my mental health camp talk: insanity in the workplace

my talk at mental health camp yesterday: it’s not about mental illness. it’s about mental health. in 1996, 510 murders occurred in canada. taking a prevalence rate of about 3% of violent crimes committed by people with mental illness, at most, 16 of these people were killed by someone with a mental illness. i’m mentioning… Continue reading my mental health camp talk: insanity in the workplace

mental health camp today!

these are my opening remarks for mental health camp today. if you’re on twitter, you can follow the conference via the hashtag #mhcyvr10. this is a conference that was conceived and organized in love, excitement and harmony. while we talk about stigma and silence, what is much more interesting to us is to move forward… Continue reading mental health camp today!

social media and mental health – it’s not all rosy

today you may want to amble over to brainblogger, where i’ve posted an article apropos mental health camp.  the post, social media and mental health, discusses some of the difficulties associated with the intersection between mental health and social media such as internet addiction, insomnia, etc.

mental health debate: the stigma of stigma

the following is a transcript of an email conversation with harold mayo, a mental health advocate from florida. harold is critical of talk of stigma in relationship with mental illness. this criticism arose in connection with the press release for mental health camp.  in the following you will see that in the exchange, i directed… Continue reading mental health debate: the stigma of stigma

violence and mental illness: how should we talk about it?

earlier this week, our newspapers were full of the tragic story of clare shelswell, the little girl who was killed by her stepfather, peter wilson. on june 29, the vancouver sun devoted half of page 1 and 2 to it. on page 2, there was also an article that contained an interview with an expert… Continue reading violence and mental illness: how should we talk about it?

… and when and why is it ok to talk about mental health?

still thinking out loud … when and why do people get to talk about mental health? there seem to be certain circumstances that make it more acceptable or easy to talk about mental health. as i am writing this i am telling myself that i need to be careful not to sound too cranky. “the… Continue reading … and when and why is it ok to talk about mental health?

who gets to talk about mental health?

on may 18, i asked here on this blog, on twitter and on facebook what you think i should talk about at the upcoming mental health camp. this ended up being the winner: who gets to speak up about mental health? in the process of coming up with a useful definition for mental health, we… Continue reading who gets to talk about mental health?

psychologists, mental illness and stigma

today please visit over at brainblogger, where i talk about research on how some psychologists view people with mental health issues, especially those with schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.  interesting points that are being discussed in the comments are the place of diagnosis and the importance, or limits of, of objectivity.

help me! what should i talk about?

raul and i are gearing up for vancouver’s second mental health camp, the conference about the intersection between mental health and social media. i’m hoping to give a presentation there. last time the topic of my session was blogging yourself home – using blogging to find a voice, a place, a community. would you help… Continue reading help me! what should i talk about?

mental health advice: tell me what you think

the other day i received a phone call from william (not his real name), very distressed. he was in the psych ward, on his third week now. “i gotta get better, i gotta get better!” he kept saying. his hospitalization had been preceded by a good six weeks of progressively worsening mental health. anxiety, depression… Continue reading mental health advice: tell me what you think