“Are you worried about a friend? Here are some guidelines to approaching a friend who may be struggling with a mental health problem: Pick a setting, Avoid an ambush, Be prepared … Whether it’s the first conversation or the fifth, be prepared to give your friend some resources to check out. Always carry the National[…]
“I wish somebody had told me that it’s OK to be anxious,” says Wilson in the video. “That you don’t have to fight it. That, in fact, fighting it is the thing that makes it worse.” And in addition to discussing her experience, she also demonstrates a breathing exercise that she uses to help her[…]
“MacPhee encouraged every individual to “own” the fact that we are all, in one way or another, affected by mental illness. Whether we have a loved one who’s struggling, someone we’ve known who died of suicide, or even personal struggles, talking about mental health illness can demystify it, which might then empower others to seek[…]
“In 2013, she decided to begin a series that dealt with the realities of what it means to put on a brave face while simultaneously coping with forms of depression. Starting with herself, Obert took two photos: one that showed the person she chooses to present to the world, and a second portrait that presented[…]
“No genuine system of mental health care exists in the United States. This country’s diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems are fragmented across a variety of providers and payers – and they are all too often unaffordable. If you think about it, the list of complications is almost endless: Families of loved ones with[…]
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“What the loose but insistent truss-work of cartoons hints at is that mental illness is not structurelessness—instead, it requires you to make sense of a structure you don’t recognize. The structure is hard to describe because you probably don’t share it with anyone else. Maybe that’s the point of comics: to discover new forms of[…]
“Stigma’s icy wedge, the one it creates within our families, is hands down the one I hear about the most. It makes sense: Stigma hurts most from the ones we love. It is like a painful ache to the bone. With a physical illness you get loads of support. Can we help you with your[…]
“Currently only Washington state and Kentucky have adopted laws that require suicide prevention training be included in mental health education programs. It’s too soon to tell how effective those laws have been, but smaller scale efforts have shown great results. The Henry Ford Health System, a Detroit-based health care organization,found that suicide rates among its patients dropped by 75 percent[…]
“Since suicide is the ultimate act of disconnection — from society, from community, from friends and family — it’s not surprising that connection is a powerful roadblock to suicide. We’re creatures of connection. We’re hardwired for it. It’s a fundamental human need. So it’s worth noting that this deadly phenomenon that we know is caused,[…]
