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What women really want: West Coast LEAF releases report card on women’s rights

October 29th, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on What women really want: West Coast LEAF releases report card on women’s rights)

Annual report card grades the B.C. government on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by Canada in December 1981

picture 591VANCOUVER — On October 16, 2014, West Coast LEAF released its 6th annual report card on women’s rights in BC. The CEDAW Report Card is West Coast LEAF’s annual assessment of how well BC is measuring up on international legal standards of women’s equality set out in the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

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Amanda Bynes and the double standard of mental illness

October 28th, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Amanda Bynes and the double standard of mental illness)

When Robin Williams died, we promised to tackle the stigma of mental illness. So why do we mock Amanda Bynes?

Memoir aims to help people understand mental illness without judging or stereotyping

October 28th, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Memoir aims to help people understand mental illness without judging or stereotyping)

“What had happened to our beautiful happy life? Could it really be over for us? I just wasn’t sure if our love was strong enough to keep us together. I probably believed it wasn’t.”

picture 534It was an idyllic marriage. John and Marion were high school sweethearts who married and began a successful life together. He, an internationally respected scientist in his field and she, a business woman in her family firm. With three children and finally settled in Victoria. BC, Canada after stints in Vienna and Australia, tragedy struck.

Despite the eventual and probable diagnosis of late-onset schizophrenia, John and Marion struggled to hold their family together and to deal with an illness that usually strikes much earlier in life. This is their story of what happens when the mind betrays you.

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Outrunning depression: Exploring the link between body and mind

October 27th, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Outrunning depression: Exploring the link between body and mind)

This is what developing acute schizophrenia feels like

October 23rd, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on This is what developing acute schizophrenia feels like)

Daniel Smith gives a searingly brutal, honest account of his experience with schizophrenia to Vice News

cerebralcortexA year ago this winter, I began to not recognize myself.

Sleep was the first thing to change. Progressively, over the course of about two weeks, I began struggling to drift off. As a 24-year-old man with a good supply of hash, this had never been a problem before. It was so odd. Seemingly out of the blue, I’d get into bed at night and not be able to shut off my brain. Thoughts would grow tendrils and loop onto other thoughts, tangling together like a big wall of ivy. Some nights, I’d pull the covers over my head, grab my face hard in my hands, and whisper, “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”  Read the rest of this story at Vice.com…

University of Victoria launches student mental health strategy

October 22nd, 2014 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on University of Victoria launches student mental health strategy)

“We are strengthening programs and supports to assist undergraduate and graduate students build resilience and healthy coping strategies, thereby fostering personal and academic success”

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The University of Victoria is launching a comprehensive strategy to support and care for the mental health and well-being of students facing the challenges and stress of university life.

UVic’s new Student Mental Health Strategy goes beyond traditional counseling and health services support by providing campus-wide resources and training to identify students at risk and respond with appropriate actions and tools.

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