Paddy’s Ponderings

 Look at me, perhaps pulling off 2 blogs within a week of each other. Wow. Go, Paddy, Go. Note, this blog has some graphic language, so if you are going to be offended, please skip it :) I had an entirely different post planned for follow-up to my mental health one, but I am going with this one instead. Why, you might ask? Well, because I picked up my mail and got a parcel that gave me an idea to write about. So, here it is. Every year, if I get a bonus at work, I try to carve out a little something that is just for me. It doesn't pay the bills, it doesn't have a practical (or generally not) reason for it, it's just something I want or fills me up in some way. I had planned to buy myself a new chair as I spend a lot of time in front of my fire reading in my arm chair and the old one was falling apart, but my lovely hubby bought me one for Christmas, so that was off the table. (Lest anyone think we gift too extravagant, something of that size is not the norm, more of a once ...

Here we are, once again and even though the dynamics of how Bell Let's Talk Day work, I am still inclined to say something. And I have been pushing myself to re-invigorate my blog, so today seems as good a day as any to do so! The fact of the matter in Mental Health is still important. Mental Illness still carries a stigma. Mental Illness affects more people than you would suspect. The statistics from Bell today made my stomach turn. Here they are: More than 200 Canadians will attempt suicide every day; twelve will die 56% of people struggling in this country are not getting the help they need One in four Canadians have been experiencing high levels of anxiety The number of opioid overdose deaths in Canada went up more than 90% during the pandemic. It's now 20 per day Anyone who lives anywhere in our country has no doubt seen the effects of the opioid crisis. One of my favourite speakers/authors, Dr. Jody Carrington has been flagging this through covid and continues to talk abo...