Wellness and Recovery Resources in the GTA
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  • Index of Resource Pages
    • Help - I don't know what to do next! Where do I start >
      • Telephone Supports
      • General Websites
    • Accessing the System - Connection to Clinical Supports >
      • Community Health Resources >
        • GTA Community Health Centres
      • Pet Services
      • Finding Counselling in the Community
    • Meeting Basic Needs - Food, Shelter, >
      • Food and Housing Programs
      • Income Supports
      • Advocacy and Legal Supports
    • CAMH Area Resources
    • Connecting with Others - Peer DropIns, Groups >
      • Drop In Centres
      • Other Drop In Centres
      • Peer Groups
    • Taking Charge - Moving beyond compliance >
      • WRAP Primer
      • Self Management of Medication Supports
    • I'm Looking for Support around . . . >
      • Family Resources
      • OCD Supports
      • Clutter Supports
    • Wellness & Relaxation >
      • Wellness Programs
      • Knitting Resources
      • Meditation Programs
      • Community Acupuncture Resources
      • School, Work, Volunteering >
        • Back to School Supports
        • Back to Work Supports
        • Contact Me
        • Volunteering >
          • Paying it forward - peer support in action
  • My Story
  • Peer Support Philosophy
  • Site Questionnaire
  • Madness in the Media
  • On Line Recovery Websites
  • WRAP Support Groups
  • Monthly Pulse
  • Monthly Pulse
  • Monthly Pulse

Who is "RecoveringNancy"?

When I first fell down the rabbit hole of mental health supports in Toronto, I was scared, in distress and entering a world I knew nothing about. It took me a long time to realize that the distress I was feeling was more than I could handle using the coping strategies I had developed for myself - and that in many ways those coping strategies were NOT making things better.

I was lucky enough that I had access to a starting point (though my then-current employer and some connections from a previous employment relationship) so I was able to access a psychiatrist in what I now realize was an amazingly short time frame (within 2 weeks). And who, even more rare in this day and age, believed in more supports than simply pushing pills!

Thus began a long journey that would take over 20 years. What I realized looking back, was that my journey was actually made harder by the silence around mental health distress, AND by the lack of awareness of resources - especially non-clinical resources that exist.

I would NEVER have believed that I would walk away from a lucrative career as a consulting actuary (sort of a technical cross between a lawyer and an accountant, with a bunch of business strategy thrown in the mix) to eventually take a part time position as a peer supporter - or peer recovery facilitator - within a hospital setting. OR that I would find myself doing a lot of unpaid work trying to bridge the gaps that the system somehow can't deal with. I have now left the hospital setting and am eagerly - and mindfully - planning my next steps.
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