Author: JC Clapham
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Yet another father kills themselves and leaves their kids behind
I was heartbroken to read this week that former Wallabies player Dan Vickerman had committed suicide. He was just 37 and leaves behind a wife and two sons. Awful, terrible, tragic, and all the other words of morosity. BeyondBlue, Australia’s national depression and anxiety initiative, says of the 2,500 suicides each year in Australia, 75%…
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Announcement: Humpty Dumpty Daddy will be at Adelaide Fringe!
I’m so excited to be sharing my show about intergenerational fatherhood, storytelling and mental health with the good people of South Australia, at this year’s Adelaide Fringe! The wonderful people at the Bakehouse Theatre are hosting me for a run of 5 shows, from Monday 13 April through Saturday 18 April (no show on the…
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My 2016
This has been a year of immense change, huge challenge, and enormous self-discovery. It’s been a dangerously tough year, but ultimately a seminal period of my life. The life I had when I began 2016 has almost completely changed – much of it is in fact gone. This year ends with me leading a very…
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In the face of nastiness, I will still be as strong as I can
This has been a week and a bit straight from the depths of hell. There are things going on in my life that even with my belief in candour and openness, I can’t and won’t go into right now. Some because it is now the subject of legal proceedings, and some because I simply refuse…
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Blasting away the rubbish and finding my core values
Working with a psychologist and psychiatrist on recovering, and fortifying myself from, my mental illness has been quite an experience. I almost said ‘journey’, but I loathe that cliche. Thankfully I didn’t say it 🙂 My psychologist, in particular, has been so challenging, rewarding, and empowering all at once. Challenging because I’ve confronted many demons I…
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![Review: HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY [Melbourne Fringe 2016]](https://jcclapham.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/HDD-Facebook-cover-1.png)
Review: HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY [Melbourne Fringe 2016]
Review of HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY by theatre reviewer Vera Poh during Melbourne Fringe 2016. “Clapham clearly knows that the showing of emotions is a strength. To do what he has done is a demonstration of incredible strength… Humpty Dumpty Daddy is a fine work every man ought to see and every woman will appreciate.”
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Conscious gratitude breeds even more, and deeper, gratitude
Most of us will have heard of a ‘gratitude diary’ or similar, where you keep a notebook or something like it to write down that for which you are grateful, usually daily or weekly. Beyond a passing acknowledgement of a generally happy existence, consciously detailing specific things one is grateful for can have a profoundly…
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JC @ Bazaar Tales, 5 Sept 2016
Here’s a recording of me giving a 10min preview of ‘Humpty Dumpty Daddy’ at Melbourne’s monthly night Bazaar Tales storytelling on 5/9/16. Being the day after Fathers Day, this month’s theme was ‘Dads’. Apt and fortuitous. My enormous gratitude to Cathy Culliver for allowing me the stage time, and also to the audience who were…
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Constructive ways to support someone with depression or anxiety (or both)
That someone you know will face a mental health challenge is unquestionable. It’s a cold, hard fact. Australian national charity SANE says 1 in 5 Australians are experiencing a mental health issue: around 14% dealing with anxiety, and 6% battling depression. 1 in 5! Only half of these people will seek or receive the treatment…
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I thought I’d hit rock bottom. I was wrong.
A few weeks ago I shared my battle with depression and anxiety. The ‘black dog’ as Churchill dubbed it. At the time I felt the worst was over, that the future could very well be brighter, if a little bumpy, as is the way with this beast. But I was wrong. Yesterday was close to the…