Beyond the fact that Airdrie, Tod, and Isabella (who were the speakers at the Coping Digitally panel) are all very good friends of mine, I have had a brush with depression not only through my shared experiences with several of my friends (including Tris, who is a dear friend), but also through the very common Seasonal Affective Disorder. During periods of rain (not infrequent in Vancouver), I sometimes (not very often) get all down. And, in case you wanted to know, yes – I have been heartbroken and during that time, I really felt very, very depressed. I came out of it quite quickly, though.

One Thursday last year (November of 2008), I recall being awake at 3 am and feeling incredibly down. I was looking at everything from the perspective of someone who had failed at everything. This, coming from someone who actually has had as much success as I have. But the weather, the fact that it was late at night and the feeling of loneliness all worked me up and I felt like crap. I have thanked Lorraine several times for talking me through and help me break out of it that one time and I will thank her again here. I am grateful that whenever I have felt down, I’ve had my friends there to support me and help me through.

It is rare, very rare that I feel down, but when I do, I am always surrounded by loving people who talk me through it. And therefore, I do have a personal stake in making Mental Health Camp a reality. Not only because several people I love are afflicted with mental illnesses, but also because I am a firm believer that we need to break down the stigma. I admire the bravery and strength of people who speak out about their illness, and I want to help many others speak out.

I am not a mental health professional at all (but Isabella is), but I am a very loving individual and I am good at organizing events, so that’s why I’ve decided to help in any way I can. If you want to jot down ideas and thoughts on the Wiki Page (thanks Isabella for initiating it), please feel free to do so.

Isabella‘s idea of Mental Health Camp is to have a very fluid, organic event. My thought is to have a one day (perhaps on a Saturday) event. I am more than happy to speak to people about sponsorship (mostly food and refreshment sponsorships – I already have an idea of where I would like to hold it). I’ll need volunteers to work the door (registration), help with food set up and stuff like that, but I have learned (from my experience at BarCamp) that the best way to do this is to divide the tasks amongst a LOT of people. Contact me over Twitter or leave a comment or send me an email.

The technical details will be handled by Isabella (e.g. which topics, and so on) – there is a very fertile discussion on her blog already, and on the Wiki page. Add your thoughts too. And if you’d like to volunteer to help with organizing, do let me know!

Related posts:

1. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2009
2. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011: Diversity in Mental Health
3. After a successful Mental Health Camp Vancouver ’09, towards a MHC ’10