Hey all, apparently I missed the entire month of April.
So, welcome to mid-May. Allergies are kicking my ass, but at least the sun has been shining and the weather is getting warmer.
Couple of things to report on. First off, in case you missed it, Michael Landsberg came to town a couple of weeks ago to give a talk on depression in support of Algoma Family Services. Here's a couple of links to the Sootoday reports on it: http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=40907 and http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=42116.
If you've read this blog before, you know I quote Landsberg quite a bit - I guess because he's one of the most visible and (for lack of a better term) "modern" depression sufferers. So obviously, I jumped at the chance to go and see him speak. Even got to shake his hand and get a picture taken, but there was a good-sized crowd waiting to do the same thing, so I didn't get to socialize much.
But he gave a great talk. And he used an acronym that I'll pass on to you in regards to depression (but you could use it in relations to any mental illness): SLAM
S - Share. Talk to someone.
L - Learn. Learn all you can about depression. (I did this over a year ago - and it's definitely worth it - know your enemy, right?)
A - Action. Take action. Make the doctor's appt, do whatever you have to do to get feeling better.
M - Memo. Write a memo to yourself about whatever makes you feel good and return to it when you hit a rough patch.
Here's a link to the story when he went to Timmins to give a talk a few days ago: http://www.thedailypress.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3560447. Worth the read - it puts SLAM in his own words.
Ok, well, it's now about 1:50 am, so while I promised a couple of things to report on, you only get one tonight. Guess you'll have to keep checking back. Promise I won't let a whole month go by this time.
