Raising Awareness on World Suicide Prevention Day

“People across the globe will observe World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10 to raise awareness about and reach out to those affected by suicide. The theme for this year — Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives — is meant to highlight the importance of support and the role it can play in combating suicide.[…]

Gun Violence In America

“While 30,000 people a year in the U.S. die from gun violence, two-thirds of those commit suicide. Of the remaining 10,000, a full 90% lose their lives in acts of violence from someone known to them. The number of people who are killed by strangers with guns is less than 1.5 percent a year.” –[…]

$30 Million Program to Help Low-Income New Yorkers Get Mental Health Care

“New York is set to begin a $30 million program aimed at providing mental health services to low-income residents with little or no access to care.  The program, Connections to Care, will tap existing community organizations that reach low-income residents but are not providing mental health services. Chirlane McCray, chairwoman of the Mayor’s Fund to[…]

Campus Suicide and the Pressure of Perfection

“America’s culture of hyperachievement among the affluent has been under scrutiny for at least the last decade, but recent suicide clusters, including the deaths of three high school students and one recent graduate in Palo Alto, Calif., have renewed the debate. “In the Name of College! What Are We Doing to Our Children?” blared a[…]

Mom Opens Up About Daughter’s Suicide: ‘I Didn’t Know My Child’

‘The numbers are tragically high: every year, approximately 2 million U.S. adolescents attempt to end their own lives. An estimated 2,000 succeed, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness…Yet suicide experts say it’s not uncommon for parents to be taken completely by surprise by a child’s depression and suicide and learn about the factors[…]

New HBO Doc MY DEPRESSION Wants Us to Open Up

“Depression. Anxiety. Emotions!!! We’ve been talking about all of them on Smart Girls a lot lately because frankly, we think it’s time to put an end to the stigma around mental health. Another Smart Girl who is looking to end the stigma around depression is author, musician, and all around artistic lady Elizabeth Swados. After[…]

The Semicolon Project

“So if one out of every four people struggle with mental illness, then why did I feel like I was they only person who had ever experienced this before? If 25 of every hundred people I pass on the street have a clinical need for psychiatric care, then why did I feel like I had[…]

The Secret Sadness of Pregnancy With Depression

“In the last two decades, it has become widely accepted that postpartum depression, which can make mothers both inattentive and irritable, is dangerous, and many states have instituted programs to screen for it and treat it. Far less recognized is an equally troubling condition: antenatal depression, or depression suffered during pregnancy, which affects up to[…]

We Don’t Talk About Mental Illness In My Family

“We don’t talk about mental illness in my family. Rather, we wish we didn’t have to. When we do, it’s the folk sickness that twines its way through my maternal lineage like ivy. We speak of it in whispers, though everyone’s been treated for it at some point, Prozac and Zoloft and Lexapro all the[…]

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: Wellness Toolbox

“The road to wellness begins with you. Below are some tools to help you communicate better with your doctor, keep track of your symptoms and moods, record the progress you’re making, and reach recovery!” Access the resources here Source: dbsalliance.org