It's been awhile since my last post (apologies!). Many things have been happening in my life lately. Notably, I have been busy working and, in my spare time, enjoying the wonderful weather we've been getting in Ottawa - and it's about time we have some sunshine!
I know many people who deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter (depression due to lack of sunlight). I have had difficulty with this in the past. Fortunately, the last 2 winters have been warmer than usual so I was outdoors more often. Now, snowshoeing has turned to biking and hiking for me.
I can't highlight enough the importance of physical exercise for mental health. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a hypocrite: some days, it seems difficult to get motivated to exercise. Thus, I am trying harder to build exercise into my life in non-traditional ways. I have never been a big fan of going to the gym or doing routine workouts. As well, I need some mental training to increase motivation when I don't feel like exercising.
A friend of mine, Danielle Cardinal, runs FitFleet Fitness, a mobile personal training service. She has started a program called "Outside the Box" whereby participants can take part in a unique exercise experience once a month. The activities include things like tree climbing, spinning, BOSU Training, and kayaking, to name a few.
What do you do for exercise other than jogging or going to the gym? What do you do that you find particularly helpful for both mental health simultaneously?
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
MIAW News / Nouvelles SSMM
The 2006 “Faces” Campaign – Call for Nominations
Once again, we are calling on members of the CAMIMH network to assist us in finding the ‘Faces’ for MIAW 2007. If you know someone who is living successfully with mental illness and who is willing to share their story to inspire others, please nominate them.
To request a nomination package, please send us an email.
La campagne «Visages» 2007 – Demande de candidatures
Une fois de plus, nous faisons appel aux membres du réseau de l’ACMMSM pour nous aider à trouver les «Visages» de la SSMM 2007. Si vous connaissez quelqu’un qui réussit à bien vivre avec la maladie mentale et qui consentirait à partager son histoire pour inspirer d’autres personnes, veuillez proposer sa candidature.
Pour obtenir une trousse de mise en candidature, veuillez nous envoyer un courriel.
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I participated in the 2006 campaign. You can visit my profile here.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
On gratitude
It’s Sunday and my partner needed to spend a day at the office. I thought I’d be productive and get some work done too. So, we drove downtown together and went our separate ways to clock time.
My first stop was the public library at 11:00 a.m. I pulled on the door handle and it was stuck – actually – it was locked. I noticed the hours of operation posted nearby. To my surprise, the main branch does not open until 1:00 p.m. on Sundays.
Laptop in tow, I found a spot across the street at a coffee shop. A “Hot Spot”, Internet users can log-on for a fee and enjoy some steaming brew. I have used wireless in coffee shops before. My usual haunt offers wireless for free and the simplicity of entering a password provided by the cashier. At today’s location, I was instructed to provide my cell phone number…in order to receive a text message with the necessary password…for $7.50 an hour.
Well, I forgot my cell phone at home and my Blackberry is on the fritz so this wasn’t going to work. A second option was available to gain access by paying with credit card. But, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The fee, frustration, and security concern of entering my info during public Internet access was all too much for me.
I decided to try something I haven’t tried in a long time – work on my laptop without my Internet running in the background. For some of you reading, you know this task is not as easy as it sounds. As a communications professional, I am glued to Google searches, email, news sites, and dictionary.com. It is my job after all.
I managed to put in 2 hours of work this way. It felt good, but I was still experiencing some Internet withdrawal.
At 1:00 p.m. I maintained my work ethic and re-visited the library. I renewed my card with the help of a friendly librarian. While I visit bookstores regularly and use university libraries’ services online, sadly, I hadn’t been to the public library for ages – so long that my card had expired and disappeared.
I perused the psychology, marketing and fundraising sections. I found a few titles to borrow and signed them out using the self-checkout machine.
Since I didn’t have my cell phone with me, I thought I’d fire off an email to my partner to find out if he was ready to meet and head home. Blackberry dead, I opened my laptop to go online. I soon found out there isn’t wireless at the Public Library.
I grabbed a seat at one of the many desktop computers lined along the wall. Although unoccupied, the half-dozen or so free computers had holds placed on them. I found out from the librarian that I would have to go downstairs to a different set of computers to place a hold on one the computers upstairs.
With some patience left, I went downstairs only to find all the computers were occupied – presumably by people booking their time for the computers upstairs???
Alas, without Internet or a cell phone, I did another something else that I haven’t done in awhile…..I used the pay phone.
Am I addicted to the Internet? Perhaps. Impatient? Perhaps.
Today, I was reminded not to take things for granted. And I’m not just referring to technology.
I saw many kinds of people at the library. There were people looking for jobs, friends and, for some, a warm place to stay/sleep during the rain. For them, the library is an important public facility.
Clearly, one person’s frustration is another’s satisfaction.
Isabella Mori has it right. It’s important to think about gratefulness on a regular basis. I remember writing about my gratitude often as a part of my recovery from mental illness. This simple action helped me through the worst of times.
Here are just a few of things I am grateful for today:
-waking up, healthy, in a great house with the love of my life
-enjoying breakfast with my family (my parents were in town)
-the kind person working at the coffee shop
-the kind person working at the library
-having a car in order to drive downtown and free parking on Sunday
-Canadian artists (I’m watching the Juno Awards)
-spring flowers
-clean air
-rain
What are you grateful for?
My first stop was the public library at 11:00 a.m. I pulled on the door handle and it was stuck – actually – it was locked. I noticed the hours of operation posted nearby. To my surprise, the main branch does not open until 1:00 p.m. on Sundays.
Laptop in tow, I found a spot across the street at a coffee shop. A “Hot Spot”, Internet users can log-on for a fee and enjoy some steaming brew. I have used wireless in coffee shops before. My usual haunt offers wireless for free and the simplicity of entering a password provided by the cashier. At today’s location, I was instructed to provide my cell phone number…in order to receive a text message with the necessary password…for $7.50 an hour.
Well, I forgot my cell phone at home and my Blackberry is on the fritz so this wasn’t going to work. A second option was available to gain access by paying with credit card. But, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The fee, frustration, and security concern of entering my info during public Internet access was all too much for me.
I decided to try something I haven’t tried in a long time – work on my laptop without my Internet running in the background. For some of you reading, you know this task is not as easy as it sounds. As a communications professional, I am glued to Google searches, email, news sites, and dictionary.com. It is my job after all.
I managed to put in 2 hours of work this way. It felt good, but I was still experiencing some Internet withdrawal.
At 1:00 p.m. I maintained my work ethic and re-visited the library. I renewed my card with the help of a friendly librarian. While I visit bookstores regularly and use university libraries’ services online, sadly, I hadn’t been to the public library for ages – so long that my card had expired and disappeared.
I perused the psychology, marketing and fundraising sections. I found a few titles to borrow and signed them out using the self-checkout machine.
Since I didn’t have my cell phone with me, I thought I’d fire off an email to my partner to find out if he was ready to meet and head home. Blackberry dead, I opened my laptop to go online. I soon found out there isn’t wireless at the Public Library.
I grabbed a seat at one of the many desktop computers lined along the wall. Although unoccupied, the half-dozen or so free computers had holds placed on them. I found out from the librarian that I would have to go downstairs to a different set of computers to place a hold on one the computers upstairs.
With some patience left, I went downstairs only to find all the computers were occupied – presumably by people booking their time for the computers upstairs???
Alas, without Internet or a cell phone, I did another something else that I haven’t done in awhile…..I used the pay phone.
Am I addicted to the Internet? Perhaps. Impatient? Perhaps.
Today, I was reminded not to take things for granted. And I’m not just referring to technology.
I saw many kinds of people at the library. There were people looking for jobs, friends and, for some, a warm place to stay/sleep during the rain. For them, the library is an important public facility.
Clearly, one person’s frustration is another’s satisfaction.
Isabella Mori has it right. It’s important to think about gratefulness on a regular basis. I remember writing about my gratitude often as a part of my recovery from mental illness. This simple action helped me through the worst of times.
Here are just a few of things I am grateful for today:
-waking up, healthy, in a great house with the love of my life
-enjoying breakfast with my family (my parents were in town)
-the kind person working at the coffee shop
-the kind person working at the library
-having a car in order to drive downtown and free parking on Sunday
-Canadian artists (I’m watching the Juno Awards)
-spring flowers
-clean air
-rain
What are you grateful for?
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