Second chances

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible." ~ Winston Churchill

April has been a very difficult month, but it was Winston Churchill who said: "If you're going through hell, keep going!" ... so that's what I have done - one halting footstep at a time.

What ANZAC Day means to me

I've been trying for days to write a post about what ANZAC Day means to me & each time I start, my eyes brim with tears and before I even get past the first paragraph, the tears start rolling down my cheeks, just as they are now. 

ANZAC Day will always remind me of my grandfather, a veteran of WWII he sacrificed a promising sporting career & his sanity to fight for our country.  Like so many others, he went to war a strong, fit, idealistic, young man & returned wounded, 'shell-shocked' and his career in tatters. 

It's mine! No it's mine!

While our nation's leaders carry on like this ...

Is anyone listening?

I've been positively grumpy all week. Why? I'm perplexed. There's something I just don't get and it's p***ing me off. Why won't anyone listen? And by 'anyone' I mean people in positions of authority, specifically in the area of mental health.

Day-in-day-out I see TV ads, tweets, social media campaigns, youtube videos, flash mobs, brochures, highway signs, newspaper articles, conferences, wrist bands, T-shirts etc etc etc ... all promoting better mental health & encouraging people who show signs of mental illness to seek treatment. "Help is available", they profess. "Contact us", they urge. "End the stigma of mental illness", they say. 

Five compelling articles

I have a strong aversion to TV, so spend a lot of time online researching and reading about various topics of interest to me. This past week I came across 5 articles that I found so compelling, I have been changed in small and big ways just from reading them.

Have your say: Major survey of farmers’ feelings about coal seam gas mining

Psychologists at the University of New England are undertaking a major survey of farmers’ thoughts and feelings about the prospect of coal seam gas mining on their own or a neighbour’s land.


The results of the survey will give the researchers an understanding of the extent to which anxiety about coal seam gas mining is contributing to farmers’ overall levels of stress.


The survey will take between 40 minutes and an hour to complete, and is completely anonymous, allowing participants to feel free to express their true feelings.


NB: The survey is for *ALL* farmers; not just those affected by the encroachment of CSG mining.


Please click on the link below to access more information about the study and to do the survey:

SURVEY

One size DOES NOT fit all

The headlines today read: "Matthew Newton arrested in US". Personally, I know very little about the man. I've never met him, and as I'm not a fan of commercial television, I've seen very little of his work. I do know he is not well though ... the man is mentally ill. When I saw some of the mocking tweets start to flow on Twitter about his situation, I posted the following tweet ...

The black hole

Where am I right now? Look into the centre of that black hole and that's where you'll find me. It's called 'withdrawal'.  
I'm in the middle of changing meds that I've been on for 6 years and NOTHING could have prepared me for what it would be like. I knew it would be a bit rough, but I never expected to implode: dizziness, nausea, spinning, shakes, shivers, hot & cold flushes, trembling, aches, pains and nightmares - night after night after night of vivid, exhausting dreams. I honestly don't know where this past week has gone or how I've survived it. I'm a complete wuss when it comes to physical illness so have even surprised myself by managing to keep up with work and pushing through.

Our Farmers. Our Future.

Farmers are, in my opinion, the unsung heroes of our nation:

"There are approximately 134,000 farm businesses in Australia, 99 percent of which are family owned and operated. Each Australian farmer produces enough food to feed 600 people, 150 at home and 450 overseas. Australian farmers produce almost 93 percent of Australia’s daily domestic food supply. As of 2010-11, there are 307,000 people employed in Australian agriculture." [Source: National Farmers Federation - Farm Facts 2012]