The CIA was not spying on me. Nor were FBI agents looking to bring me down. And I was neither the President, Jesus Christ, nor Cleopatra. These, I had heard, are the content of delusions that characterize schizophrenia. Given that logic, I did not consider myself to have schizophrenia. I think that these shallow nuances of delusion kept me in my illness and away from probing psychiatrists.

Our discussion of learning disabilities is a mental health issue. I was born with severe learning disabilities. By my twenties I had tried to commit suicide more than once. What saved my life was research that taught me there was a neurological cause to my confusion: parts of my brain were underperforming

People with schizophrenia don't have a Master's degree in Neuroscience. I'm simply too intelligent to have schizophrenia, right? Then why do rats eat my brain, why do voices yell at me, and why am I being stalked by a homicidal man with a sniper gun (I've got proof)? I assume it is normal. I don't have any friends and I have withdrawn from my family so no one but Them (doctors, nurses -- everyone in league with the enemy) diagnose me, treat me. So here are your pills. You would think that after all of this, I would surely realize that I had schizophrenia. I didn't, though.

I was crashed on the couch, looking at the bottle of wine sitting on the sideboard. Thinking. It had been a rough day. I had felt the darkness coming on earlier and the thought of going into the abyss, again, was just too much. I couldn't face it again. I anticipated the oncoming exhaustion, the downward spiral and did not want to go there. The wine was looking good. And so was the thought of morphine. One hit and I would be in another place. It was a brief moment, but I knew as the thought of medicating myself flew through my head, that I was in trouble.

We will always have our differences but for the first time in a long time I truly felt like those who have the ability to create change in the mental health system will do so. And now more then ever the powers that be will involve the true stakeholders: the consumer advocates. We are all going to work together.

I've always found it puzzling what people chose to spend their money on at the expense of other things. Now that I work in the mental health field, it mystifies me even more. Weekly manicures, $4 lattes, cab rides, cocktails, botox, restaurant meals: No problem. Counselling? No way.

These bull-crap beliefs become entrenched at an early age and are handed down from generation to generation. But we need to question. Here are a few of the most pervasive myth understandings to leave behind as you head into a new year. Leave these mental albatrosses buried in 2012 where they belong.

Those involved in the mental health "Recovery Movement" believe the patient is the expert on treatment rather than the doctor and that there is no need for clinical evaluation or evidence-based treatment. This model does not accommodate the needs of individuals with severe mental illness who may lack insight into their illness and are unable to make appropriate treatment choices.

In order to put an end to a problem such as stigma you must first identify the origin of the problem and ask why it exists. What is it that we with mental illness say or do that makes others treat us negatively therefore creating stigma? I recently had to ask myself this question.

Thursday, September 13, 2012 marks the 4th Annual Hats On For Awareness gala! The event started in 2008 by my good friend Enza Cecchia and her partner in this crusade, Benny Caringi. Like all previous events, this is a night to bring attention to those suffering in the shadows of mental illness and addiction. I was lucky enough to interview Enza & Benny who shared some pretty jaw-dropping facts about mental illness.

In my last post I talked about words we use everyday and the context in which we use them that could come across as offensive to those with mental illness. However, as an advocate I could do more to make the public aware of the positive things they can say or do to support those mental health difficulties.

In a recent report the Board of Canada says over 452,000 Canadians would be actively involved in the workforce had they not been affected by mental illness. What can employers do to ensure they can get as much productivity out of their staff as possible even when they're experiencing personal challenges?

For the past few years my personal and professional contacts that work with teens and young adults have wondered aloud if bullying can lead to mental illness. Researchers are starting to question the same thing and various studies are suggesting childhood bullying can lead to psychosis and paranoia.

My suicide attempts were five years apart and each time I felt emotional pain that was too deep to describe. To me, ending my life was the only way to solve my problems which I've learned is not the case. There's a classic saying that goes, "Live everyday as if it's your last." While mental illness and suicide are very challenging topics, we need to treat those around us as if today is their last day too -- with love and respect.

There have been two recent suicides in our small community, which I find distressing. When a suicide happens we usually learn about it from the local whispering network, but rarely from the news. The reason is obvious: local media still protect surviving families from guilt or shame. Suicide is too common, yet preventable, and the the subject is still taboo.

I don't like thinking of my mental illness as baggage, but everybody has skeletons in their closet and there are certain things that have happened to us in our lives we may not disclose immediately. But nonetheless, living with mental illness proves to be difficult when you're like me and on the online, gay dating circuit.

OTTAWA - Canada needs to deal with the stigma surrounding mental health issues before it can go on to tackle funding questions, says federal Health Mi...