I sometimes introduce myself as YodaNinja. "Yoda on the outside, Ninja on the inside." Outside, I seem calm and composed. When I speak (or write), what I say can be profound, perplexing... or both. But my inner world is another story. Deep inside of me is a Ninja battleground where thoughts, emotions, ideas, and utter randomness all fight for my attention. Every once in a while, they actually cooperate and I have to say, I'm deadly. But then they go at it again... and "Everybody is Kung Fu fighting." I'm a dad, a husband and a guy whose mind has a mind of it's own. My recovery from my addiction to numbing myself (with pretty much anything I can get my hands on) is a lifelong journey. I live with depression, anxiety and adhd... and sometimes they don't get along very well with my family, or with the rest of my life. Professionaly, I make my living as a Counselling Therapist in Edmonton, Canada. I teach on addiction and psychopathology at City University, and I have a small counselling practice where I use superheroes and other geeky stuff to help people make peace with their own personal YodaNinja. This blog is part of my healing and writing keeps me grounded. I hope that something I have written may add a little bit to your journey. Keep it Real
My depression still lurks in the corners of my mind, even though I am well into my recovery. What I find difficult is that anxiety seems to have replaced it. For more, click on photo
By David James If there’s one topic which appears regularly in the media at the moment, it’s mental health. It might be celebrities coming clean about their previous hidden mental health problems, or journalists and pressure groups highlighting the chronic under-funding of our health services over the last few years. I often think… is this epidemic … More Guest Post: The Mental Health Benefits of High Concentration Sports
For article, “Four Questions that will set Your Recovery Direction for 2018” click on photo. Photo by Jim Sher
I confess, I love my unproductive time. If fact, if I am busy, busy, busy… I am not only less productive but also unhappy. I crave unstructured time where my mind can wander. But sometimes it can feel excruciating and I want to escape with a little (mindless) surfing. It’s a bit of a love-hate … More How Doing Nothing On Purpose will Help Your Recovery and Mental Health… But at First It Will Drive You CRAZY!
Recently I was teaching my son to drive. After two hours behind the wheel, I think he had a moment. He said that he’s so used to being in the back seat that it seems so easy. But when he got behind the wheel, he realized how it can feels so FAST! I’m not sure … More Are You a Backseat Driver in Your Own Life?
Your brain is not broken. Your addiction is not a disease. And yes, you can start your life over! ___ Last week I wrote a post “What if Addiction is Not a Disease and Your Brain is Not ‘Broken’?” If you have not had a chance to read this post, I suggest that you take … More 8 Ways to Unlearn Addiction and Build the Life You Want
I keep dragging around what’s bringing me down If I just let go, I’d be set free Holding on Why is everything so heavy? Linkin Park, “Heavy.” For article, “What if Addiction is Not a Disease and Your Brain is Not ‘Broken’?”
What have you learned about letting go of dreams that once seemed so important to you? For article, “Let Go of Your Dreams and Bring on the Party!” click on photo
You may not know his name. I didn’t, until I saw his youtube video about addiction, “Everything you think you knew about addiction is wrong.” If you have not watched it, it is worth the 15 minutes. Johann Hari describes addiction and how relationships and feeling like you matter to other people will support and … More What I Learned About Depression from Johann Hari
It’s a good thing to hold onto your dreams. But sometimes we have to let them go. Letting go of our dreams can be one of the toughest things to do. But letting go can also be the path to discovering that the life we have is exactly the life that we most needed. In … More Let Go of Your Dreams and Bring on the Party!
Getting High on Recovery 