8 Lessons I Have Learnt Through My Mental Illness (and How My Life Has Improved with WordPress)

On 28 April 2012, my life changed forever and I could not do much about it. I lost my companion, had to give away my 14 year old daughter to a children’s home and in the end also lost my job. I spent 16 weeks on rehab in a trauma clinic where doctors told me that I am mentally ill: Depression, Borderline, PTSD, etc. and disabled for work.

This talk is about the lessons I have learnt to change my way from “I am mentally ill, can not work any more and have no perspectives” to “I am mentally ill; despite this I shape my life and run a business”.

Do not let others define who you are: change your perspective and new opportunities arise. No matter how bad your situation may look.

WordPress is a good way to start: not only as a software for your business website but the community around it.

How Can The Open Source Principles of WordPress Impact Society?

WordPress is an open source project. But what does that really mean, and is there a way to use the principles of open source to improve society as we know it? What is next for this open source success story?

In this talk, the audience will look beyond the bubble of an open source project and receives guidelines on how to take the learnings of open source with them to other communities – society at large.