Bell Let’s Talk Day is over, but mental health is still here. We need to keep talking. We need to keep sharing. Julie Vallieres believes strongly in educating everyone about mental health. She has experienced her own battles and wants to help others. As a high school teacher at St. Peter Catholic High school Julie started the “Change Your Mind Group”. You may remember these extraordinary kids from our blog with Joe McGillis. Julie wasn’t able to join us the day we shot that incredible vlog (thank you everyone for watching, commenting and sharing. You are all amazing!) because she had a class at that time.
There’s one thing about Madame Vallieres though, she is persistent. She told me she wanted an interview. She wanted to share her story because she knows how powerful and valuable sharing is when it comes to mental health. Here is Julie’s story
(watch time 6:48)
Running FOR Your Mind: Julie Vallieres’ StoryYou can’t run from your mind but you can run FOR it. Julie Vallieres story is a great one. Her misdiagnosis made her miserable for years, but now she’s on the other side and she wants you to know “YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR MIND!” Full blog about how Julie found help is here –>
Posted by Michelle Ferreri on Friday, February 5, 2016
Julie, as you noticed is a fighter. She worked hard to get where she is. She is an incredible woman surrounded by students and teachers who greatly respect her. Her transparency about her struggles is inspiring. Her husband’s persistence to help her find the right diagnosis is incredible. Julie said the staff at PRHC was wonderful, but she also said if you want the help and support you have to be willing to help yourself as well. When Julie was admitted she was hospitalized for three weeks. Once she was released she attended PRHC every weekday for EIGHT months for counselling and support. She showed the doctors and hospital that she had the will to get better. She had the will to improve herself and learn what they taught her. She now volunteers with the CMHAHKPR in Peterborough. She sleeps well, she eats well and of course she exercises. Julie also takes medication and practices cognitive behavioral therapy to change how her brain thinks. She works hard to manage her illness. There is no magic pill or cure for mental illness. In fact Julie says the medication treats only 30% of her bipolar type two disorder. Julie is proof, you can change your mind. You can come out on the other side. You can be happy again. Good luck to everyone out there who may be struggling. Get chatting and if you are in a crisis go to the hospital and get help.
RUN JULIE RUN!
Oh and if you wanna join the YMCA Half Marathon, you can register HERE! See you at the finish line! I might wanna start training a wee bit harder to keep up to Julie!!
MF
