by Organic D’Va

Have you ever wondered or taken the time to evaluate your mental health?! I have a tendency to ask people around how they feel instead of the good ol’ ‘how are ya’ and it always startles a few. I simply urge my friends to take the second, the minute to ponder on the matter. How am I feeling? Let me start the conversation by saying that I am feeling good – somewhat overwhelmed by my workload but I just got an agenda, so it should work out fine. My situation is that I love A LOT of things and I want to do it all: make-up, modeling, dancing, singing, lol! I need to focus (which is not my favorite word) so I am finding it hard to visualize ONE plan. But all and all, I try to stay in a state of gratitude…always! 

This week, Bell Canada has launched their second edition of the ‘Let’s Talk Community Fund campaign‘; a fundraiser for the Canadian mental health association. For every text messages sent between Bell subscribers, they will donate 5 cents to the cause! Now, it is not your typical ‘I want you’ ‘what  you wearing’ kind of conversation that they want to support but it is truly to push us to talk about mental health to break the stigma that is haunting this issue.

allvoices.com

I am Haitian, and let me tell you that mental illness is not something that we talk about. I can imagine the reaction from my parents if I go and tell them I am suffering from chronic depression or bipolar disorder. They would probably ask me if I’m hungry or something. But all jokes aside, mental wellness is important! I believe we need to find a way to create a balance in our lives all while making  a difference. We want to love and be loved!  Have you figured out WHO you are?!  I mean all these things can be very stressful for some!  For whatever reason (genetics, chemical imbalance or life changing events) one can fall into the realm of feeling helpless and slowly drift away from reality.  Believe me that there is a fine line between being someone who is ‘intense’ with mood swings and someone who has been clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder..It is a delicate situation. Can we prevent ourselves from falling into a depression?

On the bright side of things, one of the simplest solution is to TALK about IT! I cannot stress it enough, either you turn to a friend, family member, a psychologist, heck a stranger on the bus…OPEN UP AND TALK! You would be surprised, many people have gone through a dark phase – I know I have!

toonpool.com

1 out of 5 Canadians suffer from mental illness. Let’s put the other conversations on hold and talk about what really matters. Open your heart and share your thoughts, stories and comments on the matter…

A date to remember

Bell Subscribers, whatever you decide to share on February 8th will be worth a nickel and will amount to a considerable amount (the amount to beat this year is $3,303,961.8) for sure! For those of you who are not with Bell, you can still text and tweet on the subject because awareness is key.

We can all listen and we can all help. There is nothing wrong with you as there is nothing wrong with me for going through these dark years. How did I overcome it? First my faith on a spiritual level and I am blessed with amazing friends.

Look up, you have support right in front of you.

For questions or to simply talk:http://www.cmha.ca
Information on the February 8th campaign : Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

I wanted to share a beautiful song by Jason Mraz…..All I can say is don’t give up!

Gerardine aka Organik D’va

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