#bernadinefox

Bernadine chats with two women, Jane Bouey and Isabella Mori, who live with Long COVID after a relatively short and mild form of COVID itself. They describe how COVID impacted on their brains and what they experience because of it: brain fog, exhaustion, strange emotional reactions, etc. They discuss whether this is a mental health issue from the impact of the debilitating aspect of the physical disability or an injury to one’s brain from COVID. Then Fraser MacKenzie from Coast Mental Health here in Vancouver talks with us about the services available for those who live with mental health challenges. music by Shari Ulrich

Building Self-Worth with Tavares Garrett Tavares A. Garrett CNC, CPT, BCS is a “Health & Transformation Educator, Motivational Speaker, Mentor, Author, Servant Leader, Energy Giver/Healer, Podcast and TV Host. He's certified by NASM (National Academy Of Sports Medicine) and is the owner of The Body Synthesis.” As you listen you will recognize that Tavares is someone who uses his skill to connect and listen with people to create an environment to help that individual build self-worth.  He comes and chats with Bernadine to talk about what are the ingredients to transform pain and trauma into rediscovering self and building self-worth: necessary for taking action and making change happen.  “He loves to help others re-build & rediscover themselves through nutrient-rich, preventative medicine coaching, behavioral change, fit-nutrition, sobriety support and enlightenment.”  Tavares has published several books including, “Kissed by the Wind” “A book of Poems and Passions” Volumes 1, 2 & 3 and “I Like That” A Book of Inspirational quotes, The Body Synthesis - Guide To A Better Mind, Guide To A Better Body, The P.F.O. Method and is the Host of Living Your Truth w/ Tavares & The Black Love Xperience Podcast.” Music by Shari Ulrich, Ana Clendening, Omar Rudberg

It’s a New Year    Today’s program is a slightly different structure.  As we walk into the next year, several people came to share their hopes for themselves, their family and friends - with all of you.  It is an uplifting show that demonstrates the amount of care and generosity that exists all around us.  The program is our personal thank you to all who have been a part of the ReThreading Madness family whether as a guest or behind the scenes making sure the show goes out each week.  This has been a hell of a year – monumental even.  A big part of that was being able to chat with some of the most incredible people from around the world.   As the host of ReThreading Madness, I consider myself blessed because of it.  But also because of you, our listeners, who join us each week.    Today we are joined by Jodi Grey, Charlene Hellson, Kayle Ackerman, Jackie Crowchild, Michelle Oucharek Deo, Peter Morin, Kagan Goh, Alex Sangha and Amy Avalon.  Our inspirational music today was by the Animals, Sara Barielles, Anna Glendening, Rachel Platten, Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Zach Williams, Scott Callum and as always Shari Ulrich sings us into and out of each program each week.  Bernadine’s personal message to our listeners:  So here is wishing you a year full of caring, compassionate and supportive people, safe and gentle havens, along with personal growth, brave new insights, spontaneous, joyful fun and a trust in yourself that grows every day.  But most of all she wishes for you a peace which settles into your heart as though it has always belonged there. 

Tools for Change and Employing Forgiveness    Rhonda Parker Taylor talks about how she learned how to support herself and cultivate meaning in the relationship she had with herself after the murder of her son.  In that she used writing as a tool for change.  Rhonda tells us about her journey and her fictional book Crossroads and her workbook coming out in December of 2024. Then Katharine Giovanni talks about her book, “The Ultimate Path to Forgiveness: Unlocking Your Power “giving us insight into the process of forgiveness and why it might be important for some of us to look at it.     

Coping with Mental Health Challenges with JaneA Kelley  JaneA Kelley has throughout her life gathered mental health diagnoses.  She has Bipolar 2, PTSD, and ADHD.  JaneA candidly talks about these diagnoses; what they mean to her; how they complicate or add to her life; and how she copes with them. She talks about finding herself at rock bottom and the things (mostly her cats) who have brought her back forward.  She talks of betrayals and of stigma that originate out of misunderstandings and the impact of her challenges.  As a writer, it is no wonder she uses writing to work through these issues and find herself again.    Music by Shari Ulrich, Jann Arden, Brandi Carisle

Can't Eat Love with Leslie Davis Leslie Davis’ life moved through a haze that didn’t include her own feelings.  After what she has deemed an Emotional Tsuunami, she developed a means of accessing her feelings, sorting through them, and then accepting them.  For decades now, this process has proven to be a powerful healing tool.  Join us as Leslie describes what this process is and how you can do it as well. music by Shari Ulrich

Dispelling Myths about the BC Mental Health Act with Rob Wipond It is so very often that we hear misinformation about the BC Mental Health Act.  It is so widely held and believed in some of our BC communities, that if you check yourself into a psych ward voluntarily you can leave when you want and you can refused any treatment that you feel won’t work.  Rob Wipond, author of Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships joins Bernadine Fox to discuss the BC Mental Health Act and how what we have been led to believe or told is true and what actually plays out in the psych ward are not the same.   Voluntary can become involuntary just because you refuse the treatment they tell you to take.  And once you are committed, here in BC, you essentially lose all human rights to advocate for your own welfare.  And while you can appeal a commitment, you can be forced to take treatments for the 3 weeks it takes to actually have that hearing.  And, by then whatever you were forced to take may in fact leave you unable to fully comprehend what is occurring in that hearing leaving the judge to perceive you as incompetent.  After finding a pamphlet that repeated the myths to a vulnerable population, it was important to dispel these myths most likely being produced in other places across the province by well-meaning individuals.  In comparison to the rest of Canada and many places in the world, BC has what many consider to be the harshest mental health system: one that eliminates the human rights of the patient.  If not living in BC, we suggest that If you are someone who accesses or relies on the mental health system, it is advisable to research what is true about your mental health system when it comes to commitments (voluntary or involuntary), forced treatments, and the appeal processes so that you can better advocate for yourself or your loved ones where you live.  

Decolonizing mental health:  What is it?  Norman Leech, is currently the Executive Director for the Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, and was the Executive Director for Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre from 2016-2023. He still works to change the fact that Indigenous people are “over-represented in most negative social health indicators, whether homelessness, incarceration, crime victims, children-in-care, poverty, missing, murdered, income, suicide, life expectancy, and on and on.” (Conference Board of Canada)  Norman is from the T’it’q’et community of the St’at’imc nation but was born and raised in East Vancouver. “He draws on his experiences as a recovering alcoholic/ addict, computer nerd, inter-generational survivor, and spiritual explorer to inform his current work.” (Conference Board of Canada).   Norman chats with Bernadine about what it is and why it is important today to look at mental health from a decolonized perspective.  He also delves into its origins, who can benefit from it, and where you can find it.  Music by Shari Ulrich