Walking Helps

My psychiatrist turned out not to be my psychiatrist after all. “I have to prioritize” he said, giving me some lame excuse as to why he could not take me on as a potential patient, two months after his representation to the contrary. That, so far, has been my personal experience with the mental health system. I could pursue this, and I may yet, but I know how difficult it is to get an appointment, how long the delays are, how flaky the services are, and how much easier it is when you have money.

I don’t know if anything ails me or not, but if it does, it’s not something they can give me pills for. I say all this because last Sunday I got to see and hear Margaret Trudeau up close, and whatever it is that ails her she does take pills for. Unlike Maggie, I never got to meet the Rolling Stones, but like her, I got to walk 5 km through downtown Montreal, along with several hundred other people who, red scarf clad, went to support the organizations that provide services to those (of us? Don’t know, the shrink wouldn’t see me) who have mental health issues, and try to make headway in the battle to destigmatize mental illness.

So… I listened to the speeches, I picked up pamphlets, I looked admiringly at people in groups representing organizations and holding balloons, I took a few pictures, and I walked. I got a red scarf, an elephant, a pair of headphone / earmuffs, a few dollars in donations, a good feeling, and good conversation (thanks, Chaya, wherever you are). Oh, and I got a picture of Maggie…