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in serious danger but these aren t the case in which amber alerts are issued between 2003 and 2012 canada only issued 64 amber alerts involving 73 abducted children of those 70 were recovered and returned safely and three died as for those people who were so rudely disturbed in winnipeg even though the alert was an hour earlier due to your time zone i agree that you were too far away to be of any help unfortunately the technology isn t perfect but it s a hell of a lot better than it used to be when the amber alert was first introduced in the us in 1996 it s broadcast was limited to interrupted programming on radio stations and a text crawl along the bottom of tv programs when the technology became available electronic roadside signs would also display the alert but it s only very recently that amber alerts began broadcasting on mobile devices and social media on april 6 2018 the crtc placed mandates on canadian service providers to ensure the majority of wireless carriers across the country became compatible with the alerts canadians cannot opt out this is a good thing people the speed at which an alert is broadcast is a huge factor when a child s life is in danger in cases of child abduction and murder delays are critical in fact retrospective review shows that missing children who are murdered are killed within a very short period of time incredibly 44 of the children were dead within only one hour after their abduction 74 were dead within three hours and 91 were dead within 24 hours after being taken when abducted child was killed 1 hour 44 within 3 hours 74 within 24 hours 91 within 7 days 99 within 30 days 100 so yeah even if the latest technology still has a few glitches and it means a couple of times a year a few people are disturbed or inconvenienced based on those timelines it seems pretty clear to me that it s vital we use every tool at our disposal to broadcast amber alerts as quickly as f cking possible seriously if you ve chosen to keep your cell phone turned on at night and by your bedside maybe in case someone you love has an emergency and you are awoken by one of these rare amber alerts i really don t think it s unreasonable for you to be able to control your anger enough that you don t feel the need to complain to the police by making your own 911 call do i feel the need to rant about this because i m a parent and one of my boys is 11 years old the same age riya rajkumar had just turned no it s because i m a responsible member of society and a decent human being the first amber alert was issued in texas after 9 year old amber hagerman went missing while riding her bike she was found murdered four days later the case remains unsolved the us department of justice subsequently created the backronym a merica s m issing b roadcast e mergency r esponse share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print more share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading 2 comments posted in general tagged amber alert child children family parenting rant my 1st letter to the editor posted on january 30 2019 leave a comment today i did something that i ve never done before after reading a newspaper article i wrote a scathing letter to the editor disclaimer although i did write the letter it wasn t actually scathing nor even that harsh sorry i m canadian one of the things bouncing all over my social media today during bell let s talk day was an opinion piece published in the globe and mail on jan 28th people with mental illness don t need more talk by philip moscovitch i don t know mr moscovitch personally but after stalking browsing his online profiles i see that we have a lot in common we both live in nova scotia we both really enjoy fermented beverages and we both love to write and while he may be much more successful at the writing thing than i am i figure i could give him a hell of run for his money in the fermented beverage category perhaps most importantly however we ve both been personally and significantly impacted by mental illness i m not going to summarize his article for you because i want you to actually read it yourself again the link you will discover that it s extremely well written and that his points are clear concise and correct yep i pretty much agree with everything he has to say why then you might ask did i feel the burning need to write a letter of rebuttal to the editor of the globe don t worry i recognize that i m being overly dramatic well here s the gist of it i agree with mr moscovitch s opinion about bell let s talk day but with an important proviso yes 24 hours of talking is not enough while it s fantastic that 7 million cdn will be raised today to support mental health initiatives it still burns that canada s mental health care is so grievously underfunded that it requires this corporate charity however as i once wrote in this post i m okay with being a bit two faced regarding bellletstalk i shamelessly happily shared and tweeted my butt off today to make the most of what was being offered i will also gladly continue to be a dancing monkey and give talks about my own mental illness because every time i do i save lives this is not hyperbole after almost every one of my talks someone asks to speak to me privately and then discloses that they are in serious crisis i then put everything on hold and help them find help i spend a lot of time doing this dance and i do it all for free and on the odd occasion that i m gifted with an honourarium yes even by bell i turn that money around to support the initiatives i know are more crucial and while i certainly agree a colouring book in the break room isn t what s desperately needed if it s that s only thing that s being offered to me today you can bet i m going to colour the shit out of it anyway mr moscovitch thanks for getting so many people talking and thinking about the chasms in our mental health services with your excellent article you do wfns proud most importantly however thank you for advocating so well for your son and others who live with psychosis just as you predicted most of my conversations today were about mental health but i have a mental illness and have come perilously close to losing my life because of it maybe it s due to this commonality with your son and because my family has never once stumbled on any of the many hurdles my illness has thrown at them that i was so moved by your article honestly the pure love from which it was written was nearly blinding wishing you nothing but the best stephanie share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print more share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading leave a comment posted in mental health tagged bellletstalk depression mental health mental illness nova scotia philip moscovitch the globe and mail writers federation of nova scotia the holidays it s complicated posted on december 4 2018 leave a comment written at the request of the ohsw team of the nova scotia health authority for inclusion in their seasonal publication i m fortunate to be a member of an organization that recognizes mental health as an intrinsic part of overall wellness on an office door not far from mine there s a whiteboard counting down the number of days until christmas i m sure this excited person simply wants to share their good cheer but instead of bringing me joy this perky daily update triggers a flutter of anxiety butterflies in my stomach this is partly due to the shrinking window of time left to fulfill my family s wish lists something i haven t even begun but those flapping butterflies have a deeper origin than just my hatred of shopping honestly if christmas and i were in a relationship our facebook status would be it s complicated i love it i really do it s just that almost everything about it also messes with my head in this i know i am not alone although it s most often portrayed as an idyllic time of year when loving families come together and share bountiful meals this isn t true for many people unfortunately when everyone expects you to have a merry christmas it can be very difficult to tell them otherwise and when negative aspects of the holidays are discussed the focus is on tangible things such as increased debt the unhealthy diet or the difficulty of winter travel over the past few years however i ve become more aware of how the season affects my intangibles how my insecurities and issues become magnified by the intensity that surrounds the holiday dressing up for parties makes my body image worse and meeting new people increases my social awkwardness i feel more pressure for everything to be perfect like it s my responsibility to ensure everyone has a great time instead of feeling rested with the break from work and a week spent with my family i get fatigued by the lack of me time and then feel guilty i m not enjoying every moment of our togetherness christmas knocks me off balance nevertheless i m being honest when i say i love christmas because this magnification also affects my positive intangibles at the party i was anxious to attend i laugh with friends and find joy when family gathers for a meal i feel intensely blessed by the comfort and prosperity which we enjoy and after my husband and children are in bed and it s dark but for the lights on the tree the love in our home feels larger and more pure so yes my relationship with christmas is definitely complicated at this time of year moods and emotions both positive and negative intensify you only need to look at a child to see it anticipation and excitement may be at peak levels but so is impatience and disappointment this is happening all around us just as love and happiness are being amplified so are grief and loneliness and any strain in relationships this is why even though it s easy to get lost in the holiday frenzy it s important to have compassion for yourself and those around you unfortunately knowing all this doesn t do much to quell my anxiety triggered by the whiteboard down the hall it does however reinforce that i m not alone so even with an increasing number of butterflies fluttering in my stomach i m going to try to embrace that countdown as for our relationship status on facebook maybe it s time for me and christmas to try being in a civil union share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print more share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading leave a comment posted in mental health tagged anxiety christmas depression family holidays love mental health nova scotia health authority stress wellness too tired to write posted on october 4 2018 leave a comment share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print more share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading leave a comment posted in mental health tagged dosomething depression mental health mental illness mental illness awareness week i m the total opposite of brave posted on october 1 2018 2 comments hello to everyone who s here from the nova scotia health authority thanks for taking the time to click that extra click btw i ve also been asked to give a short talk on thursday over lunch location is now confirmed to be the vg auditorium at the qeii if you re around please come on by it would be great to meet you all in person i welcome every opportunity to break down the barriers that surround the subject of our mental health so when my organisation s workplace health promotion team asked if i d write a post to be featured in this week s internal communications as part of their mental illness awareness week campaign it was an easy yes it s just a bonus that i really like those peeps selecting a topic was also pretty simple it s something that always generates a lot of discussion when i talk about mental health in the workplace why i decided to disclose my illness when i went public with the fact that i live with a major depressive disorder i was called brave and strong by a lot of people this is giving me waaaay too much credit while it s true that my current advocacy is primarily intended to benefit the greater good the extent of positive impact that my initial disclosure on this blog would have on other people was completely unanticipated i certainly wasn t burning with an altruistic desire to empower other people who lived with mental illness in reality when i finally came out after living in the mental health closet for over 20 years it no longer felt like a choice my need to open up about my depression and suicidality was at such a critical point it felt like it was my only option it was just too f ing hard to keep pretending to be healthy i was spent and exhausted at the time i couldn t even conceive of how my disclosure would affect others honestly i was far too worried about what impact it was going to have on me even though i knew i couldn t keep living in secret shame i was terrified i was making a huge mistake would i lose people s respect at work would everyone be uncomfortable around me would anyone even want to still be friends with me you all know about stigma right well i was internalizing all of these negative attitudes about mental illness whether they were actually real or just perceived this is called self stigma it s what kept me from seeking help when i desperately needed it and why i was continuing to keep my diagnosis and need for medication a secret from everyone except my husband and sister i felt pathetic and weak ashamed of what the depression had made me my self esteem was so low the thought of someone knowing the truth about me made me want to vomit self stigma took away every fibre of my confidence and strength and when i did ultimately disclose my illness the absolute last thing i felt was brave as it turned out much to my shock and knee trembling relief my big reveal was met with nothing but pure compassion and support it s not exaggerating to say that my disclosure saved my life yes i still live with depression i still need to take multiple medications to feel well and i st...