Let's Talk About It

“Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy.  Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.” - Elle Woods, Legally Blonde I have both loved and envied this quote for a long time (long before I even got married, so the third sentence wasn’t even relevant).  Quick health lesson: endorphins are a hormone produced by your body, reacting with your brain to relieve stress and pain, ergo making you “happier”.  If endorphins make you happy, and endorphins are given through exercise, then that would clearly help with depression symptoms, right?  A friend of mine even recommended working out as a way to handle my anxiety and depression symptoms, saying it was the “best therapy” for her. (I didn’t put it in quotes in order to be sarcastic; I honestly appreciate her insight and was directly quoting what she had told me.  And I’m proud of her for finding a way to help with her own anxiety and depression symptoms.) My problem had always been the s...

Everyone needs help once in a while.  Not constantly, but enough that when a rough patch does come up, you know you have the right support.  That can include friends and family--especially friends and family--when you feel you’re struggling, but should you be considering looking to expand your mental health support squad? In my personal experience the last few months, I have had to expand the professional/specialist team in order for me to learn, control, and deal with my mental illness.  I have been so lucky, and so grateful for everyone who has been able to help, but I will tell you: it’s not easy.  It’s difficult because things had gotten so bad that I felt like I could no longer just talk about it with my friends and family.  I needed more help; I needed a more professional approach to talk to so that I didn’t strain or destroy the relationships I have. But there are so many designations out there, so many certifications; group therapy, individual therap...

It starts with some nausea in the pit of my stomach.  Makes me shift uncomfortably in my spot.  When I move, my shoulders shrug tensely, my hands unconsciously search for an object to fidget with and often finding the hem of my sleeve.  The fluttering in my stomach moves up to my chest after a minute or so, the nausea turning to a tightness where it just slightly gets a little harder to breathe. Whatever I’m doing must be super intense, eh?  To spark these feelings? This--the symptoms of my anxiety--can start up in me when I’m just reading or talking about anxiety. I have to limit my reading of nonfiction books about anxiety or panic to half an hour on a good day.  When talking about it, I often have to pause to take a few deep breaths, relax my shoulders, but even then I begin stumbling over words when I try to continue the discussion. So why not stop doing that?  Stop reading and talking about anxiety? Well, for one, I am a huge advocate of talk...

Do you want to "end the stigma" of talking about mental health?  Do you want to put an end to the many people who struggle with mental health issues feeling hopeless, helpless, and a burden to the people they love?  Then stop trying to profit and advertise off of it. Bell Canada's awareness campaign is supposed to raise money towards "mental health in Canada", and "driving action in mental health care, research, and the workplace".  I'm not exactly sure where a cheque is cashed when it's made out to "MENTAL HEALTH", but I digress.  There is plenty, up to date research being done on the science of mental health and mental illness.  I personally own a number of self-help books, workbooks; I've subscribed to articles, apps, and the like that have all been researched and backed by references upon references of research done from the philosophers from centuries ago to the medical community today.  But all of it would be useless ...