The Mental Health Perspective Speech

Here is a speech I delivered at the AGM Meeting of the Kings County Chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association. It is about the reasons why I am glad and grateful about being part of The Mental Health Perspective Newsletter.

The Mental Health Perspective Speech

I would like to begin by stating that I am very grateful and thankful to be given the opportunity to be part of The Mental Health Perspective consumer led initiative.

Being part of this initiative gives me the opportunity to fulfill my passion in life for writing and helping others. I personally believe that the reason for all the pain, torture, and torment I have experienced in life due to my mental illness and addiction with drugs and alcohol is to share my experience, strength, and hope with others.

I can empathize with those who suffer from mental illness and/or addiction. I can relate to my fellow consumers. I can combine the facts of mental illness with my personal experiences and try to be of help to others.

I have literally been to hell and back many times over. I know what it is like to live in my own little world completely cut off from reality. I was completely alone in life. Even when I was in a situation for socializing I was completely cut off from the outside world and felt like that I was all by myself in this world. It was like that I was the only person existing in this life. There was no one else experiencing life but me. It was a life of torture, torment, pain, and suffering.

I am just grateful and thankful that I have been delivered from that hell and been brought back to reality and experiencing what it is like not to be alone and now having that oneness and connection with others.

I write about mental illness so that I can be of some help to my fellow consumers. To inform them about the facts surrounding mental illness and to give them hope that recovery is truly possible.

Although I must confess that some people never recover completely due to the nature of mental illness. But if I can help them in some way learn to cope and to deal with the issues surrounding mental illness I have fulfilled my mission in life.

Even though some people never recover completely they can still find meaning, happiness, and purpose in life. They can still become productive members of society.

Another reason I write about mental illness is to try and be of help to the family members of those with mental illness. I personally believe that sometimes the family members suffer more than those that actually have the mental illness. Family members find it very difficult to deal with and cope with their loved ones illness. Illness in the family causes a great psychological torment deep within their hearts, minds, and souls. If I can help them in any way to achieve healing within then I have also fulfilled my mission in life.

Another reason that I write about mental illness is to try and stamp out the stigma towards those that are ill. Stigma is a very real obstacle for consumers to overcome. I personally believe that stigma causes more pain and torment than the illness itself.

We have come a long way in stamping out some of the stigma but we still have a long ways to go. I personally feel that one of the ways to stamp out stigma is to educate society about the facts of mental illness and to dispel some of the myths that are believed out there amongst society. If I can dispel some of the myths and remove some of that stigma within the minds and hearts in some individuals of society then I have fulfilled my mission in life.

In conclusion this project is of great value and very beneficial to me as an individual. It is also of great value and very beneficial to the mental health community and to society as a whole.

Everyone recovers at different rates and different levels and some barely recover at all. Despite all this it is still possible for consumers to find happiness, contentment, and peace of mind. There is hope.