Ria Voros’ debut novel uses a special relationship to explore the grief of a child whose parents were killed in an accident
For thirteen-year-old Jakob, the summer is looking pretty bleak. A few months before, he was in a car accident that killed both his parents, and though he can’t remember exactly what happened, he can’t stop turning it over in his mind. (more…)
Amanda Todd’s death by suicide—after her video disclosing bullying and harassment —creates a media tsunami
The death by suicide of Amanda Todd, who disclosed in a YouTube video the bullying and harassment she had been experiencing, created a tsunami of media attention. Social media—which was directly involved in her suffering—propelled her story to the front pages of local and national newspapers and websites around the world.
Martin Laba, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University specializing in media and pop culture analysis, told the Maple Ridge News he was surprised by the global impact of Todd’s story. “You’d have to have been living in a hole to have not heard about her story,” he said. “It truly went viral, and was particularly driven by social media.” (more…)
Dany Morin, Member of Parliament, asks for a response to bullying and harassment of children and youth in Canada
Calling the bullying of children and youth “a nation-wide problem,” N.D.P. Member of Parliament Dany Morin has been asking Canada’s government to take action on the problem for a year now. He has introduced a motion, which calls for a national strategy to prevent bullying; it was debated in the House of Commons just days after the high-profile death by suicide of Amanda Todd. (more…)
Chaplain Diane Weber Bederman says Amanda Todd’s death was more about mental health than bullying
In the aftermath of the death by suicide of Amanda Todd, an avalanche of news reports, opinion articles, and social media postings focused on harassment, bullying, violence, and the problems these behaviours pose for individuals and society. Media reports about Amanda Todd’s experiences and state of mind acknowledged that she had described anxiety, depression, and panic disorder. But her death was portrayed as being directly caused by the experience of being bullied. (more…)
Hoarding is primarily an issue of mental health, but its effects can be very dangerous to safety as well
Hoarding is defined by the Mayo Clinic as the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them. Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Some people also collect animals, keeping dozens or hundreds of pets in unsanitary conditions. Hoarding involves obsessively collecting objects to the point of risking one’s own health—or the health and safety of others—and it has become so widespread that the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is considering listing the disorder in its next edition. (more…)
Juno award-winning master musician and composer Phil Dwyer has battled with addiction and mental illness
Phil Dwyer’s 2012 Juno award for the incredibly ambitious Changing Seasons is the latest in a “resume full of examples of his genuinely adventurous creative spirit,” says the Juno website. Changing Seasons was awarded “Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.”
The Changing Seasons suite marks a new stage in Phil Dwyer‘s development as an artist, writes Nou Dadoun at VancouverJazz.com. The theme running through the composition is change, described by Phil as: “Changing weather, changing climatic conditions, the changing economic structure of the world and some big changes in my own life. It’s a call to acknowledge the fact of all these changes taking place and a query as to what are we going to do about it.” (more…)
