individuals the world over to engage in a conversation about what they think the song could mean, how it impacts them and myriad other thoughts and feelings. Certainly, sites like the one posted above offer a place to speak, allowing people who perhaps wouldn't voice their ideas naturally to raise their virtual hand in an anonymous and safe space.

Let me know what YOU think!

Caveat: Although I don't necessarily share the views that are written on the website mentioned, I feel it imperative to open the discussion surrounding such issues of mental illness and their public reception, as they are often laden with misconceptions and stigmatized perspectives.

Resource for Depression

This website helps with informed choices about depression including treatment, supports, a young adults journey towards recovery and much more. There is also a section on about helping a friend or family member with depression.

RBC releases it's national survey on Mental Health

Yesterday morning I was reading the Toronto Star and found an article authored by Barbara Turnbull titled "Kids, Parents are not discussing mental health concerns RBC poll finds".

Basically what the article speaks to is that children don't confide in their parents when they are experiencing issues around their own problems.  The poll also reflected that more than 50% of parents don't approach their children to talk to them about mental health.  After reading this article I sat and pondered for a while and thought to myself there was definitely something missing, both by RBC and by the author.  There is a much larger landscape here, and it is my opinion, that we can't see the forest for the proverbial trees.  Let's step back and take a look at what I'm speaking to.