Mark MI words

When you have a mental illness every conversation you have can be a minefield.

On the outside you're cool as a cucumber- but inside your mind is a tornado of self doubt, self-loathing and self recrimination.

Every interaction is held with this ongoing sound track of self stigma.

The truth is though, that you are entitled to an opinion- your voice does count. You are valid.

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Today we explore the complex challenge of caring for someone who no longer cares for themselves, highlighting the emotional difficulty in such situations.

I'll use personal experiences of avoiding help due to fear of pain and discuss the persistence needed when the cared-for individual feels unworthy or believes no one cares for them.

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I’m doing something today that I never do.

I’m going to talk about a subject not directly related tomental illness.

I’m going to say something (that I am astounded to understand) will come at a cost.

People WILL unsubscribe. Friends WILL unfriend me.

But I cannot stay silent.

I STAND WITH ISREAL.

I support the Jews and their right to have a safe and protectedhomeland.

But a conversation I had recently has exposed me to the factthat there ...

I've been watching a couple of people tell their stories just recently, and I've been wondering where the courage comes from for them to tell their story.

Thats what we're going to discuss today on MMIW!

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Discussions surrounding suicide are often avoided and considered difficult to address. Despite the discomfort associated with this topic, it is important that it remains part of our conversations. Recently, there has been increased attention to the appropriate use of language when discussing suicide, commonly referred to as "safe talk."

There is a paradox in these discussions: while advocates emphasize the necessity of open dialogue...

You may be caring for someone who is exhibiting suicidal behaviours.

Your natural (and normal) instinct is to want to fix them.

This is wrong. You cannot fix the issues your loved one is going through.

Your 'job' is to listen, to love them and try to get them to seek help.

If you take on the burden of being responsible for their behaviors and decisions, The sad fact is that you are going to fail.

Taking on another person's ...

I recently discussed why I openly talk about suicide and believe it should be part of public conversation. There are several reasons, but three stand out: reducing stigma, addressing the silence that contributes to the issue, and recognising that we can't solve a problem if we don't understand it—open discussion is essential for understanding.

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The other day I found out that a friend of mine had died and for the last couple of days I've been clearly trying to digest it.

I've lived overseas in the days before Facebook, and I have had these really intense personal friendships for a very short amount of time. Friendships that aren't documented in any way. No selfies or social media posts.

I'm the sort of person who has friendships that although we don't se...

I was asked today why I tell my lived experience story.

It is not that people will feel sorry for me, nor is it a pity party.

I tell my story to encourage others who suffer like me to know that mental illness is not the end of your story.

Mental illness may be a bump in the road, but it does not have to be your identity!

You can have a full life after mental illness!

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I'm never going to pretend I have all the answers. And in truth there are a million keys to resilience but there are 2 things that I have learned that keep me on the road to recovery... whatever that means.

They are Patience and Purpose.

I must have patience to know things will change; and a purpose to help keep me moving forward.

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In this next chapter of BUMWIPER, I'm going to talk about things that I've never really spoken about out loud. I'm not a hundred percent sure how I'm going to get through this, but I want to try.

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The book continues with a discussion of what it's like to work with Autistic people. The challenges, the victories and ultimately the impact that it had on me.

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Sexual abuse. In our righteous haste to protect the innocent we can leave the innocent accused with lasting scars and stigma.

This is how.

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I went to work one day and for hours my client tried to kill himself.

Chapter 5 of my book BUMWIPER tells this story.

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#ShatteredThePodcast #Podcast #STP #PTSD #PTSDsymptoms #CPTSD #cptsdrecover...

I started writing BUMWIPER before I was hurt. I started writing it while I was still working in the disability profession and at was working at a fairly high level.

I was about to become a network manager. I was a behavior modification expert. My skills were highly sought after and for all intents and purposes, this was going to be my life, working with people with disabilities. Then I got hurt, attacked in the workplace by a guy wi...

When I first began writing BUMWIPER, over 20 years ago, i was a different man.

I set out to write a book about the oft mis-understood world of caring for people with disabilities.

It was going to be a lighthearted, self-deprecating look at my job and how I reacted to it.

Now I see it as something different entirely. It is in many ways naive. It is immature. And it was untruthful.

I did not understand the toll my job was taking on me an...

The title of my second book is called BUMWIPER.

It is the story of my 18 years working directly with people with disability, intellectual disability, physical disability, emotional disability, dual diagnosis, acquired brain injury, you name it, I worked with them.

After working in that industry, I ended up with complex PTSD (CPTSD).

I was writing a book while I was still working as a BUMWIPER, and I put it aside for many years.

My i...

The title of my second book is called BUMWIPER. It is the story of my 18 years working directly with people with disability, intellectual disability, physical disability, emotional disability, dual diagnosis, acquired brain injury, you name it, I worked with them.

After working in that industry, I ended up with Complex PTSD (CPTSD) .

I was writing a book while I was still working as a BUMWIPER, and I put it aside for many years.

My in...

I am a great believer in the power of the spoken word. Poetry however has always been difficult for me and I have never really been able to fully appreciate it (or even get into it).

But when my friend Ananya posted a poem onto her socials, I challenged myself to 'give it a go'.

What I read was a revelation. I'd never connected so much with a piece of prose.

I needed to discuss what I'd read and who better to do that w...