{"id":25747,"date":"2015-10-09T11:57:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T15:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=25747"},"modified":"2015-10-23T14:45:34","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T18:45:34","slug":"my-experiences-at-mindfest-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/10\/09\/my-experiences-at-mindfest-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"My experiences at Mindfest 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"Good day all,\r\n\r\nAs you may know, October is Mental Wellness Month at UofT. I hope you've had a chance to experience some of the events and initiatives that have taken place\u00a0so far on campus. This past week, I\u00a0had the amazing opportunity to attend the 3rd annual\u00a0Mindfest 2015!<\/a> The event\u00a0was comprised of three parts this year, including a film screening on Oct 5th, a mental health resource fair on Oct 7th, and a Mindfulness Walk\u00a0from UofT to\u00a0Ryerson University to cap off the festivities.\r\n\r\nIn\u00a0case\u00a0you missed the event, here are my highlights!\r\n\r\n
\"Mindfest<\/a>
Mindfest is an opportunity for attendees\u00a0to\u00a0 learn more about mental health!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n \r\n
    \r\n\t
  1. \"Rocks in my Pockets\" Film Screening, TIFF Bell Lightbox (October 5, 2015)<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n(Madelin's Rating: 5 stars, A+, must-watch film...read on for\u00a0my spoiler-free review below!)\r\n\r\nMindfest held it\u2019s kickoff event at TIFF Bell Lightbox for a film screening of the animated film Rocks in my Pockets<\/a>, followed by a panel discussion with the director\/producer Signe Baumane.\r\n\r\n
    \"20151005_190137\"<\/a>
    I definitely felt like a VIP at this private TIFF screening of the film with the producer in attendance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThe film was a whimsical depiction of the producer\u2019s personal experiences dealing with mental illness and suicide in her family. After the screening, the producer spoke candidly\u00a0about the stigma of being an artist, coupled with the stigma of growing up with a mental illness in a post-Soviet nation.\u00a0However, she also\u00a0emphasized\u00a0how her struggles in life\u00a0helped influence and define\u00a0her creative process.\r\n\r\nHer story, though somewhat fantastically illustrated, is one\u00a0I feel\u00a0many\u00a0people\u00a0will be able\u00a0to\u00a0relate to.\u00a0Although \"mental illness\" is a concept that can seem scary at times,\u00a0Signe Baumane shows that there is comfort in addressing\u00a0mental illness\u00a0together.\r\n\r\nBy the way, if you are interested in the medium of film and want to learn more\u00a0about mental\u00a0health, come join us for 'Movies for Mental Health<\/a>' Workshop\u00a0on October 14th in the Hart House Debates Room from 11-1pm.\u00a0There will be short films on the topic of mental health, a panel discussion, and FREE food! How can you say\u00a0no to that?<\/i><\/span><\/em>\r\n
      \r\n\t
    1. Mindfest Resource Fair, Hart House (October 7, 2015) <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn my opinion,\u00a0what was\u00a0most exciting about Mindfest was that it brought together a\u00a0diverse\u00a0number of resources, workshops, and thinkers\u00a0on OUR campus for free. That's pretty cool if you ask me.\r\n\r\n
      \"Mindset<\/a>
      Mindfest took place at beautiful Hart House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nIn addition, I just love Hart House so much. They have a Weekly Wellness Series<\/a>\u00a0that I think you will love too.\r\n\r\nThe Mindfest Resource Fair\u00a0was\u00a0open to the general public\u00a0including university students,\u00a0high school students, staff, faculty, and community members. It was really nice to speak to people who were in attendance simply because they really valued learning about mental health.\u00a0Many attendees\u00a0had in fact\u00a0taken\u00a0the entire day off just so they\u00a0could participate during the event.\r\n\r\nI think this attitude of prioritizing one's mental wellbeing is inspiring. If you haven't yet, check out Emma<\/a>'s post about\u00a0how she prioritizes her mental wellbeing.\r\n
        \r\n\t
      1. Mindfulness Walk and Ryerson University Finale Celebration (October 7, 2015)<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
        \"The<\/a>
        The highlight of my day was the\u00a0Mindfulness Walk\u00a0from Hart House to Ryerson University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThe Mindfulness Walk from UofT to Ryerson University\u00a0was a fitting end to Mindfest.\u00a0Attendees\u00a0got a chance to experience\u00a0walking together while\u00a0being mindful of their\u00a0bodies, environment, and\u00a0inner thoughts.\u00a0The challenge\u00a0was to constantly redirect\u00a0my attention to the present moment and being cautious to not walk into any unmindful poles, vehicles, or buildings - all the while trying to navigate the busy streets of downtown Toronto!\r\n\r\nOnce we\u00a0reached\u00a0Ryerson University, the day finished off with addresses by representatives of UofT Psychiatry, Ryerson University\u00a0and OCAD\u00a0University, and a low-key\u00a0celebration which included cake!\r\n\r\n
        \"Mindfest<\/a>
        Mindfest cake was enjoyed mindfully by all<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAll in all, Mindfest was a huge success!\u00a0\u00a0In case you missed out, don't worry as there is a lot more programming taking place\u00a0across campus throughout October Mental Wellness Month! Be sure to check out the full calendar here<\/a>.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTry doing your own mindfullness walk<\/strong> this week (before the cold weather makes it a mindfullness run!)\u00a0Taking long, mindful walks is\u00a0a strategy I regularly use on campus when I\u2019m feeling unwell,\u00a0and you can too. It is so easy to do on our campus!\r\n\r\nIf you are going to walk anywhere soon,\u00a0may I also strongly suggest you walk past the William's Sonoma store on Bloor Street East. It smells like pumpkin and spice.\r\n\r\nOn that note,\r\n\r\nHappy Thanksgiving and #BeWellUofT!\r\n\r\nMadelin\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
        \n
        \nGood day all, As you may know, October is Mental Wellness Month at UofT. I hope you've had a chance to experience some of the events and initiatives that have taken place\u00a0so far on campus. This past week, I\u00a0had the…\n<\/div>
        Continue reading “My experiences at Mindfest 2015”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
        Continue reading “My experiences at Mindfest 2015”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1758,7204,65],"tags":[13662,12765,13661,13665,13663,590,13664],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25747"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25764,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25747\/revisions\/25764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}