This year’s theme centers around the healing power of compassion.
Compassion and mental health go hand in hand.
Compassion isn’t just about being kind to others, “it’s about extending that same kindness to ourselves” as well.
After struggling through a really difficult week, my mental health has taken a beating, and every ounce of my self-compassion has gone out the door with it.
Being in your own head the way I am 24/7 means overthinking and overanalyzing every situation. I can’t let things go. It’s a really scary place to be and well-known risk factors contributing to depression and anxiety.
I am taking some time to prioritize self-care and practice self-compassion this Mother’s Day weekend. In order for me to continue advocating for other’s mental health and well-being, I know I need to take care of my own first.
“I like to walk in the rain so that nobody can see my tears.~Charlie Chaplin
Rich and I kicked off the #summerofrich season today (in the rain) by participating in Kids Help Phone’s annual 5km “Walk So Kids Can Talk” Walkathon. The walk took place close to our home, with similar events happening simultaneously at different locations all across Canada. Rich, just 3 weeks post surgery, had to walk at a much slower than his usual pace, one that I’m not used to on our hikes; because normally I can’t keep up with him!
For 35 years now, Kids Help Phone has been Canada’s only free, 24/7 multilingual and confidential e-mental health service, offering our youth support by eliminating barriers to accessing mental health services with a safe space to #feeloutloud. Since 2020 alone, they have helped our young people over 19 million times, and in 2023, Kids Help Phone was voted most trusted charity in Canada.
Supporting the mental health and well-being of our young people is where my heart is at.
Stats show that 1 in every 2 of our youth who struggle with their mental health are doing so in silence which is why it’s even more important than ever that we have amazing resources like Kids Help Phone readily available at their fingertips.
Every single young person deserves the chance to build caring, connected conversations. Every single young person deserves to feel seen, heard, and supported.
As many of you know, I originally started a graduation lawn sign initiative in 2020 shortly after the Pandemic began because I wanted to find a meaningful way to honour our graduates, including my youngest daughter who, at the time was all set to complete her final year of high school and was missing out on so many of life’s milestones and rites of passage that came along with it.
In a matter of 5 weeks I sold and hand delivered over 700 signs throughout the GTHA that spring (with the help of my wonderful hubby, Rich), placing signs front and center on lawns everywhere but more importantly, putting smiles on the faces of so many people, both young and old alike. The response was overwhelming, but in a good way.
By the end of my campaign in June of that year, I had raised over $10k for Kids Help Phone with the incredible outpouring of support and generosity within these beautiful communities. It was one of the proudest moments in my life.
At the start of spring 2021 it quickly became apparent to me that our soon to be graduating class was once again about to lose out on those same deserving milestones and rites of passage due to the never-ending Pandemic; my middle daughter included who had been working tiresomely online all year to complete her 4 year undergraduate Degree in Communications. I knew I needed to continue my initiative.
By the end of that spring, I had raised an additional $5k for youth mental health initiatives, including Kids Help Phone, bringing the total to $15k.
At the start of spring in 2022, I announced that I would not be doing another graduation lawn sign initiative again that year as I was focusing my efforts on other projects supporting youth mental health.
But shortly after making the announcement, I began receiving an outpouring of people reaching out to me from the community, saddened that I won’t be selling them again that year.
I quickly realized, with a lot of self-reflection that although I may have started the initiative back in 2020 because I wanted to show our graduates some extra loving during a really difficult time, at the end of the day, it truly had taken on a whole other meaning within itself and grown into something way more purposeful than I could have ever imagined; something way beyond the parameters of any Pandemic. At the end of the day this initiative started many important conversations in communities all across the GTHA and had helped spread some much needed awareness surrounding our youth and mental health; so I decided to give it another shot and pick up my campaign right where it left off the year before. The appreciation was immeasurable. It did not disappoint.
Last year, however, in 2023, circumstances in my life had changed drastically. I had just started working a full-time job again after many years, and it was just too much for me. Although the window of time is short, it is a full-time commitment while doing so. So, sadly, I had to put my initiative on the back burner even if I knew I was disappointing many. This past week, I have started receiving several emails and private messages from community members once again asking me if I am selling lawn signs for the class of 2024 graduates. I feel truly blessed to still be top of people’s minds and that my initiative has touched so many in ways I I could never have imagined and that they continue to reach out in the hopes of honouring a special graduate in their lives; many for the first time and many of whom could be graduating again 4 years later.
Do I feel loads of guilt for having to apologize that I’m not able to this year. You bet. I feel like I’m letting people down. I love seeing these signs throughout my community and what they represent, and even though supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our young people is where my heart is at, for now (we never know what the future holds), I need to take care of my own mental health and wellbeing while I continue to find meaningful ways to stay connected and help give our youth the hope they need “to thrive in their world”.
A heartfelt thank you to both @kidshelpphone and #bmofinancialgroup. Keep up your amazing work 👏.
It ended on a positive note, though. So that’s good news, right?
I have to keep reminding myself that I can do hard things and that I AM MORE THAN MY MENTAL ILLNESS.
The truth is I don’t see it often, and to be perfectly honest, I mostly only see it when others point it out to me, but I am so much more than my mental illness.
I spend most of my waking hours convincing myself that I am incapable, that I am worthless, and that I am a burden to everyone in my life.
I am forever apologizing for my mental illness.
I am forever feeling guilty because of my mental illness.
I am forever feeling like a failure because of my mental illness.
I am forever left feeling broken and suicidal because of my mental illness.
And I am forever feeling like a prisoner in my own mind because of my mental illness.
Being labelled with a disorder of any kind doesn’t make you any less than the beautiful, amazing person that you already are.
Labeling someone for their shortcomings can be damaging, and we should never let it define us.
Even though my mind literally has a mind of its own, my heart will tell you that I am so much more than my mental illness. It even says so right here on this list.
I AM:
Valuable
Worthy
Respected
Kind
Generous
Loveable
Deeply loved
Thoughtful
Resourceful
Smart
Warm
Funny
Honest
Ambitious
Creative
Dedicated
Skilled at all sorts of things
Resilient
Driven by integrity and values
A good mother
A good wife
A good friend
Enough
I am more than my shortcomings.
I am more than my labels.
I am more than my mental illness.
And you are too.
What do you see in yourself from this list? Feel free to add more.
Each year, the first week of May is recognized as National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week. It’s probably pretty obvious by now that I don’t need any excuse what so ever to raise awareness about either one of these two mental disorders or tell you how important it is to talk about the potential impact they can have on someone’s ability to function in their daily life.
Depression and Anxiety are the two most common of all mental health disorders, and over the course of the past several years, they have both become increasingly more and more debilitating to so many people’s lives.
But then why is there still such stigma attached?
Why do so many people feel a sense of shame and guilt when it comes to their diagnosis?
Why is it still so hard for someone to open up about how they are truly feeling?
Well as someone who has probably heard it all by now, I get it, I get why so many people are afraid to open up about how they are feeling because I too have felt the impact of the stigma surrounding my illness too many times to count and I too have felt the shame and guilt that often comes along with my diagnosis.
It’s important to remember that having a mental disorder is not something that a person chooses to have, they are actual medical conditions and need to be treated with medication and/or therapy; and that no one should ever have to justify their feelings to anyone.
But too often, the person who is suffering with Depression and/or Anxiety are left having to defend themselves against the actions and words of others. And even though their intentions may be coming from a place of love or out of deep concern for the individual who is suffering, those words or actions can end up doing more harm than good and leaving someone feeling attacked or hurt when we dismiss or minimize or deny or compare their feelings.
So can we all make a fresh start today and change the conversation?
Let’s not tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety to “snap out of it”, “try harder” or to simply “cheer up”.
Let’s not tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety that they don’t look or sound “sad” or “depressed”.
Let’s not tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety that everyone has “bad days” or that a lot of people “have it much worse”.
Let’s not tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety that “it’s all in your head” and that they are acting “selfish”.
Let’s not tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety to “take a long walk” and you will feel better.
And let’s never again tell someone who is suffering with Depression or Anxiety that they just need to “think positive” and “happy thoughts”.
Let’s change the conversation today. Somedays my life truly depends on it and I know that I’m not alone.
Many of the events in my life over the past few weeks have left me pretty speechless.
Both literally and figuratively.
I’ve been struggling to write or to put my thoughts down on paper.
I’m completely drained.
My tank is empty.
I’m in sensory overload.
Everything feels too much.
Leaving me unable to control my emotions.
But, I’m still trying my best to take care of me.
As a kid I loved reading “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories (which for anyone who grew up in the 80’s knows exactly what I’m talking about).
But my life is not so simple. None of our lives are.
I’m sure for those of us who loved reading this book series, we can collectively admit that we often cheated our way through them, flipping to the back pages, ensuring we made sensible choices that would not lead us to taking the wrong path, a path that would lead toward heartache, bad decisions, irreparable consequences or even death.
Life is full of so many twists and turns and ups and downs.
Thinking about these books today is reminding me that I can’t go back in time, I can not change my past, but the good thing about these books, as it pertains to life itself is they always left the protagonist (which is you) in charge of their own destiny, giving them endless possibilities, alternative choices and new direction.
Many of my past attempts at life, past traumas and past failures have all led me to a path I never would have chosen, a path I never cheated to get down, but, nonetheless, it’s a path that has led me toward endless possibilities, alternative choices and a new direction for which I am truly grateful for.
Who still has their collection of “Choose Your Own Adventure” books?
#Summerofrich has been on a hiatus since last Fall. We don’t normally do much in the way of outdoor activities in the winter months anyway (I despise the cold), however this past winter could have likely been the exception due to the warmer than average temperatures we experienced, but Rich has unfortunately been nursing a hernia and anxiously awaiting his surgery date since late Fall.
With the long await and surgery now finally behind him, Rich will be as good as new, even better, and ready to climb mountains again after some much needed rest and rejuvenation in the coming weeks before we kick off the start of the #summerofrich 2024 season very soon. First up on the agenda will hopefully be the “Kids Help Phone”, Walk So Kids Can Talk, Walkathon which we participated in last spring for the first time. It was very meaningful.
Every year since its inception about seven years ago, now I like to give a recap of how the #summerofrich came to be for any newcomers to my page who may be wondering what the heck it is exactly.
The #summerofrich first began with a simple exclamation one (very) early Friday morning at the end of June as we stood waving goodbye to our three children as they drove away on the bus to camp for the next seven and a half glorious weeks (I actually think 1 or 2 of them may have been staff that summer and had therefore already left for camp a few days prior, but not important!).
They weren’t even out of the parking lot yet when Rich turned to me with the biggest smile on his face (I, on the otherhand had tears in my eyes), his arms raised high above his head as he shouted, “It’s the Summer of Rich!”.
He wasted no time at all getting started, either. Our first activity on the #summerofrich agenda that year (and several years following until Covid hit) was already scheduled for later that morning. We were off to the spa for His and Her pedicures.
The #summerofrich meant that he now had a seven plus week break; a well deserved, much needed and VERY much earned break from the burdensome role he has taken on as both mom and dad, chef extraordinaire, therapist, errand schlepper, grocery bagger, laundry folder and much, much more for the other forty something weeks of the year; a role which he has so selflessly done for the better part of ten years now since I first became ill.
When Covid hit and the inevitable announcement came that May that overnight camps would not be running in 2020 I thought for a brief moment that we should just cancel the #summerofrich all together seeing as Rich would not be getting his well deserved, much needed and VERY much earned break (or pedicure). Then I realized that we didn’t have to cancel it at all. We just needed to pivot somewhat; after all, we no longer had all three kids away for the summer by then anyhow.
Yes, the #summerofrich may have started out as a well deserved, much needed and VERY much earned break for Rich during those seven or eight weeks that the kids were away at camp but it’s since become so much bigger than that now. In many ways, the #summerofrich has morphed itself into something way deeper and with an even more meaningful purpose. And not just in the summer months, either.
It’s become a healthy outlet and a perfect escape for both of us to take care of our mental health while having fun spending quality time together in nature and discovering parts of us, and Ontario, we never knew existed before.
If you were to have told me 6 or 7 years ago that I would be enjoying the great outdoors, bugs and all; venturing way outside my comfort zone, chasing waterfalls, weathering each changing season, taking us on hiking trails (some quite challenging) all across our beautiful Province and exploring the beauty of nature, I’d have said you were crazy.
We have both come to discover instead just how beautiful, spirited, inspiring, healing and valuable nature truly can be and how much it reminds us while we are on our #summerofrich adventures that anything is possible when you can see the forest through the trees.
It also makes me so happy knowing that sharing our adventures has actually brought so much joy to others as well. Hashtag Summerofrich has created quite the following!
“Will ya hurry up, Mama, and take the damn picture already, I’m not getting any younger ya know. All I wanna do is take this silly thing that’s wrapped around my neck off and eat that piece of cheese you’re holding as I shamelessly beg for it while you try to get the perfect shot of all this cuteness.”
Maggie is 13 years young today.
Happy “Bark” Mitzvah cutie.
You will never know just how much your crazy antics, unconditional love, and emotional support have brightened up our lives each and every day since we brought you home on Father’s Day in 2011.
❤️ you to the moon and back, furever and a day.
In honour of Maggie’s big milestone birthday today, I wanted to reshare a blog I wrote a few years ago about how much purpose a dog has in our lives.
Last night, I picked up the finished product from my boudoir photoshoot.
When I went back to view the proofs a week after my shoot in February, I didn’t anticipate how overwhelmed I would feel having to narrow down my choice of pics to select from as part of my gift (and there were plenty). It wasn’t that I wanted to actually choose them all, it was just the opposite, I took one look at them projected on the big screen in front of me, and didn’t want to choose any.
This should really come as no surprise to anyone, given how distorted my sense of self truly is.
My body is something I have come to fear.
I shouldn’t, but I do.
I probably first developed this fear in my late teens during my first battle with an eating disorder.
Over the last 8 months, I have lost a significant amount of weight, something I have spoken about in previous blogs. I will wholeheartedly admit, though, that it has been anything but a healthy journey for me. Those triggers of my first battle with an eating disorder never seem to go away.
Last summer, I was diagnosed by my doctor with a “stress ulcer”. It took me a good month from the onset of my symptoms until I finally went to see her, by which time, I’d already lost 20 pounds. Although the ulcer was causing my body further distress, anything to jumpstart my weight loss journey was a win in my disordered mind. My doctor gave me a medication which I was to take for a month that seemed to help it go away, but the damage was already done. My ED mindset was in full gear.
During the first many years of my battle with depression I gained a lot of weight due to the over 20 different concoctions of antidepressants I was put on. By the time I made the decision to come off all medications that had only caused more harm than good, all I was left with was a further diagnosis of treatment resistant depression, an endless array of non-conventional treatments, and a hundred extra pounds of weight to carry around; some of which came off without any effort, but most have been a struggle to lose ever since.
It’s no secret that we live in a society that values being thin. You rarely hear people congratulate someone or compliment them because they gained 60 pounds, but I can guarantee you that it happens quite often when you lose it.
No one is really all that interested in hearing how you gained all that extra weight either, but we are all ears wanting to know, in great detail, just how you lost it.
Surely, it feels like you are more likeable and attractive when you are thin, but thin doesn’t always equal health or happiness.
I still can’t believe I actually let my guard down the day of my photoshoot. I allowed myself to feel vulnerable both in front of and behind the camera. For a brief moment, I felt free. My body was not something I feared. I was unapologetically me and embraced all my imperfections, perceived flaws, and body dysmorphia.
I did finally choose from the selection of pictures taken. I am sharing one of them with you today as a part of my healing and as a gentle reminder to everyone that it’s ok to embrace your imperfections. The truth is, most of our perceived flaws go completely unnoticed by others anyway, so then why heck are we wasting so much of our energy on them?
If given the opportunity to do this experience again, I would. And if you have ever thought about doing it, you should too!!
Last night, I drifted off to sleep without any of my usual nighttime aids. There were no 1 A.M chats with my night owl friends, no background noise from the television which I had turned off and I wasn’t scrolling my Facebook Reels which I often use to distract me from the noise in my head during a restless night’s sleep. Just my Himalayan Salt Lamp to guide me in the darkness.
I felt a stillness in the air. It was a welcomed silence and calm.
The quiet of the night always feels scary to me. Even as a young child.
My brain never shuts off, especially not long enough for me to enjoy the silence. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to just lie awake, in silence. Or better, fall asleep in it.
The only thing I was thinking about as I drifted off to sleep on our family room couch last night was the Zoom call I had just finished. It was with a Psychologist who reached out to me last week after she happened upon the recently published article I’d interviewed for the week prior. Her original intent for contacting me was to say thank you for my honesty and truth regarding my Psychedelic journey.
When we agreed to a scheduled Zoom call, neither one of us really knew what its exact intentions were or where the conversation would lead to.
It turned out to be quite cathartic for the both of us. We shared some very personal anecdotes from our past, and for nearly 2 hours, we spoke about spirituality, God, and Near Death Experiences. She reassured me, like so many do, that I am never out of options. I told her that I felt like I was at this point in my journey. She went on to say that each path we take in life is never a mistake as there is never just one path traveled to get to the top of that mountain. I truly believe our paths crossed for a reason.
Her belief is that we are all put on this earth for a purpose and to help others find their own purpose too.
From hearing parts of my story and reading some of my blogs, she believes that my purpose in life is to lift up humanity and that the universe has already given me the “ingredients” to do just that. Like so many others in my life who see so much more in me than I do, she wants to make sure that I never choose to silence my voice, and let me know that I still have so much more work to do with my time left on this earth.
Our conversation was both overwhelming and meaningful. She left me with so much to think about. It’s all I have been thinking about today, to be honest. Maybe this is what a spiritual awakening feels like? I haven’t been feeling well today. I even had to leave work early due to a severe flare-up. My nervous system went into complete overdrive this afternoon. Could this perhaps be my body and mind’s reaction to coming back to its original self?
YouAreEnough 
You must be logged in to post a comment.