Life is Sweet - Let's Keep Talking

Wow - another great month of the Life is Sweet series. Thank you to everyone who contributed posts, read, commented, shared and attended the show this month. It was truly amazing to see the conversation that ensued and the candor and bravery of my guest bloggers who opened up to share their stories and perspectives.

While a month of dialogue is really great, I think it's just as important that we keep the conversation going 365 days a year. Mental illness is something that many of us are faced with everyday but unfortunately the negative stigma and lack of understanding is not going away. By continuing to talk and share and gain understanding from one another, we can work towards establishing a new dynamic in our society with a greater emphasis on listening, empathy and patience.

Here are some neat things from the internet that I found / were sent to me whilst curating Life is Sweet that are doing a great job at continuing the conversation:

Everything But the Cat


Adrianna's (not-so) one woman show, Everything but the Cat, about suicide and bereavement is getting ready for its 2014 tour. The show is an incredible way to open up the dialogue to teens and openly address bereavement and suicide with a younger audience. Adrianna is doing really great things with this show and I think it's inspiring that she has been able to express her feelings about her brother's death and help others gain understanding through this show.

The Crazy Project

Corbin sent me the tumblr for The Crazy Project last week. It describes itself as "a photo project dedicated to reducing stigma about mental health". I love that they're sharing stories from a wide range of perspectives and that their mandate aims to reduce the negative stigma.

Hyperbole and a Half

I've read this post "Depression Part Two" multiple times, but it doesn't lose impact. It really provides a poignant and concise view of what depression feels like.

Other helpful links

Hope Inside Live - We are More is a one day live stream event beginning at 9am on March 22 dedicated to changing the conversation around mental health and sexual assault

Fact Sheets about mental illness - in more than 10 languages

I haven't decided just yet what is in store for the Life is Sweet Project and series. I'm thinking about hosting guest posts once or twice a month to continue the conversation and will obviously write about my own experiences from time to time. I'm proud to host two years of amazing content. You can read all the posts here:

2013
2014

Michael Landsberg posted a great tweet yesterday that said "Sharing sometimes is like a surprise party. You turn on the lights and you find out there's a room full of people who care #sicknotweak". As I said on Let's Talk Day - let's talk and talk and never be quiet. For my mom. For my bloggers. For everyone reading and experiencing something similar.We are not alone in this and there are so many people who care. Keep the conversation going.