Sharing my own experience of addiction and recovery. Writing these posts was an important part of my first few months back in recovery. I found that posting journal entries demanded a level of self-honesty and accountability that I could not achieve through private diaries.
In my story, it’s nearly impossible to untangle the interdependent relationship between mental health, addiction, and spirituality. I began using alcohol (and other substances) to open my mind, and I eventually became hopelessly dependent on surges of dopamine to feel any possibility of having purpose in life. I lived the parable of ‘Man takes drink; […]
Word of caution: This post contains discussion concerning the topic of suicide and may not be suitable for some readers. If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis or has suicide-related concerns, please call (in Canada) 1-833-456-4566 toll free (In QC: 1-866-277-3553), 24/7 or visit talksuicide.ca. My first few years in recovery went as expected. I […]
The first time I drank, I got drunk. I was 15 and at a party with friends from school. I still remember the open case of Molson Export in front of me. I don’t remember where I was, who I was with, what the occasion was, or the season of the year. All I remember […]
I live with mental health challenges. That is not easy for a person to write. And I am not referring to difficulty due to a sense of pride or shame; rather, what I mean is that it is a difficult journey to come to know one has mental health challenges in the first place. Most […]
I believe my mental health journey began at around the same time in life when human children become self-conscious (4-5 years old). For it was during this period that I was hit by a car while riding my tricycle on the normally quiet residential street in front of my childhood home. My actual memory of […]
The Peace of Wild Things 