Author: Lesley Donaldson

Author, narrative game designer, and creative powerhouse. http://writerlesleydonaldson.com/about-lesley-donaldson/
Seeking Mental Wellness Across Lives – #BellLetsTalk

Seeking Mental Wellness Across Lives – #BellLetsTalk

I truly believe that mental health and wellness touches each of us in one way or another. We take all aspects of our health for granted.

When I was young, I pressed a kitchen knife in my belly wondering exactly how much force I’d need to apply to die quickly. I held a full bottle of toxic rubbing alcohol to my mouth, ready to ingest the entire contents. Turbulent emotions had dragged me down into a “scary place.” I wasn’t yet in my teens. I was a suicidal child and although I got help for to deal with my feelings, the idea that ending my life would be an effective way to end emotional suffering lingered for decades.

Now I am a parent of a child diagnosed with a mental illness. I cannot deny him a mother when life becomes unbearable. Neither do I want him to be a child who thinks of killing himself.

As a nurse, I’ve provided care to people in distress. As a human, my heart breaks for what we do to each other, and what we don’t do for each other. As a daughter, I suffered. As mother I fight.

Living with a diagnosis is not something to be admonished. It is hard work but it can be done.

Listen. Share. Choose words carefully.

I’ve made mistakes before and I am not immune to fault. In my daily quest for self-improvement, I coach myself, my son, and others to avoid using words like “crazy” or “retarded” to describe something that is ridiculous, abnormal, or somehow wrong. Speech is power.

Today, Bell Canada Let’s Talk Day contributes donations to mental health intitiatives with every public tweet, share, and post using #BellLetsTalk on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Better still, this encourages us to speak out about our experiences with mental wellness and reduce stigma.

Add your voice to the #BellLetsTalk movement. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact your local crisis centre. Canadian and International crisis lines can be found here.