Week in Review 8 – Sometimes you’ve got to force the issue. I really don’t like it, but sometimes you’ve got to stand up for yourself. And force people to take notice. It goes against my nature, but if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Jeffry Stijn Foundation We finally got our draft articles of incorporation. It’s riddled with errors, but at least we’re in the final stages of the legal basis of the foundation. I got my draft articles of incorporation for Just A regular Julie before the Foundation’s. Even though I started that process…
Tag: Aruba
We’re Attending the 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference
Thanks to a scholarship from the Trauma Research Foundation, Dr. Fleur and I will be attending the 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference virtually. Its theme is Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment And The Restoration Of The Self. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to expand our knowledge where psychological trauma is concerned. Stay tuned for our take on the following subjects! 17 May 2023 7 pm- 9 pm EDT Screening From Shock to Awe. This award-winning documentary chronicles the experience of two combat veterans who engage in the therapeutic use of psychedelic agents to heal. Virtual Live Q&A with Producer Janine Sagert…
Some things take a little more time
Week in Review 6 & 7 – Some things take a little more time I started writing last week’s week in review and then things just kept on happening that needed a little more time and required a little more attention. That’s life; it happens. So this week’s week in review is a double feature. Jeffry Stijn Foundation Purpose Foundation One of the things that took a little time was to formulate the purpose of the Foundation. After a brainstorm session with the Foundation’s council of sages, it was formulated as follows: The purpose of the Jeffry Sijn Foundation for…
Introducing Dr. Fleur, the first (Mental) Health Director of the Jeffry Stijn Foundation
I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Fleur has accepted the Foundation’s invitation to join us as our first (Mental) Health Director! As most of you know by now, my expertise is in writing, business and organization, as well as patient advocacy. Oh, and I’m a cPTSD experience expert. But I’m no medical professional, so that is one of the first roles I wanted filled asap from the moment we got started. And Dr. Fleur fit the bill perfectly. With international medical experience in small communities with limited resources, a good command of Dutch, English and Papiamento PLUS a love…
Complaint Respaldo
When I first started at Respaldo, Aruba’s National Mental Health Foundation, I was immediately informed that there probably wouldn’t be fitting treatment for me here on the island. That I’d have to move abroad. Or try to get sent abroad for medical treatment. I was informed that the chances of that happening would be pretty much non-existent. As residential mobility is my root, unresolved and as yet still untreated trauma, I decided to go for the latter option. Why add to an already existing trauma and make myself worse, when there is another option? One that would allow me to…
It’s called self-actualization, Einstein
You know that last missing puzzle piece? The one that just doesn’t fit, or has mysteriously been missing? Turns out mine has been something called self-actualization. I’ve been asking for help with this for as long as I can remember. I just didn’t have the word for it. And now that I’ve found it… well. *click, click* one domino falls into the next. *click, click, click* and the next, and the next. *click, click, click, click-ity, click* [insert a ton of creative swearwords here]. *click, click, click,….!!!!!* Well, genius, shows how much you know! “The only true wisdom is in…
Week in Review 3 – back to basics
The past few days have all been about going back to basics. Basic explanations about incredibly complex subjects. Basic ideas that will be the cornerstones of the Jeffry Stijn Foundation for Mental Health and Patient Advocacy. And the basic fact that I really need to put my mental health first, and consciously focus on self-care. Back to basics: Providing information I’ve been focusing a lot on providing basic information about incredibly complex subjects. After things like the difference between mental health and mental illness in general, then delving into the basics of mental illness, now it’s time to try and…
Why do I write about mental illness and trauma?
Why do I write about mental illness and trauma? I’ve been asked that a lot lately. Most people appreciate the information, but don’t really understand why I write. “Shouldn’t you be…?” followed by a huge list of things they think I need to do, or “isn’t too painful?”, they ask. And just like I wrote in my review of Broken by Jenny Lawson, aka the Bloggess, yes there are things that are probably more “useful”, but writing is necessary for my mental health. It’s a way to cope with my mental illness. “Wait a minute,” some of you might think….
Week in Review 2 – I’m late, I’m late, I’m very, very late
For all you Alice in Wonderland fans, I’m sure you recognize this. The White Rabbit running around with his pocket watch, hurriedly exclaiming, “I’m late, I’m late, I’m very, very late!”. The whole I planned and God laughed theme just kept right on, right onning, this week. So here’s the week in review week 2. Or more accurately, the week in review part 2.5 because, well, I’m late. The Foundation The good The biggest news: The site has finally migrated to WordPress. Of course I would’ve built this site directly in WordPress if I hadn’t listened to the “authority”. I…
Week in Review 1 – I planned and God Laughed
The short version: yes the first week was successful – both for the Jeffry Stijn Foundation and me personally. But it came with a LOT of unexpected twists and turns! What’s that saying? We plan and God laughs? For the first week of the Jeffry Stijn Foundation my plans were pretty simple. Basic start-up things needed for any new venture. Begin the process of incorporating the foundation at the notary. Pay the deposit for the notary. Put on paper the ideas that have been rattling around in my brain for more than a decade as the basis for things such…
