Brian Wetzel 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart

That Voice in the Wilderness is Laughing: Reclaiming Joy from Depression
Brian Wetzel
Professional stand-up comedian and speaker

Drawing on his personal experience with depression, stand-up comic, Brian Wetzel, will take you on a unique journey of laughter, truth, and hope—sharing ways to keep living, learning, laughing, and surviving.

Bio
Writer/Performer, Brian Wetzel has over fifteen years of experience as a comedian, speaker, and lecturer. In 1995 Brian did a ten state stand-up comedy tour, working along side comedians like George Lopez and Mark Lundholm. An avid fan of A Cappella music, Brian has sung in barbershop quartets and loves vocal harmony. He spent a number of years teaching comedy traffic school for the Improv Comedy Club. He also has twenty years of experience planning and leading regional camps, conferences and retreats for Junior and Senior high youth and adults. He has keynoted and lectured on a wide range of issues and topics, including public safely, personal responsibility, social justice, and personal growth. Since September of 2004 he has been touring the West Coast with his autobiographical one man show “Side By Side: A Journey With Depression a funny look at serious survival.”

• Brian Wetzel Mental Health Hero
• Charles Sakai Mental Health Hero
• Dr. Deborah Serani Mental Health Hero
• Joel Sax Mental Health Hero
• Nanci Schiman Mental Health Hero
• Dawn Willis Mental Health Hero
• Richard-Yves Sitoski Mental Health Hero
• David Granirer Mental Health Hero
• Dani Borderline Z Mental Health Hero

Richard-Yves Sitoski 2011 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon by Chato Stewart

According to the Japanese proverb, “Protruding nails get hammered down.”  Well, I’m 50% protruding nail, 50% hammer!

When the system tries to gloss over issues which should be dealt with, I stick out and try to snag somebody’s attention.  And when things are too bristly, I work to flatten out the rough spots.

Originally Post http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor ©2011

David Granirer Mental Health Hero

David Granirer is a counselor, stand-up comic, speaker, and author of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead To Happiness and Success.

Originally Post http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor ©2011

Dani Borderline Z Mental Health Hero

Dani Z is a mental health consumer and advocate. She uses YouTube and social media to raise awareness about mental health issues and to eliminate the stigma associated with them.

In her video blog Dani talks about her life and living with borderline personality disorder along with other mental health issues. The only intent she had when she started out with her video blog was just to have a place to vent but it has turned into something more than that. It is a way that she raises awareness about mental health issues by teaching people about the symptoms and struggles she faces. Her video blog is also a way for Dani to end the stigma around mental illness by being herself on camera and showing world that people with mental illness are just regular people.

Dani Z is very open and honest about her ups and downs but she always stays recovery focused. She tells her viewers about her experiences and shares tips and advice that has helped her.

Originally Post http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor ©2011

Dr John M Grohol Mental Health Hero

Once again this year Dr. John Grohol makes our Mental health hero list!  Would I be lying if I say it’s because I blog for Psych Central and I wanted to win a for points for myself. No, I wouldn’t be lying at all!

The fact is Dr. Grohol has been an inspiration to me personally and the network has become my own little haven for support.  Yes the support from fellow bloggers and the many different aspects to the network are keys to my recovery. here are a few examples:

• All About Psychotherapy

• Education in Psychology

• Encyclopedia of Psych

• Internet addiction

• Mental Health Library

• Psychological Testing

• Mood Tracker

• Sanity Score

• Borderline Test