Empowering through words
Garden of lilies, Leslieville, Toronto
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Can city living affect you?

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 situati
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Are you drinking enough water?

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 wit
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Our Sonshine vanished so suddenly

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 a
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I tried to kill myself

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

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 hap
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Art Gems 2012

Every year our studio holds a fund-raising auction, Art Gems. We’re all asked to submit a painting which is then sold at the auction. But this year, the Gems Committee decided to do things differently. Our studio assistant, Marlena, invited some of us artists to submit paintings. She said a jur
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