Kicking The Darkness
Kicking The Darkness
Kicking the Darkness serves as both a warning and inspiration to readers, chronicling great personal tragedy and triumph over adversity. Although the stories within these pages may occasionally elicit tears, other accounts will put a smile on your face.
This is the true story of a genuine person who decided at his earliest recollection to persevere over everything that was thrown at him… even death. It makes the profound statement that life can be incredibly difficult for all, and so we have to remember that, in order to overcome our challenges, we must never stop kicking the darkness.
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Ontario Shores Mindvine Podcast #111
I shared my journey with Darryl Mathers for Episode 111 of the Ontario Shores MindVine Podcast series. Our discussion included topics such as my brother's illness and suicide, my caregiving experience during my son's mental illness, and my thoughts and advice on how to survive tremendous challenge and adversity.
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Ontario Shores Mental Health and Recovery Day Event
My daughter Candice and I took part in the Mental Health and Recovery Day event at Ontario Shores on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. Lori Lane Murphy served as the moderator of a Family Caregivers discussion that included film maker Shabnam Sukhdev.
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CBC Radio-Canada journalist Marc Godbout has put together a great article that takes a look at a treatment model for those who are experiencing a mental health crisis in California.
The article contrasts that with what is currently available in Canada, and how the end result is unnecessary pain, suffering, and delays for people facing a mental health crisis in Canada.
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February 23, 2021 - I was afforded the privilege of offering my personal perspective on why an Empath Unit at Ontario Shores would have real value to all citizens of Ontario and Canada.
You can watch the half-hour segment by following the Rogers tv link to the right.
My portion is the second half of the program.
Please feel free to add your name to the nameaday.ca list of those who would like to see Canada's first Empath Unit at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.
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Book Launch Event - February 16th 2020.
It's hard to believe that three years have already passed since the release of Kicking The Darkness. The official book launch event on February 16th, 2020 was attended by about 100 guests and proved to be special in so many ways.
It was followed the next week by a book signing event at the Oshawa Centre Indigo location that was also outstanding.
Life has a funny way of blowing up your plans.
But then the pandemic hit and blew up the world as we knew it. It came similar to a massive tsunami that was observed from a distance but still managed to catch the entire world by surprise.
Even though I took part in a few speaking and media opportunities during the pandemic, I decided from the onset that I would scale back my speaking activities until the world returned to a pre-pandemic state.
I'm happy to share that in the last six months I've had a variety of speaking engagements where I continue to advocate for improvements to our medical system to allow for greater access for those in crisis.
I also speak of the importance of care giving, based upon a lifetime of lived experience. I have been affiliated with the Ontario Caregiver Organization (ontariocaregiver.ca) for a number of years because they offer a wealth of information for those who are experiencing the challenges of providing care and support to a loved one.
My personal story chronicling one of the most difficult times in my family's life can be found by following this link: https://ontariocaregiver.ca/the-sudden-fall-by-shane-christensen/
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The Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences is positioning itself to develop the first EmPath Unit in Canada. But they will need the support of Ontarians. The Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing Unit they are designing would serve as a model for Ontario and Canada.
Global News ran a segment on Empath Units that I was asked to participate in to offer my personal perspective. Click on the link below to watch their newsclip and read the detailed article.
If you or a loved one has been touched by mental illness, or you believe that Empath Units would benefit our society, please feel free to add your name to help improve mental health services in Ontario. Simply click on the link below to add your name to the A Name A Day website. It's as easy as that!
For more information on Empath Units, please click on the link below to read an excellent Globe and Mail article which contains a wealth of information on the benefits of Empath Units.
