‘Nothing prepares you for motherhood!’ I hear the wise woman say. ‘You’re never really ready for birth and beyond.’ I get the picture, that the magnificence of childbearing and motherhood is a learn-on-the-job experience. I’m the first to admit, nothing could have prepared me for drawing the short-straw of 8 months of ‘morning sickness’. But […]
When you discover a program for women that weaves the Creative, Embodiment and Sacred Arts, you know there’s been a paradigm shift in how we live and breath wellbeing. Meeting Ee’da Brahim and Kattimôni Kat Beames from Embodied Voice was like Christmas for me. Not only do their souls sing sprightly with an angelic calling, fostering community programs […]
I was interviewed by Kate Milan from Melbourne’s 3CR 855am Community Radio, about my work as a mental health activist engaging with the community about prominent mental health issues. It was such a relief to speak to someone who shares the same vision for a mental health care system that honours the individual’s right to chose their […]
Having a cup of tea may not solve all mental health conundrums but it does present an opportunity to pause, pull-back and ponder them. It creates space, momentarily, within our minds and gently slows down the busyness of our days. A tea break is as good as any yoga pose, inviting the Buddha within to exude calm. I spoke with […]
Dr Somé’s disconcerted face from under his little hat has looked my way everyday this week through Facebook messaging from on-the-pulse friends. How could I ignore a title: ‘What a Shaman Sees in a Mental Hospital’? I didn’t know we still called them ‘mental hospitals’! And yet it seems our all-over-the-pulse friends from ‘Earth. We are one.‘ who publish a plethora […]
<!– On 24th July 2014, I presented at the National Suicide Prevention Conference in Perth, Western Australia about my recovery from attempted suicide. This was a special milestone for me – speaking publicly about my attempt and also proposing steps to recovery that others could integrate into their life. I discuss the role of The Suicide […]
I entered a competition called Are You A Messenger? My compelling message was based on promoting more heart and soul in mental health care. This video was inspired by discovering that ketamine (a horse tranquilizer) has been claimed to revolutionise mental health care – an option I feel is unnecessary when we have so many […]
I went to Burning Man Festival to launch my first book. Three days later, I burnt the book, along with a symbolic decade of hardship and psychological tumult. It’s that kind of festival. It calls forth the ‘meaningful’ within a chaotic circus of post-modern mayhem. Black Rock City is the week-long social experiment that pools […]
Hosting a website about depression and not writing about a woman’s menstrual cycle, would be akin to watching TV with the sound off. Moods and hormones are inextricably linked – that’s common knowledge and women’s business. Since all my adult life has been focussed on optimising my mental health, the phases of my reproductive cycle […]
Little did I know that an afternoon brainstorm, plotting out the campaign of my mental health activist project, would spin The Babyfacedassassin upside-down. A kind of frustrated brooding takes over when I consider how far we’ve strayed from our true nature when it comes to mental health care. I’m fortunate to have a team of […]
