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Friday, October 10, 2014

Day 10: World Mental Health Day




Do you know anyone living with mental illness? Chances are you do.

Today is World Mental Health Day first established in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health. It's a day to raise awareness about mental health issues through education and advocacy. One in four adults and one in five children will experience mental illness this year. (Resource: NAMI)


I live with the diagnoses of bipolar disorder, PTSD, ADHD, and anxiety with major depressive episodes. It impacts everything about my daily life. Today I encourage you to learn more about mental illness and help us eradicate the stigma associated with the diagnosis.



The Prompt: How are you taking care of your own mental health? How does mental illness affect your life?

Word Prompts: 

  • mental health
  • mental illness

Suggested Shadow Poetry Form: Ode or Acrostic



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~ Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction writer, artist, and student of life. She is working toward a new career as a Creative Arts Therapist where she hopes to share with others the healing power of the creative process. You can read her poetry and see some of her art on her blog - Poetry, Prose, Art, and Creativity. When she's not writing or making art, you can find her reading, listening to a wide range of music (even singing karaoke sometimes), or spending time with her husband Patrick and her two sons.
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13 comments:

  1. Dawn DOctober 10, 2014 at 1:26 AM

    I don't know how you do it, but all of the prompts have been exactly what I needed, or hit very close to home. Thank you for that!
    I'll try to figure out how I can make this into a poem...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Georgia KochOctober 10, 2014 at 2:15 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. vivinfranceOctober 10, 2014 at 2:58 AM

    I don't want to put this poem on my blog, as it's likely to bring unhappy memories to the subject, who reads the blog.

    Those halcyon days before depression
    shine in her memory like a beacon
    before therapy and too much medication
    turned her into a zombie.
    She vowed to turn her life around,
    and little by little she succeeded,
    rejoiced in each happy moment,
    fulfilled by her own creativity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Georgia KochOctober 10, 2014 at 3:12 AM

      lovely tribute to your friend Viv.

      Delete
    2. Fifi IslaihOctober 10, 2014 at 7:02 AM

      This is touching, beautiful.

      Delete
    3. payal agarwalOctober 10, 2014 at 8:28 AM

      Beautiful tribute.

      Delete
    4. seekingmemeOctober 10, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      Very poignant...
      "before therapy and too much medication
      turned her into a zombie"
      Powerful line! Thank you, Viv!

      Delete
  4. sunitaOctober 10, 2014 at 3:57 AM

    Would love to be part of this..Where is the link to upload the poem?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fifi IslaihOctober 10, 2014 at 7:03 AM

    I'm unsure about my poem but here it is: http://fidaislaih.blogspot.com/2014/10/be-aware-day-10.html?m=1

    ReplyDelete
  6. seekingmemeOctober 10, 2014 at 7:30 AM

    Sorry about the missing linkup! It's there now!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Julie Jordan ScottOctober 10, 2014 at 12:22 PM

    This was the most difficult poem for me to write yet this year. It wanted to be written. It practically bullied its way onto the page.

    ReplyDelete
  8. payal agarwalOctober 10, 2014 at 1:35 PM

    Thank you Amy for this prompt.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Five Dock Back 2 ActiveNovember 2, 2014 at 3:36 AM

    This is a good news to me and hope that it is a good news to all of them because World Mental Health Day is day 10. As a doctor we respect this day very much. I hope that this day is very important to the world health and medical department.

    ReplyDelete