We should be doing good things in the world if we can…

Mental health is an incredibly important topic for myself. As a person who fights with depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, finding the tools and outlets needed is invaluable. For me, this is why mindyourmind is so important. If I had the tools and knowledge years ago as a young adult that I have today, I would have been able to handle so much of what life threw my way on much more solid ground. 

The years of my life just around a decade ago were very dark days. I had a lot of hard things to deal with. I had no outlet, no voice or understanding of what I was dealing with. The family I came from didn’t understand mental health in those days. As a guy, it was expected we had to suck it up and keep things to ourselves. A very bad coping strategy as we now know.

This expectation led to a time where I shut down and stopped living. I was new to London to escape the stress that life had mounted onto me. I stopped talking to people that were not online. I stopped leaving my apartment except for the extremely rare middle of the night trip to metro just not to have to see people. Eventually even that broke down and I stopped eating and I grew weak so I  no longer even left bed.  If not for the actions of those who became my friends and loved ones, I am sure no one would of seen me again. 

Fast forward to today. I am happy, I am doing well and most importantly, I understand myself and my needs when it comes to my own mental wellness. Gaming, which was once a crutch to escape stress became the catapult which gave me the skills to deal with people, the confidence in myself and the discipline to do all that I do today. 

mindyourmind’s work with mental health awareness and their approach to reach those in need is exactly what I would have needed in my own dark days. This is why I want to support mindyourmind. If through the joint efforts of my convention, my clubs and the efforts of mindyourmind, we can help anyone else who is struggling like I did, then this is a good thing and we should be doing good things in this world if we can.

 

Forest City Comicon is a celebration of nerd culture like no other: London, Ontario’s Centennial Hall will host the 2014 Forest City Comicon this October. The event will feature costumes, vendors, panels, board games, and video game tournaments. The event promises to a celebration of nerd culture and the popular culture that surrounds it.

The event will be held on Sunday, October 19 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm at London, Ontario’s 14,000 square foot Centennial Hall.