Ron Ellis started out as a professional hockey player to speaker, now speaks about his personal experience with depression. Ron Ellis is remembered for his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and member of the Team Canada hockey team. During his 15 years as a professional player, he assisted in bringing the Stanley Cup home for the Leafs in 1967 and won against the Russians with Team Canada in the World Hockey Summit Series in 1972.Read More →

How well do you know your friends, co-workers or even family? It would be surprising to know it doesn’t matter how well you know them, they may be hiding something from you. What you may see is a happy marriage, a great job, lots of friends. What you won’t see is the unhappiness, lack of energy, constant self-doubt and changes in appetite; a few symptoms of high-functioning depression.Read More →

I don’t like to use my blog for rants, but I am angry. And if I’m being compassionate with myself, then my anger is just as valid as any other feeling. So I’m going to give myself permission to write about my anger. I was telling a friend recently about the presentation I gave at work on self-compassion, and he responded with hostility and disdain. I was not prepared for the attack. I understand that some people prefer the “suck it up” approach to pain and suffering, but why would it make him angry that I teach people how to be kind to themselves instead?Read More →

This was written by someone very close to me who lives with mental illness. I see what it’s like for them to develop anxiety and panic just because they have to go out the door or when it comes time to write an email. I see first hand how isolating mental illness can be, by family and friends and themselves…like they say, it’s lost freedom. People need to know living with mental illness IS NOT a choice.Read More →

Written by Fliss Baker Twitter is a wonderful thing! I’m four thousand miles away and I’m meeting the like-minded. For info I’m a writer, author, volunteer and guest speaker in mental health and I love it. Oh, and I have a diagnosis of bipolar. I receive ongoing professional treatment in an attempt to manage my depressive and manic cycles. I am also in recovery for an eating disorder. It’s important I introduce myself before my illness because as much as it rules my life at times, I will not let it define me.Read More →

http://joethesicilian.com/ I honestly do not know where to start. I am devastated. I was having a hard time deciding what my next post would be about, and then he was gone… As I wrestle and fight to come to terms with this emotional tornado, I stand my ground as the high winds smack the cold tears running down my face. I scream into the unforgiving truth and it just continues to spin more violently out of control. Inside I am dying, but my adrenaline forces me to fight. My muscles burn hot like 1,000 volcanoes and my clenched fists swing illogically at the twisted coldRead More →

CLINT MALARCHUK Interview by Samina Raza December 28, 2014 I had the great pleasure of interviewing Clint Malarchuk, NHL goalie, NHL coach, cowboy, horse dentist and now author of his first book “A Matter of Inches”, the title refers to the bullet in his head, as well as the skate that was actually a few millimeters from his carotid artery! This man is indestructible, thank goodness, knock on wood! He suffered from OCD, horrible anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, and finally PTSD because of a horrific hockey injury to his neck. Even dealing with all those mental illnesses, he became a great goalie, playing for, amongRead More →

Written by David Sandum http://davidsandum.org/ People often ask me, “Have you always known you wanted to be an artist?” The fast answer is no. It wasn’t until many years after my first exhibit that I made a conscious decision to become one. I had originally planned to become a business consultant. During my senior year of college, however, my life started veering off course. I had trouble sleeping, cried for no reason, thought I would fail everything, and went to the emergency room twice, terrified I was having a heart attack because my chest hurt so badly. The doctors would tell me nothing was wrong,Read More →

Written by Marisa Lancione http://madgirlslament.com/ Some people’s depression is triggered by an event, a major loss or a tragedy. My first depressive episode had no inciting incident. It happened slowly and all at once. The sadness and dread was overwhelming. I couldn’t stop crying. I stopped going out. I stopped talking to my roommates. I hated everything and everyone. I skipped classes. I stopped eating. I thought about suicide and I started cutting. For me, the scariest part of depression is when the tears stop and the numbness sets in. You start to wonder if you’ll ever feel anything again or if you’re doomed toRead More →

By Rufus William, May 19, 2014 http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/ I have had problems with depression for my whole adult life. Despite running as fast as I can away from it, with a desperation to put it behind me, it always comes back. For all my successes, for all my acceptance and understanding of myself, for all my progress as a well-adjusted adult, it won’t leave me. Depression will still hijack my feelingsRead More →