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Category Archives: compassion
Reflections on a friendship…
At a cottage by a lake on the Precambrian shield we four longtime friends spent this weekend together. Raising our children, we sometimes even lived in the same neighbourhood. Over the years, we shared many concerns, cheers and tears. Now … Continue reading
Posted in compassion, friendship, reflections, relationships, social change
Tagged friends, Memories, personal growth, reflections, relationships
9 Comments
Friendship is blind…
Sometimes I look back in wonder and appreciation for the people who’ve contributed to who I am today. I owe so much to individuals who’ve come into my life and shared their thoughts and feelings, their experiences and insights. One … Continue reading
Posted in awareness, blindness, communication, compassion, education, fear, friendship, ignorance, imperfection, personal growth, Reflection, reflections, values
Tagged blindness, consciousness, inclusion, reflections, relationships
2 Comments
Hearing….
The point of acknowledging a ‘disability’, in my opinion, is to raise an alert, for a need for consideration and accommodation. So just as someone in a wheelchair needs a ramp in order to participate in certain events so does … Continue reading
Posted in awareness, compassion, consciousness, deafness, ignorance, Inclusion, Reflection, reflections, values
Tagged consciousness, deaf, inclusion, reflections, social commentary, vulnerability
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There but for luck…#2
I’ll call him Mr. Suburbia because he had to move a long way out of the city to find an affordable room. At some point he developed brain damage – he believes caused by Paxil, though the frontal part of … Continue reading
There but for luck… #1
Not everyone has the good fortune to talk with people who “live the life” in the street or at a level of extreme poverty. I’ve had that opportunity on many occasions for reasons not relevant here. But every time I … Continue reading
Posted in causes, compassion, consciousness, education, Inclusion, personal growth, personal power, poverty, Reflection, schizophrenia, suicide, values
Tagged consciousness, feelings, ignorance, reflections, schizophrenia, street life, values
1 Comment
Attack of stigma…
I have asked what changes we might be willing to make, as neighbours, as friends, as relatives, as a society, that would contribute to eliminating stigma*. I didn’t ask the question because I had an answer, but because I wanted … Continue reading
Posted in community, compassion, consciousness, Feelings, ignorance, psychology, reflections
Tagged communication, community, consciousness, personal growth, psychology, relationships
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Lost potential…
“R” and I sat glued to our conversation, astonished and excited that, by some amazing coincidence, we both had a passionate interest in what we were talking about: how mental distress tends to be handled by the psychiatric or medical … Continue reading
Posted in causes, compassion, consciousness, education, ignorance, Inclusion, personal growth, Poetry, psychology, reflections, schizophrenia, suicide
Tagged community, consciousness, ignorance, inclusion, reflections, schizophrenia, social commentary, suicide, values
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The need to feel heard
Last night I was reminded of this subject, as I visited a friend who was busily making dinner. She bustles and putters and chops and spatters, doesn’t respond, and occasionally ‘shows interest’ by asking a ‘clarifying question’. Or more like … Continue reading
Fear of so-called schizophrenia
Partly because of my friend “A”, and partly because of Mad Pride Week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of the label “schizophrenia”. There’s been so much discussion about it in recent years, and people are only just … Continue reading
Posted in causes, community, compassion, consciousness, education, fear, ignorance, Inclusion, personal growth, psychology, reflections, schizophrenia, values
Tagged community, consciousness, ignorance, psychology, schizophrenia
2 Comments
Thinking and Dreaming 
‘Stigma-free’ — or Care?
If I were living in a “stigma-free zone”, what might that look like? For starters, I presume it would mean that people with mental illness would not experience stigma, or discrimination. By some miracle? It would mean ‘human rights’ principles … Continue reading →