Mind Aid with Matthew Dickson (Part I)
In this episode, Roxanne engages in a deep conversation with Matthew Dickson, who shares his personal experiences with mental health. They discuss Matthew's diagnosis, recovery process, and the societal stigma surrounding mental health. Matthew also shares a book recommendation and emphasizes the importance of vulnerability in mental health discussions.
Key Points
- Matthew Dixon shares his personal journey with schizophrenia, describing the onset of his symptoms during university and the intense struggle he faced before finding a medication that worked glacially slowly towards recovery.
- Through his experience, Matthew emphasizes the importance of hope and the belief that individuals are capable of much more than they think, drawing parallels to Navy SEALs' training and the power of perseverance in the face of mental illness.
- Matthew discusses the strategies that aided his path to recovery, including voracious reading, learning people skills, improving fitness and diet, and the significant impact of open conversations about mental health, which have become more prevalent and accepted in recent years.
There are many people out there who advocate for those with mental health issues, but not all of them lead by experience. On this episode of Authentic Living with Roxanne, we welcome Matthew Dickson who has suffered with his own mental health problems and now takes his lived experience to help those in developing countries receive the help that they so desperately need.
Matthew gave us so much great information that we are splitting this into two episodes, so be sure to tune in again next week for Part II.
Matthew is a Mental Health Advocate who works to help people in impoverished countries with no mental health care. His heart goes out to people in developing or war-torn countries who experience not only the torment of mental illness but the traumas of poverty or the horrors of war as well. It's not fair. Some countries have only one psychiatrist per million people. They have no medications. No counselling. No support groups.
Authentic Touch Points:
How it all started. 2:30
Not everyone has the same symptoms. 5:45
Fighting through the feeling of overstimulation. 8:15
Seeking help when needed. 12:15
Finding the path to recovery. 14:00
Sometimes you just get better. 17:00
We’re so much more open about it now. 21:30
As someone who went through mental illness in one of the most advanced countries in the world, Matthew could not believe how painful mental illness is. Canada has some of the best mental health resources in the world. What some people go through in other countries is unthinkable. Matthew works to restore their hope, their dignity and help them to regain good mental health. He has successfully overcome schizophrenia, has bicycled across Canada, and has an engineering degree. He loves the outdoors, making people laugh, and dancing!
As we move toward reopening workspaces and gathering again, I encourage leaders to reach out for guidance about developing an authentic and improved workplace for everyone with less conflict.
Be sure to tune in again next week for Part II.
Stay Authentic,
Roxanne
Links:
Roxanne’s LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannederhodge/ Roxanne’s email: [email protected] Chat with Roxanne: https://roxannederhodge.com/chat/ Roxanne’s previous podcasts: https://roxannederhodge.com/blog/
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Transcript
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