Survival of the paranoid

Another Lets Talk campaign from Bell has just passed and for those who know me and care for me also know that I am a sufferer of a mental illness which has been diagnosed as "Social Phobia". It has also been generally assumed that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder as a result of a lack of light. This not something that I am ashamed of. It is also something that I am not afraid to talk about and share with others. I have had several months of successful treatment with my anxiety, and it seems to be managed quite well.

While the illness does not define me, I strive to understand it's origins and understand that despite my attempts in the past to avoid or dodge the issue, it's part of who we are as a species. Oh we like to think we are a modern species but there is very little fundamental difference from our ancestors of two hundred thousand years ago (or more) and a modern human. To quote a 1965 documentary film called The War Game, "technically and intellectually we live in an atomic age, emotionally we are still living in the stone age".

One in five Canadians will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime. I am one of them.

It is part of who I am although again, it does not define me.

It is not going to go away anytime soon...and for good reason...it is who we are.

It is more than likely where our gods come from.

This video might be true in the sense of who we are and where we came from. I found it enlightening. I find that possible answers drawn from our evolutionary past far more tangible than any answer from the sky, which has no answer.

You might even find this a bit creepy...