This post was written by my esteemed friend, Mette Keating, CEO of InDeVision. I first met Mette many years ago when I hired her to design an office and sanctuary in my home. Since then, she has soared to greater entrepreneurial heights. Mette is currently designing Mozilla's new 17.000 sq ft. space...
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Can Neo-Feng Shui® improve your mental health? |
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March 6th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Health, Neo-Feng Shui®
Can city living affect you? |
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February 27th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Depression, Health, Mental Illness, Schizophrenia, Stress
Have you ever wished you could live in a quiet peaceful place somewhere in the country? Because city living is just too stressful? Studies back up exactly how you feel.
Brain imaging studies have found that living in a city or growing up in one can affect brain function during a stressful situation.
According...
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Are you drinking enough water? |
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Water makes up more than two-thirds of your body weight. Without water, you would die in a few days. The human brain is made up of 95% water, blood 82% and the lungs 90%. A mere 2% drop in your body's water supply can trigger dehydration: fuzzy short-term memory, headaches, constipation, trouble with...
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Our Sonshine vanished so suddenly |
8 comments |
February 20th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Illness, Schizophrenia
I came home that night to find something white sticking out between the door jamb and the wall. The business card of a Detective Cook from the Special Investigations Unit. I turned it over. “Grace Cherian. Please call. It’s in relation to your brother.”
My brother, Wilson, born nine years after...
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I tried to kill myself |
4 comments |
February 16th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Depression, Mental Illness, Personal Medicine, Recovery, Suicide
I shall never forget the summer of 2000. I had said goodbye to my friends at WycliffeCollege. I lived alone. Worked alone. I isolated myself. Friends would call me. But I wouldn’t answer the phone.
Bipolar disorder, with its many ravaging faces, had stalked me for 28 years. During manic phases,...
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The use of restraints in the mental health system |
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February 9th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Illness, Restraints
I remember when it first hit me. A tender seventeen-year-old. I couldn’t concentrate in class. This really scared me. I’ve always loved school. Brought home excellent grades. Suddenly, my greatest strength was being attacked. My whole identity was at stake. And I didn’t understand what was happening....
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Stand up and talk about mental illness |
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January 30th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Health, Mental Illness
One in five Canadians suffer from mental illness. It attacks people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures. Unfortunately, most of us won’t seek treatment. Why?
It’s very difficult to talk about mental illness. It carries a stigma that leads to discrimination. We're afraid we’ll...
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Incidence of mental illness in Canada |
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January 26th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Illness
People with mental illness experience changes in thinking, mood or behaviour (or some combination of them). Mental illness causes a great deal of distress and impaired functioning over an extended period of time. The symptoms of mental illness vary from mild to severe, depending on the type of mental...
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Chase away seasonal affective disorder with aromatherapy |
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It strikes again. I recognize the signs. I turn off my alarm and continue to lie awake in bed for hours. And take a shower? That's so, so hard to do. Because I have trouble getting out of bed. Normally, a shower is my first treat of the day. It cleanses, fortifies and equips me to handle any challenge...
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Nine principles of a recovery-based approach to mental health care |
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January 13th, 2012 — Posted by Grace under
Recovery
A recovery-based model towards mental health care moves away from the medical model with its focus on pathology, illness and symptoms. It concentrates instead on our health, strengths and wellness. It also allows us consumers to build the best and fullest life possible—as we define it—whether or...
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Cognitive distortions can affect your perception of reality |
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What are cognitive distortions? They’re faulty, irrational thinking patterns, which can cause you to make incorrect conclusions about reality.
The concept of cognitive distortion comes from the work of Albert Ellis, David Burns and Aaron Beck. This isn’t an original theory but based on many complex...
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Enhance your health with a dose of gratitude |
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December 30th, 2011 — Posted by Grace under
Health, Natural Health
You live in a culture today that's becoming increasingly out of balance.
Everyday you’re faced with more to do and what seems like less time to do it in. Many of you struggle to balance time, family, money and work, all while trying to maintain your own needs, health and wellness.
Stress attacks...
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Managing the Christmas blues |
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December 23rd, 2011 — Posted by Grace under
Christmas blues, Depression
Christmas is a time of strong emotions, reflections on lost loved ones and stress from shopping and preparing for seasonal parties.
"This is the time of the year when people are vulnerable to depression, anyway," said Dr. Angelos Halaris, a psychiatrist with the Loyola University Health System. "The...
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Eating junk food may make you prone to depression |
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December 15th, 2011 — Posted by Grace under
Depression, Diet
Have you felt bummed out after binging on doughnuts or hamburgers? That’s because depression and diet may be related. Research suggests that eating a poor diet can make you more vulnerable to depression.
Research findings:
Eating foods high in trans fats (artificially produced, unnatural fats)...
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The health benefits of drinking lemon water |
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In his book, Biologic Ionization as Applied to Human Nutrition, Dr. A.F. Beddoe writes that every child or adult who is not allergic to lemon and has no active ulcers should drink lemon water. There are many benefits of doing so.
Edmund Hillary, the first man to set foot on the top of Mt. Everest,...
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The importance of beauty |
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Beauty feeds the soul. You need beauty the way you need oxygen. Seek and celebrate beauty when you find it. When you fully experience beauty, you’re experiencing a “moment of pure psychological health.”–What We May Be, Piero Ferrucci.
Absorbing beauty allows you to literally imprint positive...
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Ecotherapy—A greener way to beat the blues |
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November 25th, 2011 — Posted by Grace under
Ecotherapy, Mental Health
Taking a walk in a park where you're surrounded by nature can:
lower depression
ease tension, and
increase your self-esteem
This message comes from Mind, a leading British mental health charity, which is launching a new "green agenda" for mental health based on the concept of "ecotherapy."
The...
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The Brush, the Pen and Recovery: A Film Review |
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I listened intently. He was tall and handsome—in a rugged sort of way. With his dark moustache and brown cowboy hat, he cut quite a striking figure.
“They dried me out from drugs,” Ronson says as he adds some brush strokes to a vibrant landscape painting. Then he pauses and corrects himself....
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Eight benefits of practising yoga |
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What is yoga?
This is an ancient Indian discipline which improves health, happiness and mind power through breathing techniques, exercise and meditation. Many people practice yoga as a spiritual path. Others do it for exercise. Either way, practising yoga yields many benefits including the following:
Eight...
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Personal medicine |
12 comments |
October 16th, 2011 — Posted by Grace under
Mental Health
At seventeen, Pat Deegan was diagnosed with schizophrenia. But she went on to receive a doctorate in clinical psychology. Dr. Deegan has conducted extensive interviews with people who struggle with psychiatric disabilities.
When Deegan asked her research participants to describe their use of psychiatric...
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