Bell "Let's Talk" Day...

HughFreakingDillon · January 2016

DarthMaeglin said:

HughFreakingDillon said:
someone I follow on twitter kept posting that they would not support this initiative, as apparently some of the money goes to some group that organizes LBGT "curing" therapies???

edit: it's "trans-reparative" therapy

https://alexanderbauerauthor.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/bell-lets-talk-is-feeding-a-monster/
That's sad to hear from both sides of the coin.

On a more positive note, the site is showing that $6,295,764.75 will be donated by Bell to various mental health initiatives (I guess that makes it $40 US, lol).

Many thanks to any and all who participated this year, I expect I'll be bumping this thread again next year, lol.

I hadn't seen this thread before I started the Mental Illness one. Maybe should we merge them?

DarthMaeglin · January 2016

HughFreakingDillon said:

DarthMaeglin said:

HughFreakingDillon said:
someone I follow on twitter kept posting that they would not support this initiative, as apparently some of the money goes to some group that organizes LBGT "curing" therapies???

edit: it's "trans-reparative" therapy

https://alexanderbauerauthor.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/bell-lets-talk-is-feeding-a-monster/
That's sad to hear from both sides of the coin.

On a more positive note, the site is showing that $6,295,764.75 will be donated by Bell to various mental health initiatives (I guess that makes it $40 US, lol).

Many thanks to any and all who participated this year, I expect I'll be bumping this thread again next year, lol.
I hadn't seen this thread before I started the Mental Illness one. Maybe should we merge them?

No worries, I did see you mention "Let's talk" in the other thread. My personal opinion would be to keep them separate, as this one is only relevant once a year, but highlights a specific event, whereas your thread (which I've followed, thanks for starting it) is more of an ongoing discussion of the wider topic, if that makes sense, lol. And if the mods are cool with a bit more clutter around here, lol.

HughFreakingDillon · January 2016

word.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

Just a friendly bump, with tomorrow being this year's "Let's Talk Day." I've put the link to this year's website in the original post, they've added more options for participation over more social media platforms. Thanks to all for reading.

HughFreakingDillon · January 2017

tweet or facebook to help the cause!

mfc2006 · January 2017

this is great

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

So far, they're showing over 35 million "interactions". One thing this forum should be proud of is how supportive we all are of each other, not just with mental health issues. I've only been posting on here for a couple years now, but the community here has helped me as one of my supports in dealing with my issues, and I thank you all (even those I disagree with on AMT, lol).

Thanks to all that have participated or will be, I hope my periodic updates over the day regarding the number of interactions don't get too annoying, lol.

ledvedderman · January 2017

Such a great cause by Bell. As someone with bipolar disorder, I wish the US was as open and willing to talk about mental health like Canada is. Instead we just wait for the inevitable next mass shooting to discuss it for a couple of hours.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

Just over 53 million interactions now. Don't know if this is a silly suggestion, but could/should this thread maybe be made "sticky" for a day, lol?

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

They're now over 80 million. Also, CTV (here in Canada) will be airing a special with Howie Mandel at 7p.m.

Hope these update bumps aren't too annoying, lol.

oftenreading · January 2017

Not annoying at all. Thank you for keeping this highlighted.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

oftenreading said:
Not annoying at all. Thank you for keeping this highlighted.

Thanks, lol. They're (we're?) up to over 115 million tweets, posts, texts, and so on.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

I've been very lucky in some ways. A couple years ago, I found myself in the darkest place I've ever been, and was considering taking myself out. However, there were 2 people I was able to reach out to that night and they both helped talk me down, and it was in the aftermath of that incident that I chose to get more serious about my treatment (in the months prior my psychiatrist had stopped treating me while I was in the midst of a crisis, leaving me the option of waiting on a referral for 6 months or going to the emergency room). Working first with my family doctor then a new therapist, I'm now on new medications that seem to be working so far (I'd been extremely hesitant of going back on medications after some bad experiences with side effects, ultimately glad I took the plunge again).

In many ways 2016 was a good year for me, not least of which was getting to the 2 local (Toronto) Pearl Jam shows (thanks for trading my spare for a night 2 ticket, Geoff! And thanks to 10Club for the ticket lottery, lol), as well as miracle tickets falling into my lap for the Prophets of Rage show. This reignited in me my love of live music, leading me to make the decision to make a point of getting to at least one show a year (Lee Fields is up in February, lol). However, of even bigger consequence was my deciding to finally own who I am and not worry so much about what other people think of me or want me to be (in short, I Am Mine, lol).

All that said, I might not have made it if there hadn't been people I felt I could reach out to, and that's part of the point of Let's Talk Day, though it needs to be applied year-round.

Part of the reason I've chosen to share all this (and it's really only a small part of my story, after all) is that "If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done" (it meant a lot to me to hear that live last summer, believe me).

Also, they're now showing over 123 million interactions (I've chosen to wait to give the dollar figures since that's a more incidental angle to today, the main point being support and awareness).

Thanks for reading.

dignin · January 2017

DarthMaeglin said:
I've been very lucky in some ways. A couple years ago, I found myself in the darkest place I've ever been, and was considering taking myself out. However, there were 2 people I was able to reach out to that night and they both helped talk me down, and it was in the aftermath of that incident that I chose to get more serious about my treatment (in the months prior my psychiatrist had stopped treating me while I was in the midst of a crisis, leaving me the option of waiting on a referral for 6 months or going to the emergency room). Working first with my family doctor then a new therapist, I'm now on new medications that seem to be working so far (I'd been extremely hesitant of going back on medications after some bad experiences with side effects, ultimately glad I took the plunge again).

In many ways 2016 was a good year for me, not least of which was getting to the 2 local (Toronto) Pearl Jam shows (thanks for trading my spare for a night 2 ticket, Geoff! And thanks to 10Club for the ticket lottery, lol), as well as miracle tickets falling into my lap for the Prophets of Rage show. This reignited in me my love of live music, leading me to make the decision to make a point of getting to at least one show a year (Lee Fields is up in February, lol). However, of even bigger consequence was my deciding to finally own who I am and not worry so much about what other people think of me or want me to be (in short, I Am Mine, lol).

All that said, I might not have made it if there hadn't been people I felt I could reach out to, and that's part of the point of Let's Talk Day, though it needs to be applied year-round.

Part of the reason I've chosen to share all this (and it's really only a small part of my story, after all) is that "If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done" (it meant a lot to me to hear that live last summer, believe me).

Also, they're now showing over 123 million interactions (I've chosen to wait to give the dollar figures since that's a more incidental angle to today, the main point being support and awareness).

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for sharing Darth. Keep on keepin' on.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

dignin said:

DarthMaeglin said:
I've been very lucky in some ways. A couple years ago, I found myself in the darkest place I've ever been, and was considering taking myself out. However, there were 2 people I was able to reach out to that night and they both helped talk me down, and it was in the aftermath of that incident that I chose to get more serious about my treatment (in the months prior my psychiatrist had stopped treating me while I was in the midst of a crisis, leaving me the option of waiting on a referral for 6 months or going to the emergency room). Working first with my family doctor then a new therapist, I'm now on new medications that seem to be working so far (I'd been extremely hesitant of going back on medications after some bad experiences with side effects, ultimately glad I took the plunge again).

In many ways 2016 was a good year for me, not least of which was getting to the 2 local (Toronto) Pearl Jam shows (thanks for trading my spare for a night 2 ticket, Geoff! And thanks to 10Club for the ticket lottery, lol), as well as miracle tickets falling into my lap for the Prophets of Rage show. This reignited in me my love of live music, leading me to make the decision to make a point of getting to at least one show a year (Lee Fields is up in February, lol). However, of even bigger consequence was my deciding to finally own who I am and not worry so much about what other people think of me or want me to be (in short, I Am Mine, lol).

All that said, I might not have made it if there hadn't been people I felt I could reach out to, and that's part of the point of Let's Talk Day, though it needs to be applied year-round.

Part of the reason I've chosen to share all this (and it's really only a small part of my story, after all) is that "If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done" (it meant a lot to me to hear that live last summer, believe me).

Also, they're now showing over 123 million interactions (I've chosen to wait to give the dollar figures since that's a more incidental angle to today, the main point being support and awareness).

Thanks for reading.
Thanks for sharing Darth. Keep on keepin' on.

Thanks, it's a long road (sometimes even a lifelong one), and we all need to know none of us walk it alone.

ledvedderman · January 2017

Knowing that you're not alone is essential to treatment. The right meds and the right therapist are great, but you gotta have that foundation in your day to day life.
I was diagnosed bipolar in 2003 or 2004 and I didn't tell anyone. I totally ignored it. Then my marriage fell apart at my own doing, went back to my therapist and she wasn't shocked that I was back. I was a ticking time bomb. So this time I went to the psych like she had suggested years earlier. My friends were on board almost immediately but it's been a long, long road getting my family on board. I think they're all there now though. I hope they are.
2016 was a rough year. Another long stint on disability began because of (what originally seemed to be) side effects of lithium. Poor cognitive functioning, tremors, stutter. We chased the lithium factors for months as new symptoms developed. Now it appears that it's MS related. (During the testing, one portion classifies me with borderline personality disorder as well).
So here is 2017, I just got the MS diagnosis and my mental illness decides to tank. But my friends/family/folks on here have been awesome. I've thought about ending it all as well. And I've tried a couple of times in the past. But now that I feel like everyone is with me in my mental illness, I don't feel like I'm drowning on my own.
That's why we need a corporation like a Bell to step up in America. We only address mental illness when there's a mass shooting, in the name of distracting from our gun problem. Once some hours pass, mental illness gets forgotten about. So, good on Bell for stepping up year after year.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

Thanks for sharing ledvedderman, I'm sorry to hear about your struggles, but glad to hear you've got support in your corner and are working to make your life better. If it helps any my sister was diagnosed with MS a few years ago, and thanks to a couple treatments she's tried it's been in remission with a couple minor relapses (I may be misremembering, but it may have been mainly when she had to stop treatments (steroids at the time, I think) when she and her husband were working on getting pregnant, now that she's got 2 sons she's started a different regime that's working for her). We do the MS Walk each year, and it's good to see the strength of that community despite the issues that some are forced to deal with.

I'm glad you've got so many in your corner, and as I said above, this community (the Pearl Jam forum) should be proud of how (we? lol) support each other, across so many issues and life events. It's certainly been inspiring to me on many levels.

Latest update, lol: 128 million

HughFreakingDillon · January 2017

I posted a long ramble on facebook last night about my own struggles. many likes and comments from lots of people, some I wouldn't have expected, so maybe they suffer in silence, and maybe it helped them, I don't know.

either way, darth and led, thanks for you stories. it helps.

dignin · January 2017

ledvedderman said:
Knowing that you're not alone is essential to treatment. The right meds and the right therapist are great, but you gotta have that foundation in your day to day life.
I was diagnosed bipolar in 2003 or 2004 and I didn't tell anyone. I totally ignored it. Then my marriage fell apart at my own doing, went back to my therapist and she wasn't shocked that I was back. I was a ticking time bomb. So this time I went to the psych like she had suggested years earlier. My friends were on board almost immediately but it's been a long, long road getting my family on board. I think they're all there now though. I hope they are.
2016 was a rough year. Another long stint on disability began because of (what originally seemed to be) side effects of lithium. Poor cognitive functioning, tremors, stutter. We chased the lithium factors for months as new symptoms developed. Now it appears that it's MS related. (During the testing, one portion classifies me with borderline personality disorder as well).
So here is 2017, I just got the MS diagnosis and my mental illness decides to tank. But my friends/family/folks on here have been awesome. I've thought about ending it all as well. And I've tried a couple of times in the past. But now that I feel like everyone is with me in my mental illness, I don't feel like I'm drowning on my own.
That's why we need a corporation like a Bell to step up in America. We only address mental illness when there's a mass shooting, in the name of distracting from our gun problem. Once some hours pass, mental illness gets forgotten about. So, goon on Bell for stepping up year after year.

Thanks for sharing ledvedderman.

DarthMaeglin · January 2017

Thanks everyone for your support.

The final tally was 131,705,010 interactions, raising $6,585,250for mental health initiatives across Canada. With the amount of international support that I was seeing (the news highlighted celebrities, but this goes out to the unsung heroes), hopefully this day will help raise awareness and support throughout the world.

Thanks again, and I'll be resurrecting this thread next year.

"Take care of yourselves, and each other." - Jerry Springer (of all people, lol)

Bell "Let's Talk" Day...

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