A safe place to talk openly about mental health & illness
I've written before about the issues with language policing, but this is probably one of the more controversial areas where I believe that words matter less than people might think. We aren't "supposed to" talk about successful suicide or failed suicide attempts. Sara of Surviving Sara brought this up recently, and I told her it's… Continue reading Failed/Successful Suicide: Do Words Matter? What’s the Real Failure?
Should people with mental illness have access to medical assistance in dying? In Canada, that's going to happen in the near future, but exactly what it will look like hasn't been decided yet. This is something I support, but a lot of people don't, so I thought I'd write about it. A bit of background… Continue reading Medical Assistance in Dying for Mental Illness
https://youtu.be/T_xWinz_rIQ?t=644 This may seem like an odd video to share. I stumbled across it on Youtube, having no idea that at 10:44 (where I've cued it to play), it would turn into a mental health video. Former British Army sniper Craig Harrison talks about developing PTSD, and how his dog saved him from killing himself.… Continue reading There’s Nothing Weak About PTSD
Stigma is a social phenomenon that encompasses stereotypes, prejudiced attitudes based on those stereotypes, and discriminatory behaviours. There are a lot of anti-stigma advocates, both organizations and individuals, focusing on word usage and what to say or not say about mental illness. This is sometimes referred to as word policing or language policing. Sometimes, those… Continue reading Stigma, Word Policing, and Targeting the Wrong Audience
This post isn't about saying that suicide is something people should choose, or that it's a good choice, or that it's a choice that they want to have on the menu. I'm writing this because, while it's much more complicated to get into the element of choice, I believe that it's inaccurate to say that… Continue reading Is Suicide a Choice? (Regardless, It’s Not Selfish)
Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternative to Suicide for Teens, Freaks & Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein was recommended to me by Skinny Hobbit. It's written for nonconforming "freaks and outlaws," whether that be in relation to gender, sexual orientation, or anything else that society likes to judge. It has fun illustrations, like a "get out… Continue reading Book Review: Hello, Cruel World
The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook by Kathryn Hope Gordon aims to support people experiencing thoughts of suicide to help manage their emotional pain, drawing on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) strategies. The book begins by guiding the reader through worksheets to reflect on reactions to the suicidal thoughts and identify risk factors and elements in the environment… Continue reading Book Review: The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook
For Pride Month, I wanted to talk about an important mental health issue facing LGBTQ+ youth. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among North American youth, and the level of risk is even higher in LGBTQ+ youth. That's not good. Stats Here are a few stats for LGBT youth: LGB youth attempt suicide 5x… Continue reading Suicide Risk Among LGBTQ+ Youth – A Pride Month Post
I'll start with a bit of a disclaimer and say that I didn't do any searching to verify these quotes, and internet quotes are notoriously unreliable, so these people may or may not have said the things that I'm telling you they said. Regardless of who said what, I think these words are relevant to… Continue reading A Collection of Quotes and Thoughts on Mental Illness
I saw the topic of trigger warnings circulating in the blogosphere recently, and I thought I'd chime in with my own thoughts. In a very general sense, a trigger is one thing causing another to occur. What's particular to people with a past trauma history is that what's being triggered is re-experiencing. That means re-experiencing… Continue reading Are Trigger Warnings Useful?