I can think of nothing more tragic and inhumane than to live a life unseen, a life devoid of the authentic connections, those all-important strands that intimately weave our life’s story to the heartbeats of others. For so many people, that’s exactly what living with trauma, addiction, and compromised mental health feels like. We, as […]
They never saw me. Maybe it was because I was too quiet. Or too young. The baby brother vying for the attention that he could never seem to win from those he loved, admired and looked up to. For that baby brother, since the time he was a baby, nothing seemed to be fair. It […]
It’s easy to feel helpless. Useless. Sunk. I have learned the hard way you can’t ignore change and disruptions. The only way to get through is to embrace them and find a way forward. Easier said than done sometimes, I know. But after one woman created the environment for me to overcome enormous odds to […]
Courage, Inspiration, Motivation, Resilience, Self-love, Vulnerability
As told by Jody Carrow It’s an expression we hear and use all the time when seeking or giving advice – trust your heart – because we believe our hearts hold the wisdom and insight we need to make the decisions that align with our hopes and dreams. Our hearts don’t let us down. […]
What started out as a relaxing dinner with family and friends, quickly became the most terrifying night of Hana’s life. She would start the day as Hana Engel, a woman reunited with her loved ones, and end it in the public eye as the girl on fire. We got the chance to sit down with […]
The soccer pitch has always been a safe space for me. I have been privileged to play the beautiful game for over 35 years. Despite the occasional distant scent of skunk, the green grass and humidity of the summer has always given me a lot of happiness. Sprinting down the sidelines as my heart is […]
I was a paramedic because I wanted to help; I wanted to make a difference. I have dreamed of being in the medical field for as long back as I can remember. After high school I went to university, then college, then ran my own business for a while, but medicine still called. On a […]
In July of 2018, I entered one of my worst periods of depression. I have always lived a life full of anxiety: it is a constant, always there, like the hum of a furnace in a home. At times it’s turned up high and other times, well, it doesn’t run for months. But it is […]
We talk about mental illness more than we used to because we need to: half a million Canadians missed work today due to mental health issues costing the Canadian economy $51 billion annually. 1 in 5 Canadians will struggle with their mental health in their lifetime. I’m one of them. I have Bipolar II Disorder, […]
You don’t need a disability, injury, or illness to know that asking for help can be incredibly difficult. That difficulty magnifies tenfold when you live your life with what I call a ‘mental monster’. So how do we make asking for help easier, especially for those with mental monsters? It’s all about building a community […]
“How long will this inconvenience me?” I asked the medic in an ambulance headed for Montreal. I was 12 years old and had just been run over by a school bus. Within two days, I was back in class. What drove me to return so soon? As I approached midlife, I began to examine my […]
A bestselling author shares her strategies for journeying to a happier, healthier place—and losing 60 kilograms along the way I used to be the poster child for self-neglect. I used to live my life as if I didn’t have a body: as if the basic rules of human biology simply didn’t apply to me. Sleep? […]
