therese borchard, who wrote the fabulous book beyond blue, has a dream about mental health.  i think dr. martin luther king would be totally okay with her being inspired by his famous words.

i have a dream that one day i won’t hold my breath every time i tell a person that i suffer from bipolar disorder, that i won’t feel shameful in confessing my mental illness.

i have a dream that people won’t feel the need to applaud me for my courage on writing and speaking publicly about my disease, because the diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder would be understood no differently than that of diabetes, arthritis, or dementia.

you can find the rest here at huffington post.

today, too, is depression screening day in vancouver at the CMHA. you can get an anonymous depression test and have a short informational meeting with a clinician.

if you don’t have the time or don’t live in vancouver, you can also try the goldberg depression test.

and if you want to read some REAL MLK posts, this being january 18 and all, you might want to stroll on over to one of my favourite blogs, the field negro, and a dream he had back in 2006. or you can go to learn out loud and listen to one of martin luther king’s speeches, “i am a drum major for justice”.