On Wednesday, I’m having a conversation about mental health that’s free to everyone

For as long as I can remember, when I’ve said “Hey, I’m doing an event in this place, and I’d love for you to come,” the Internet has said some version of “come to my place and do an event here”.

On Wednesday, from 5pm to 6pm PDT, I will have a mental health conversation with Katrina DeBonis, MD. Dr. DeBonis is Associate Health Science Clinical Professor, Director of Residence Education in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and Medical Director of UCLA Student Behavioral Health Services UCLA Health. (I know right? She’s fancy!) Our conversation is part of a series sponsored by The Friends of the Semel Institute for neuroscience and human behavior at UCLA to discuss mental health, childhood trauma survival, and my book Still Just A Geek.

This conversation is open to everyone in the world, for free. All you need to do is register, and show up Wednesday.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear me speak in public, here is your incredibly easy chance! I hope you’ll join us.

19 thoughts on “On Wednesday, I’m having a conversation about mental health that’s free to everyone”

  1. If we can’t watch it live, will it be recorded to watch later? I really enjoy your talks and interviews and would like to see this, but that’s probably right while I’m getting my kids to bed.

    1. I don’t think it’s officially recorded, but you can always register and pop in if/when you have time after you get your kids settled. It’s not a big deal if you sign up and aren’t able to attend.

      1. Wil…the enormity of what I am about to say probably won’t hit you but…you have meant so much to me over the years. Like you, I’m a step father. One that has looked to your example of the right path. Today, I’m rewatching Stand By Me and seeing touchstones that influenced your life similar to how you’ve influenced mine. I just wanted to say thank you. From one lost man to another, for being a beacon of hope in a world full of darkness and doubt. Safe travels my friend.

      2. I could only be in for a couple minutes, but I did see it was being recorded. Hopefully I’ll be able to find the link at some point. Thank you again for talking about all this. While I didn’t have the family issues you dealt with, many of the things related to general anxiety resonate with me a lot. I appreciate all you do for Star Trek, for your fans, and for humans in general with the causes you support and speak out on.

        1. The facilitator said it would be on their TheFriendsoftheSemel YouTube channel.

  2. I am really looking forward to this and so grateful it is accessible to all.

  3. I’d love to watch this – I really miss your podcasts… Unfortunately, 5pm your time is midnight for me, so I’m afraid I will have to pass… I hope someone will be able to record the stream (officially!) so those of us unable to attend can still get to see it!

      1. Thank you, Wil, for confidently sharing a perspective where mental health holds as much importance and value as physical health. I am working my way out of the shame of hiding my mental health challenges and was up in my feels with this moment of belonging and listening to your insightful discussion.

        Here’s where the past Semel talk videos post so, hopefully, yours will show up there soon: https://www.friendsofsemelinstitute.org/past-events

  4. I’ll be arriving in your time zone a few hours before this for a little get together in Anaheim for that other fandom. So maybe it’ll work out! If not, and I’m thinking that might be likely due to travel stresses and whatnot, I’ll echo the hope for archiving. Thank you for doing this.

  5. You will never know how much you’ve helped me in my life. I deal with a lot of trauma from my mother and my ex wife, and your Autobiography has made things so much clearer in my life.
    Wesley Crusher was the closest thing I ever had to an older brother and you still fill that role in my life today.
    Thanks man, know that we love you, so so much.

  6. Hey Wil, was pleasantly surprised to see your name come up in a work email! (I’m
    still at UCLA) Looking forward to your talk!

    p.s. The Semel talks have been recorded and posted in the past, so this one should be as well. As long as someone remembers to hit ‘record’ in Zoom, you should be set.

  7. I had a rather long thought on the matter but it all got lost in WordPress oblivion after I hit the “post comment” button.

    WordPress needs to get into the 21st century.

  8. Pingback: Dew Drop – May 24, 2022 (#3691) – Morning Dew by Alvin Ashcraft

  9. Thank you for doing this talk and being so open about your challenges and growth. I especially appreciate how both in your book and in today’s zoom you talk about how long it took to reflect and understand what happened. And how you use your adult experiences of the support of your wife, your kids and your friends to help you find a supportive base to validate yourself. It’s really helpful to reflect on your journey as I go through my own (over 40, still working on things, ha)

  10. The session was wonderful, Wil. I hope it reaches a lot of people. I know I’ll be posting it once it appears on TheFriendsoftheSemel YouTube channel.

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“The library is a safe place.”

In order to survive, I disassociated for much of my childhood, but I clearly remember the books. That's where I found comfort, companionship, inspiration and validation. It's where the imagination that powers everything I do creatively in my life today was born. And it all started in that library, with that librarian. She was one of the first people I can remember asking me, "What do you like? What's important to you? What do you want to know more about? How can I help you find it?"

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