I was sitting at my desk staring at my phone as my colleagues started walking by my office doing as the voice on the PA system was instructing - heading toward the emergency exit and evacuating the building, when a friend of mine stopped and...
Imagine...
For many people living with Crohn’s disease, life can involve urgent trips to the bathroom as well as pain. For some, Crohn’s can even be deadly. Living with a chronic disease like this can be difficult and isolating. In severe cases, the disease can lead...
Wise Women Canada was started by psychotherapist Lisa Brookman and educator Elizabeth Wiener. It focuses on women’s issues – particularly women’s mental health. They are currently promoting the movement #RaiseYourWiseHand around World Mental Health day on October 10th. By using the hashtag, they’re hoping we can help strip mental illness of the stigma...
“Alone I lived inside my head, never wanting to leave my bed On the outside so strong and tough, but inside never good enough I spent each moment wrapped in fear, afraid of looking in the mirror What power it had over me, it’s reflection was my enemy My bones were not distinct...
Michael Landsberg has been entertaining Canadian sports fans for over 18 years on TSN’s Off the Record. What his fans never knew, was that behind his no-holds-barred brash debating style, Michael was silently suffering with a long history of depression & anxiety. He started to...
October 10th is World Mental Health Day-- an international day devoted to raising awareness and promoting education around mental illness. In solidarity with this very important day, we want to make our own contribution by launching an initiative--one that we hope will make a dent in the...
I am thankful. Yes, thankful. In retrospect, not just about the everyday things for which we are conditioned to be thankful; but for something perhaps a little less obvious, yet certainly no less essential to living a fuller and more invigorating life. Of course, a day does...
Now that the new school year is upon us, my Facebook newsfeed is full of first day of school pictures. Many of them are with adorable kids holding signs that let us know what grade they are going into or what they want to be...
Reader's Digest - Best Health One in five adult Canadians will be diagnosed with a mental illness in the course of their lives. Its impact is widespread, affecting not only the individual who is struggling but also colleagues, friends and family members. Given that it touches...
We Don’t See Things As They Are, We See Them As We Are." Anais Nin Lately, I've been seeing a lot of pregnant bellies. I think they are absolutely beautiful. I didn't always feel this way. Seven years ago, when I was struggling with secondary infertility, the...
Sometimes, someone in our community needs our help. Right now, it's this beautiful family of three: Yatsen was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. His life will be on hold while he recovers from surgery and deals with chemo and radiation. His wife, Anushka, has had to...
From the time my mother was 8 years old, my Bubbie (the Yiddish term for grandmother) Celia walked with crutches. It was very difficult for her to leave her home, which meant that our weekly visits were almost always at her house. There were many...
Several months ago, I found my son in my closet. When I asked him what he was doing, he looked at me and said, "Mom it's time to clean up in here. You have such nice things but it's so messy that you can't find...
Many of us don’t make time for creativity or worse, fear it entirely. One of the most rewarding aspects of coaching is helping people unlock their full potential. Could it be we think prioritizing creativity is frivolous or that we may be carrying shame wounds...
We all carry within ourselves a behind the scenes life story of adversity. For those of us that have figured out how to overcome it, we transform our stories into our life purpose and become mentors and experts on the subject; we use our personal...
Learn how to appreciate yourself and your body through the practice of Mindfulness Yoga. Come and step on your mat and experience a movement practice that unites body and mind. [caption id="attachment_23703" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset[/caption] You’ll be introduced to mindfulness yoga, which...
Huffington Post Today I was on a mission. I was determined to start trying on dresses. My sons Bar Mitzvah is being celebrated in May and although it's not really about me -- it kinda is, and I want to look FABULOUS for the big day! With...
Huffington Post Throughout my life, I've been touched by people struggling with mental illness. I'm extremely sensitized to their journey and I've chosen to dedicate much of my private practice as a psychotherapist to helping people cope. However, one of my most precious and dedicated encounters has...
From a very young age I never felt like I quite fit in and always thought I was different. To try and blend in I pushed myself to be seen as an achiever. I strived for success in everything I did because I did not just...
This is my life; one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. But it's different from most. I have what most people strive for; a beautiful family, a nice home (ok, so I'd change half a dozen things about it, but who's counting?!), a loving and supportive husband and 3 beautiful children; 2 boys and a little girl. However, what a lot of people don't know is the struggles I live each day. My boys, Ty who is 10 and Max who is 8, have autism.
August 2007, we were like so many other families. Happily married, 1 little boy whose 2nd birthday we had just celebrated and another baby on the way. Many nights were spent talking about how things would change once the new baby came. We talked about...
