Today is Bell Let's Talk Day 2015. This day is centered on having conversations about mental illness. Texting by Bell customers, using hashtags and sharing a photo on social media Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs. One in five Canadians will experience mental illness in their life time.




I thought I'd talk about mental illness. I have suffered with depression in my past. I do not suffer now. I am a survivor. I am a force to be reckoned with. I know how to tend to my soft soul. I nurture myself which has been a practice in preservation. I believe in myself and my blessings are bountiful. I recognize that quiet reflection is healing. I need stillness frequently to soothe my spirit.

I wasn't always so in tuned to my needs.

I wrote this story about my pain, a few years ago. To personify depression I called it "He"


I've known depression intimately. He was a possessive companion, never allowing interference of others. He enveloped me, surrounded me, making me blind to those who cared about me. He made me feel weak, dependant on him, robbing me of my self esteem. Set adrift, bereft of supportive others in my sea of blankets lying with him who is depression.

I clung to the familiarity of my relationship with depression, I didn't know where I ended and he began. We struggled at times, I asked, "Why do you always follow me", like a shadow lurking, holding my hand.

He replied, you need me, you are all alone, and who else can you depend on?" I was drawn closer to my familiar friend.

I held on to depression, my solitary friend who led me to dark places that I never wanted to visit, let alone live in. I had no energy to fight him. He held me captive in my bed. My bed should have been my place of peace and stillness. He made it a place of relentless torture. He battered my spirit. He caressed my spirit with feelings of discouragement and despair. He seduced me with his darkness.


I'll leave you with a quote that I hold dear,

Anaïs Nin: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”

I promise you that you are worthy and there is promise in tomorrow.

V