Author Archives: mentalympian

I read with considerable interest today that the wealthiest Australian acquired a significant percentage of Fairfax Media shares last night. Not surprisingly, the response to billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s purchase has resulted in fundamentally different responses from the left and … Continue reading →

On November 14th 1996, I experienced a life-altering episode of psychosis and ended up in a Toronto psychiatric hospital. As I recently addressed to an audience at The Street Theatre in Canberra (ABC, 14 September 2011),  I experienced that particular … Continue reading →

Today is my 1oth anniversary of immigrating to Australia from Canada. I know the feeling of being frozen by anxiety, tortured by depression and humiliated by psychosis.  Fortunately, change is a normal part of life. Ten years ago, I was in … Continue reading →

World-first mental health media initiative announces inaugural Advisory Group CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ – Mentalympians(TM) announced today, on this World Mental Health Day, its inaugural Advisory Group, consisting of twelve advisors based in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States of America. Profiles of the … Continue reading →

Following is a clear and concise explanation of self stigma and its process by Assistant Professor Amy C. Watson, one of the leading researchers in the world on the subject. As addressed, this expert suggests that Mentalympians,” is an exciting … Continue reading →

Last night I was extremely privileged to be one of eight storytellers for ABC Canberra’s ‘Now Hear This’ at The Street Theatre.  It was wonderful to hear the other people’s stories – they were simply fabulous. The venue was superb, … Continue reading →

I just returned from the Mental Health Services Conference in Adelaide, where I contributed to the delivery of a workshop on a course, Ending Self Stigma: (link). The 9-week small group course is designed to help individuals with mental health … Continue reading →

Mentalympians is an initiative to develop an online mental health ‘community channel’ to inspire hope by raising awareness of recovery; to help reduce social isolation and foster recovery by connecting individuals to their local services and support networks; and to … Continue reading →

Yesterday I had an enjoyable meeting with two ABC producers at the broadcaster’s Canberra studio.  The meeting has helped motivate me to carefully consider how exactly to tell my personal story in the future, and to what end.  My dilemma … Continue reading →

I made a presentation today at the ACT Australian Nursing Federation’s Biennial Conference in Canberra, entitled ‘Media Illness, Mentalympians & Me’.  The theme for the conference was ‘Conciliation & Compromise in Industrial Relations & Social Justice. My presentation addressed that … Continue reading →