blogging yourself home

here is part 1 of my presentation at MentalHealthCamp on the topic “blogging yourself home – writing, blogging and creativity.” i’ll present it as if i was talking at the presentation and treat you, dear readers, as if you were participants in the workshop. here we go … when i was a little girl, there… Continue reading blogging yourself home

the lyric self

this is another guest post by sarah luczaj, a british therapist and writer, living in poland. she runs an online therapy practice  at mytherapist.com and has a poetry chapbook, “an urgent request” coming soon from fortunate daughter press, an imprint of tebot bach.  sarah is a freequent commenter on this blog, and a propos poetry… Continue reading the lyric self

why we write

my little workshop for MentalHealthCamp, “blogging yourself home” about blogging, writing, creativity and mental health had me think hard about the connection between these topics in the last week or so. i was deligthed, then, to come across alison, who blogs (and teaches) about writing about mental health. in this post, she asks why do… Continue reading why we write

mental health camp: speaker list, diagnosis, and the history of stigma

for today, i’ll simply send you over to the MentalHealthCamp site. we have a list of presentations now – really interesting stuff – topics reach from anonymity and pseudonymity to ADD to online therapy to stigma and self stigma – please check it out! the title of my presentation will be “blogging yourself home” –… Continue reading mental health camp: speaker list, diagnosis, and the history of stigma

25 things

a bunch of people tagged me on facebook with the “25 things about you” meme. i’m going to try and do this a) really quick and b) restrict my answers to the kinds of things discussed here on this blog, namely psychology, creativity/art, spirituality, books and lefty stuff (you know, social justice, peace – bleeding… Continue reading 25 things

quickie: writing in the deep sea

i was going to post the rest of the october buddhist carnival today but i have a cold and putting together these remaining five or six posts in a way that makes at least some sense seems to be a little much for these gray cells today. so i’ll leave you with a quote by… Continue reading quickie: writing in the deep sea

escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

almost two weeks ago now, catatonic kid (let’s call her CK) posted another entry in our cross-blog conversation about depression and language. in fighting darkness, recovering words, CK took her words and crafted a beautiful post. it’s a work of art and it, along with her readers’ comments, also raises a number of very interesting… Continue reading escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

blogathon: creativity and schizophrenia

(this is an entry for my participation in the 2008 blogathon, a 24-hour marathon of blogging. please support the cause and donate – however much, however little – to the canadian mental health association (vancouver/burnaby branch). to donate, use this URL: www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d2252. you should be able to get there by clicking the link;if not, just… Continue reading blogathon: creativity and schizophrenia

creativity, oppression and depression

in his latest post on creating a way out of depression, john offers these words: creative work communicates with others, and that connecting is a critical piece. it’s the opposite of the isolating impact of depression. for me, the human connection through creative work is life-giving. so i’m realizing that i probably started this series… Continue reading creativity, oppression and depression

the voice that dares not sing its name

when i was a child in germany, everyone was singing, all the time. you sang while doing the dishes, at church, with others just for fun, everywhere. waiting at the bus stop, i’d while away the time singing. paraguay wasn’t much different. my singing repertoire was enhanced by beautiful songs in the native language, accompanied… Continue reading the voice that dares not sing its name