Roundtables #24 – This week was National Tell the Truth Day! What truth about mental health are you telling yourself this week?

Mikaela Brewer: One mental health related truth that I have been struggling to work with is duality — I can be struggling and making progress at the same time. Often, I find myself creating a binary — I believe that if I am struggling, it is somehow wrong to feel snippets of motivation, growth, or momentum. It’s a complicated dynamic because it is inherently difficult for us to see our own progress. Alongside depression, it is also difficult to believe this type of insight when it does surface. 

Neuro-poetry #10 – Trauma & the Brain

The malleability of our minds is a blessing and a curse — we can be changed by something we’ve learned, just as easily as we can be changed by trauma. Today, instead of a poem, I’d like to use a story. I’ve included the brain processes, relevant tissues, and hormones in bold.

Roundtables #7 -National Proofreading Day & National Grammar Day were both this week! Here’s a fun take from our writers on why proofreading & grammar are so important in published writing, especially surrounding mental health.

Gretel Tassah: If you want to engage an audience, you have to know what you’re talking about, or at least seem like it. A great way to do this is through proofreading and grammar-checking your writing. Just one poorly worded phrase can change the whole meaning of the story being conveyed. When writing about mental health, it’s imperative to ensure accurate and readable information because you’re discussing a sensitive topic. Proofreading and grammar are the finishing bows that tie an article together to make it presentable. 

Spotlight: Abigayle Peterson & The Stories Within Magnify’s Code

Magnify Wellness was coded using a JavaScript library called React, but there is another language embedded into the story that Magnify Wellness’s code portrays. It is a familiar language, which conveys the challenging story of learning how to best use our gifts through the experiences we gain. Abigayle’s story is one that reminds us that we share the language of pain, ache and loneliness, though we may experience it differently. Her story reminds us that we can grow, learn and make profound leaps in a plentiful direction while keeping our experiences in our back pocket. 

Meet Mikaela!

TW: Suicide

Hello, and welcome! My name is Mikaela Brewer, and I’m the Director of Writing here at Magnify! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m going to start with a little introduction about who I am, where I’m coming from, and where I’d love for us to go.

On February 8th, 2017, I sat in the psychiatric ward of the Stanford Hospital on a 51/50 hold for suicide. I was cold, exhausted, only allowed to eat with a spoon, and forced to sleep and go to the washroom in the presence of a police officer. Here’s the real kicker though: I was 19, a member of the Canadian Women’s National Basketball Team, and on a full scholarship for basketball at Stanford University, as the first Canadian member of the team to ever play there. Why I struggled so profoundly with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is something many people, including myself, found difficult to understand. On the outside, I had it all.