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Tag Archives: depression

Mental Health Awareness Week from the world of an artist

October 04, 2011   admin   1 Comment

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you a friend of mine and a wonderful artist. Karen Levangie has got talent and she is using her talent and her energy to help benefit a mental health charity during mental health awareness week. Karen find inspiration from her life and her artwork shows her struggles and triumphs.

One piece that struck me as I was looking at her portfolio was a piece called, “Family/Happy Place”. Karen describes it like this:
“Viewed vertically, it represents anger i was feeling towards my family at that given moment. when i turned it horizontally, it reminded me of a happy place, like an underwater scene. I realized that family actually can be both, a source of anger and a place to find happiness.”

Isn’t that so indicative of life isn’t it. Life is quite often all about perception. We find happiness and sadness and a host of other emotions all around us. It’s having the courage to work through all of those feelings and to create such works of beauty at the other end. I admire Karen for sharing her thoughts and feelings with us on canvas and letting the depth and breath of her being come to life and create a world all unto itself; telling a story, capturing a moment, finding peace where there is chaos. Keep creating and expressing yourself through your artwork because it is truly amazing.

Now let’s have Karen tell you a little bit about herself.

An estimated 26.2 percent of the population ages 18 and older – about one in four adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. However, stigma surrounding mental illness is a major barrier that prevents people from seeking the mental health treatment that they need. Programs during Mental Illness Awareness Week are designed to create community awareness and discussion in an effort to put an end to stigma and advocate for treatment and recovery.

I myself suffer from several different mental illnesses. Depression, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Passive/Aggressive Personality Disorder, and I think I am also forgetting a few, LOL. Because of this, I decided that during MIAW, which falls in the second week of my Fall Sale (October 2-8, 2011), I will be donating 10% of total sales to mental health research. I have not yet decided which charity yet, but will post my decision in the next few days, as well as total raised at the end of the week. Please help fight the stigma of mental illness and help support those of us who suffer with them by purchasing one of my paintings.

The First Annual Fall Sale at Dark Shadow Studio

Head on over to Facebook and check out our fan page where you will find the event and the photo album with all the sale prices listed.

Looking for a piece of art for yourself, or maybe shopping for an early Christmas gift for someone special on your list? Check out the Art For Sale Gallery and pick your favourites for 25% OFF regular pricing!

Get your order in early before your favourites are gone!

And just to let everyone know, if you’d like to request a commission during the duration of the sale, you will still qualify for the 25% discount. As well, if you had your eye on one of the paintings that is one of the albums on the website but not for sale, or like one of the ones that has already sold, just let me know, and we can discuss doing a similar variation of that painting. I have already had several commissions for this exact thing. so let me know what you like and let’s get you set up with some art!

Here is the link to the Event

And a link to the Album with the sale prices listed

If you have any questions about any of the pieces or would like to discuss a commissioned piece, you can contact Karen
Phone: 647-800-8435
Email
Website
Facebook

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Touched by Fire Art Show

August 31, 2011   admin   No comments


What a wonderful opportunity for you to show your talent. Grab your creative works of art and join in the submissions!

The Touched By Fire Art Show and Sale is now accepting submissions.

Touched By Fire is open to all artists, professional or amateur, who are living with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.

Original art works in oil, watercolour, latex, acrylic, drawings or mix media can be submitted.

Things to know about submitting your work onto this website
1. You can submit original art works in oil, watercolour, latex, acrylic, drawings, or mixed-media
2. You can submit photographic images in black-and-white or colour, and photo-based images
3. This site can display up to 10 images of your work, so if you only have a few you can send them in now and add more later as you build your portfolio. If you have many pieces, pick your best and send them in. Change the pieces you choose to display over time so there’s fresh content on the website.
4. You can login to make occasional changes to your profile, updates to your information and artwork. However, all changes must be approved by our administrator’s before they are displayed, so please be patient with any delays as our volunteers manage the website.

The deadline for submission is Friday, September 30, 2011.

Submissions can be made on the Touched By Fire website.

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Mental health top issue facing schools, coalition says

August 08, 2011   admin   No comments

By: Louise Brown
The Toronto Star
Date Published: Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The troubled hearts and minds of children are becoming a campaign issue in Ontario.

A broad new coalition of hospitals, social workers, children’s aid societies, psychologists, teachers, students and trustees cites the turbulent mental health of today’s students — from anxiety and depression to suicidal feelings — as the “number one issue facing schools today.”

The new Coalition for Children and Youth Mental Health, a network of 26 province-wide groups, has asked each political party to spell out a plan for coping with what some call the “sleeping giant” in schools.

“We wouldn’t let a child walk around with a broken arm, but kids with mental illness suffer just the same,” said Catherine Fife, head of the Ontario Public School Boards Association, part of the coalition.

The coalition’s figures are stark. One in five children suffers from a mental health problem yet some 80 per cent get no help. Ten per cent of youths admit they have tried to kill themselves. Waiting lists for help are growing longer. Budget cuts have caused school boards to cut back on mental health professionals. In a 2009 study of Ontario school boards, a staggering 96 per cent said they were “very” or “extremely” concerned about mental health issues, especially anxiety, mood problems, low self-esteem and thoughts of suicide.

Read the full article

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Anxiety Disorder Association of Canada

June 27, 2011   admin   No comments

ADAC’s newsletter is full of so many great things. Here’s a sneak peak from the Executive Director

From the Executive Director
I think back to the first time I heard the word comorbidity and
smile. I was sitting in a quaint restaurant in Toronto being
interviewed for my present position of Executive Director and I was
trying to look in control and not let on that I had no clue what the
word meant. Throughout the conversation I finally figured out the
basic meaning. When trying to explain it to others, who have the
same “deer in headlights” look on their face that I probably had
years back when I first heard the word, I try to simplify it by
explaining that it is other symptoms or conditions, whether it be
pain, sick feeling, fatigue, depression, alcoholism or another
anxiety disorder that goes hand in hand with the anxiety disorder
that we have. This Newsletter issue will focus primarily on Anxiety
Disorders and Depression.
When I was in university I was misdiagnosed and made to feel
like a hypochondriac when I now know I was suffering from
anxiety. Now I can’t blame the doctor in question, there were
possibly less information and certainly less training available to
GPs regarding anxiety 25 years ago. I was also probably not
forthcoming with what I was feeling back then, because as I have
written in the past, I thought I was just dumb because I could not
memorize the information I was expected to know for exams. I
am a very competitive person and expect a lot of myself,
admitting to someone even a doctor that I was failing at
something I thought everyone else could do, was too much for
the then 20 year old girl to deal with. I am comforted in knowing
that the same doctor diagnosed a dear friend of mine with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder a few years back after a very trying
time in her life. He was finally able to see beyond the physical
symptoms and ask the right questions.
There is a fine line in friendship when one must decide how much
they push or encourage a friend to get help for anxiety or any
mental illness. It is even more difficult when a friend’s child is in
need of help. Sadly so many kids today are suffering needlessly
and the schools don’t always have the resources to identify
problems or help the kids. I applaud those of you who have
taken your child or teenage for therapy, I know it is not an easy
thing to do…I’ve had to do it myself. It is particularly difficult if
the child’s other parent does not agree with you. There are times
in life when we have to choose our battles; this is one worth
fighting for. Talk openly with your doctor about your feelings and
about your life situation whether it be divorce, financial issues,
gender issues, your kids, or anything that concerns you. Find
help where you can, anxiety disorders are treatable and you have
the right to live happily ever after.
Wishing you a summer of laughter, warm weather and good times
with loved ones.
Genevieve Charette, Executive Director

Read other newsletters from ADAC

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Stop the stigma…what an inspiring story

May 19, 2011   admin   1 Comment

I love to read about people who have not backed away from what their brains are trying so hard to deal with. Depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, autism it’s all the same. The brain is not functioning the way it’s intended to and for depression and anxiety sufferers especially it’s that blasted negative self talk that leads us down the wrong path. But I believe wholeheartedly that there is hope for everyone. We all need to be open for the concept of letting it go and not being ashamed of what’s going on. If you were having a heart attack you would most certainly go to the hospital right? So, why would you not go seek help if you were having a serious panic attack ….I did. Or if you depression was making you feel like you were sinking? Why do we find it so hard to talk about it? Because it’s our heads and the minute something is not right in our minds we figure no one willl want to listen, no one will care and no one can see it so no one will understand the hardships we are enduring right now. No one can see that back and forth struggle in your mind to convince yourself that if you walk out the door nothing bad will happen.
Thanks to Mental Health Awareness week Bishop Allen Academy’s group Stop the Stigma hosted a seminar on youth mental health, with student organizers Paige McPhee, Marshall Aguda, Isis Gutierrez, and Sarah D’Onofrio. Guest speaker Asante Haughton of the Mood Disorder Association of Ontario, with students Carina Kresic, Nicole Wilk, and Joshua Dhue. This is a must read article because it should inspire everyone to stop the stigma and listen to the most valueable organ in our bodies, “Our Brain”.

Stop the Stigma is a partnership between the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario and the Toronto Catholic District School Board that creates awareness of and provides early intervention for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis among teenagers. Signs and symptoms of the mood disorders typically begin at age 14 or 15, the association reported.

“Ashamed” of his issues, Haughton forewent therapists. Instead, he watched TV’s Dr. Phil.

Only later did he realize battling his issues on his own, without professional help or support, was the wrong choice.

“I didn’t know much about depression and how to deal with it,” he recalled. “I don’t think I even realized I was depressed. I just thought I had low self-esteem. I might not have even gotten better. If I’d gotten help earlier, I might have saved myself years of feeling miserable. But it was the stigma that stopped me.

“I felt meeting my issues would make people not like me. I thought it would make me not like myself. The stigma made me feel ashamed and embarrassed and discriminated against and not as good as other people. Looking back, I wish I’d had something like Stop the Stigma Week at my school. Maybe then I would have felt more comfortable opening up about my issues and getting the help I needed sooner, instead of isolating and trying to do it all myself.”

One in five young people is diagnosed with a mood disorder. Less than two-thirds of them seek help, Mood Disorder Association of Ontario reported. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15- to 24-year-olds, the association also reports.

In Grade 12, Haughton won Athlete of the Year. Still depressed, now also feeling social anxiety and fearful of crowds, Haughton wrote his first of three suicide letters. He didn’t take his life, he said, because he couldn’t afford a gun.

Read the article

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