My post on the newly launched Unsinkable Stories is all about an issue that I now know is quite common when people are making progress on recovery from mental illness, but it’s not something anybody had prepared me for when…
So you want to work in mental health…
I was part of a panel discussion at the University of Toronto recently on community engagement work in the mental health sector. It was exciting to see so many people interested in working in mental health. The questions and comments from…
Is that juice cleanse just another compulsion?
I often get questions about the “right” foods to eat for mental illness recovery: What are the best foods to prevent intrusive thoughts? Will eliminating gluten lower my anxiety levels? Can a detox fix the chemical imbalances in my body? But if you’ve…
Overcoming stigma when blogging about health and illness.
I recently gave a keynote presentation at Diabetes Linkup, a conference for Type 2 Diabetes bloggers, on the topic of overcoming stigma to connect with peers online. I was sharing lessons learned from the past four years of sharing about my…
Want to succeed with your New Year’s resolutions? Build the boat first.
If you’re starting off the new year with plans to make changes that will support recovery from mental illness, be honest about where you are and the skills you’ll need to learn to get to where you want to be. Our…
Take steps forward
I got this postcard on Ishigaki Island. It sort of translates to “One step is still a step.” Even incredibly long journeys are just single steps strung together. It’s a great reminder that managing to take even just a…
5 Relapse Recovery Tips
Relapses happen. Here are some tips for getting things back on track, regardless of the specific compulsions you’re dealing with: 1. Don’t turn this into an excuse to dig the hole deeper. You know what’s at the bottom of a…
Creating an Energy Map to Design the Year Ahead
When it comes to the new year, I like to draw out where I’m spending my time and energy and position the activities by how they relate to each other, and then I look at whether that makes sense and…