Thursday, October 29, 2009

Field of Hope

The Field of Hope this year has been one adventure after another. It is amazing it was brought to bloom and rather ironic as well. There were adventures along the way, challenges, obstacles, yet here we sit with the flowers in full bloom.
What is most ironic to me is as the flowers are blooming, I am losing one of the most important people that have ever come into my life, Paul. Paul is on the advisory board of iFred and is one of those people that just epitomizes a good person - and everything a person should commit to be. He doesn't drink, smoke, has solid faith, exercises, is genuinely kind, does not judge and loves with all his heart. He is the kind of person I think everyone should aspire to be. So to me in many ways this blooming is bittersweet as he was a big reason the field was able to happen.
I've been writing a poem about who he and what he meant to me and everyone else to help express my love for this great man and ease my pain. But the reality is nothing hurts more than the loss of a dear friend, a major life event and one that is known to trigger depressive episodes. There are three things that make you susceptible to depression / trigger an episode; abuse in childhood, genetics, and traumatic life events (death of a loved one being on top).

So with my history of depression, while I am happy of the blooming I must think of how I will cope. So I am working to feel and experience the pain and loss, as opposed to escaping, as while escaping might be nice in the short term I know through in the long term it will only hurt me. And I will use my creativity to bring forth beautiful things to express my feelings - art, poetry, music, song, and love. I am recognizing my vulnerability and making sure to eat well, sleep, exercise, pray, surround myself with those I love and be good to myself. And I will keep Paul and his family close to my heart and rejoice in what the field is bringing to others.

Dan Taylor managed the field, and we couldn't have been luckier, as he is the one that made sure it came to fruition as there were many times along the way it was questionable. We had major issues first with flood, which pretty much never happens in Accra (figures!). Dan was there through the night when the flood came and helped drain the field after and salvaged the flowers he could. He managed to get additional flowers donated to cover the ones we lost, and got donations of fertilizer to make sure the ones that made it actually survived.

When we ran out of money for the project he continued to support it and see it through to the end. He did not give up. He gave his own time and money as he believed it was a field and project much greater than him, symbolic that we should not give up in times of despair no matter what road blocks may lie ahead. Something that anyone experiencing depression always needs to remember.

The field brought together so many in Accra, so many that would not have otherwise spoken of depression or mental illness. The Field of Hope was non controversial - a beautiful project and intrigued people enough to discuss it. And once they found out what it was for, it seemed many had stories to tell. They slipped in the night to help how they could, donating items - a miracle in and of itself.


In Accra, Ghana and throughout Africa I learned that people with any type of mental issue - they are treated as if they have 'demonic spirits' in them. That is what most believe there. The individuals are chained to trees and made to fast in the hot sun - so as to rid them of these so called 'spirits' - stripped of rights and subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse.

Why everyone can not accept that problems with the brain are no different than problems with the heart, lung, or kidney is completely baffling. Depression is a treatable disease, yet people are needlessly suffering and dying because it is feared. Even in the U.S. - we just recently established Mental Health Parity laws - laws that basically say that people with mental issues should be given the same treatment as those with physical issues (while of course we have to start somewhere, is it really true progress?).

People in the mental health field are very excited about that, and while it is a good thing I wonder how it is possible that so much money, time and effort was spent making this happen when we could have used it treating those effected. The brain is not a 'special organ' detached from the rest of our body, in fact it is the most complex organ in the human body and it connects and influences everything we do - it would seem a no-brainer that we treat it as the gem that it is and do all we can to keep it healthy. Just getting the brain now included in our insurance plans seems archaic to me, again I am glad it happened just wish we were further along.

As I look back at the first photo of the field, I reflect on how much it looks and feels like depression in many ways. Muddy, dirty, blah, unattractive, stagnant, colorless (well, brown), sick, unworthy.... those are some things that come to mind. And then I think about all of the issues with the field but saw how people continued watering it, allowing sunlight, and providing nutrients, nurture, faith, and commitment.

And I look at where we ended - a beautiful, proud, yellow, joyful upright sunflower facing the sun. They even look proud to me. Just as someone might look if they had managed their depression successfully after a hard stretch. For those who don't know - it is such an amazing sight to see.

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 depression is going to be the #1 cause of death and disability worldwide - and do you know why? Because people are afraid of acknowledging it. It amazes me each and every day that depression is up to 80% treatable, yet less than 25% are getting treatment in the U.S. alone (2% in Ghana) due to stigma and lack of funding (most likely due to stigma).

We could prevent so many problems if we paid attention and showed acceptance. Why we don't, in the 21st century, I just can not understand. But maybe, just maybe, by reading this you will see someone with depression differently in the future - you will understand they may be dark and murky, but with love, nurturing, nutrients, sunshine and care they will come out of it brighter than ever. You will give them love and hope and support and encouragement through their dark times.

To all of those that worked tirelessly on the Field this year thank you. We are planting a seed towards acceptance and while it may not be understood now I have faith it will in the years to come. And I want to especially thank Paul and his family for their constant support for something that they may not fully understand or personally experience, but continue to encourage with an open heart and mind.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bringing Depression Hope

For those of you that don't know what we are trying to do - watch this video as it will help. We may change the month to April - if you have thoughts let us know!
Also please be sure to join our cause on facebook - and tell your family and friends!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LirTh9CMA

Healing Benefits of Laughter

What a fantastic article about how laughter helps our minds. Be sure to share with friends! Also please give us YOUR ideas on how to incorporate laughter into our lives!

http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Amazing Poem

David sent me his book, and I just loved it. I really resonated with one particular poem, and wanted to share. You can learn more of his extraordinary story and work at www.achildunheard.com.

The Adventurer

Shining a light
Down within
Understanding the
Depths of emotion
Never understood
Or explained

Allowing someone close
To help heal these pains
A mind can't
Think its way through
A darkness
Hiding a great sadness

Detached from
This pain
An inner world
Without love and
Compassion
Makes reality
So painful

The adventurer
Within
With courage and
Strength
Fights for our life
So the esteem
Of one's self can grow

Only by sharing
This pain
Can understanding
Be understood
When one has
Lived in flight
All of one's life

-D.J. Russell
www.achildunheard.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Exercise and Stress

Why aren't we requiring that children have exercise FIRST THING every morning? It should be the first event of the day - and maybe 15 minutes after lunch.

Fit children may have less stress, longer attention spans, better memories and be more prepared to learn, according to recent research. Struggling students who took a physical-education class prior to an algebra class improved their test scores by 20.4%, compared with 3.9% for other students, according to data from an Illinois high school. Edutopia magazine (6/2009)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Today is FREE depression screening day!

Today is FREE depression screening day! Check out www.depression.org / the calendar to find out where you can get screened. Tell your loved ones and share the word. Depression is up to 80% treatable, yet less than 25% in the U.S. are getting treat...ment. Let's change this!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Global Mental Health Summit

I am thrilled to be speaking this year at the Global Mental Health Summit in Athens, Greece on September 2nd. It is being put on by the Global Mental Health Movement - anyone can join so please sign on to www.globalmentalhealth.org and join the movement to fight for Mental Health worldwide.

Our field in Ghana, Africa has woken me up to the troubling situation worldwide. People with mental health disabilities are getting mistreated globally, yet little is being done about it. Many countries think that people are possessed by spirits and demons if they have a mental health affliction - so they are tied to trees and made to fast and their human rights are taken away.

The U.S. was there not too long ago. We can not let these people suffer in silence. We must join together and fight for all those who can not fight for themselves.

Please join the movement at www.globalmentalhealth.org. I will be speaking at the summit about rebranding depression and some initiatives iFred is taking to do just that - www.brightenourworld.com and www.thefieldofhope.org and www.ifred.org/rebrandingdepression. We hope to get more organizations, government and media focusing on the positive effects of treatment (and that yes, it is a medical disease not something 'in the head') as opposed to the symptoms and despair of depression.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009


Dan saved our Field of Hope!
Please plant a seed in honor of someone you love today, and watch it as we see the flowers grow through October. Help us bring hope to depression.
To get the full story, become a fan on facebook:

Monday, June 22, 2009

Field of Hope

We are planting our Field of Hope in Accra, Ghana this year. You can visit it at www.thefieldofhope.org. We are bringing awareness worldwide awareness to depression, and working to raise money for the disease. Plant a seed in honor of someone you love or have lost to depression.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Male Celebrities and Depression

I think it is fabulous when men come out and talk about depression, and how getting treatment has helped them. I met Terry Bradshaw not too long ago, he was fantastic and it was amazing to hear how much he struggled even during the football seasons. He perservered and is now working hard to help other men deal.

CNN today featured Zack Greinke's about his depression and anxiety disorder - and opennness that has helped other ballplayers work through similar issues in a positive way (as opposed to turning to drugs, alcohol, women as forms of escape).

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Report: US students lagging in biosciences (and thoughts on the Arts)

AP just put this report out, and they had all kinds of reasons why we are lagging behind in the sciences.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iPYxOht7gGvisvgOhza5kVBJTzYgD988T7282

It is interesting, because I just attended a conference about the arts and music / brain development, and there has been some evidence that if we immerse children in music and the arts they do better on tests.

http://www.dana.org/news/publications/detail.aspx?id=10752

Is it just a coincidence that with the last eight years of budget cuts of the arts we are now doing worse in the sciences? Forget all the various tightly controlled studies, le'ts take a macro perspective and look at the trends.

One thing we fail to study or look at in terms of correlation, is the effect the arts have on our children's self-esteem. Are we increasing the likelihood of depression as we take out these art classes from schools? We know that arts and music are a fabulous form of creative express, and when done properly can have a great therapuetic benefit and build confidence.

I wonder why people making decisions on curriculum / where to cut budgets don't see this research and consider the overall affect and training creative arts (music, drawing, etc.) has on the brain, not just from an educational sense but from an emotional too.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Depression and Hope

I woke up today really extraordinarily sad, and I could find no reason. A few days ago I was fine. But today I have this gnawing, unrelenting despair that makes me wonder if there is such as a thing as depression and hope.

I then read the article on Ex-Nascar driver Kevin Grubb, found dead today of an apparent self-inflicted gun wound. Maybe that is where my pain is from, I don't know. A sense of foreboding, forewarning. Every day in the news I read about it and it reminds me of my own struggles and family losses, the pain that so many around the world feel on a daily basis that can find no relief from, do not get treatment for, and see no way out of...

Somehow, though, the pain inspires me and lifts me. I know the reason so many are in pain is that we do not understand the brain - how it works, what feeds it, what makes it function correctly, and how it gets 'out of whack', for a lack of a better choice of words. And once out of whack, the spiralling can take place unless something is done to stop it.

And what we do not understand, we often fear, which only makes the suffering worse.

I believe my calling is to take depression away from loneliness, despair and sorrow - to a place where we use our pain towards something productive. In my worst of days I can write in bed, I can use my brain to bring something creative and wonderful from my angst. It is from some of my most worst and trying times that I come up with my most creative thoughts and solutions.

So I celebrate this Month - Mental Health Awareness Month - what I call, and encourage many to start doing, the Global Month of Hope. We are planting a field of sunflowers in Ghana, Africa to raise money and awareness for depression around the world. We don't understand what causes depression and how to cure it, but that does not mean we can't.

The sunflower was chosen as a special symbol for many reasons. You can read more on http://www.depression.org/ or http://www.thefieldofhope.org/.

My heart goes out to the Grubb family. To the family of David Kellermann, who was acting CFO of Freddie Mac when he saw no way out. And my heart mourns all of the work lost by these fantastic people, folks who never saw their true potential and whose families lost out on a life filled with their angelic presence because of their own personal struggle with unbearable pain.

I believe a day will come when there are no suicides. We will understand the brain wiring better and will come up with treatments that are effective, just as we are doing for heart disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body, yet we have done so very little to understand how to treat brain imbalances, merely touching the tip of the iceberg.

What I know is every day that I feel like this I give thanks and try to do something that I know will make a difference in the lives of others, and that is what I will do today. Not perfectly, and unfortunately some people will not be happy with the way I do it, but I will do the best I can and the best I know how and have peace with that.

All of my love goes out to those struggling with this disease, or who are helping family members cope, and my prayers to all for brighter days. On days you all feel like this, I suggest planting a seed, simply caring for yourself, or doing something for someone else. Better days will always come.