- addiction
- adolescents
- anxiety
- art
- behavioral health
- children
- covid-19
- creativity
- crisis
- crisis intervention
- culture
- depression
- eating disorder
- fear
- grief
- holidays
- hope
- loneliness
- loss
- mental health
- mental wellnes
- mindfulness
- POC
- postpartum depression
- PTSD
- race
- racial trauma
- racism
- relationships
- seasonal depression
- self harm
- social justice
- st
- stress
- substance use
- suicide
- suicide prevention
- teens
- therapy
- writing
Suicide Safety Planning
Awareness is just one step in suicide prevention. Asking if someone has thought about suicide and taking action can be vital in saving a life. Having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self harm does not mean you are broken or crazy, it just means that you can no longer do this alone and you absolutely don’t have to. Hope and help is out there.
9-8-8 Crisis Line Launching July 16th
The 9-8-8 crisis line for behavioral health (mental health & substance use crisis counseling) is launching July 16th. Let’s talk about what that means.
This is an amazing step toward behavioral health crisis intervention but we still have a long way to go and we certainly can’t do it alone.
WISHING YOU PEACE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
We know the holidays aren't always the happiest. And today, as wishes of joy fill the air, we want you to know that whatever you're feeling is valid and you are so very not alone. We want you to find peace and hope in the smallest moments, but we also know that this season can come with sadness and pain, especially as we close out a year of immeasurable loss.
RACISM IS THE OPPRESSION THAT IS KILLING THE BLACK COMMUNITY MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY
WRITTEN BY LARA ASHLEY
Racism is the oppression that is killing the Black community mentally and physically.
The Black community is dealing with two viruses: COVID-19 and racism. Both are killing us. Black people have reportedly been dying at a rapidly higher rate with COVID-19, with 75% of the frontline workers being people of color. A frontline worker, a Black EMT, was killed in her home while resting from working tirelessly caring for the ones who contracted the virus.
LIVING IN QUARANTINE: THE AFTER EFFECTS
Covid-19 forced many of us into self-isolation. In this isolated state, emotions can be heightened, and mental health can be gravely affected. A recent review in Psychology Today on the effects of quarantine on individuals points to increased confusion, anger, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and extended periods of grief, sometimes lasting even three years after the end of the quarantine. Stressors range anywhere from longer quarantine duration, inadequate information and supplies, and infection fears, to frustration, boredom, grief, financial loss and stigma.
MY DISORDER THRIVES IN THESE LONELY MOMENTS
WRITTEN BY: BECCA AMES
we compare our pain as if there is only a certain amount in this world to be given. rank our suffering, use it to give or deny ourselves the permission to feel. there are people who are sick, dying, losing their jobs, people who never had them to begin with. people who are hungry. who are you to be experiencing anything but gratitude?
WHAT DOES ANXIETY LOOK LIKE?
t looks like the light tapping of your fingers on a desk in a perfect pattern.
It looks like biting your nails till they bleed.
It looks like staring off into space.
It looks like ignoring someone you love.
It looks like leaving a packed room to get some air.
It looks like anger, fear.
SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK
It's national suicide prevention week. As this project has evolved, I've gotten a lot of questions about losing someone to suicide. What are the signs? What could I have done differently? How do I get past the guilt? The short answer, I honestly don't know. The long answer, well, there are warning signs but they're usually minute, if they show outwardly at all. I believe it starts with being open and bold in our conversations about mental health, depression, suicide, self-harm, addiction, etc.
COMMITMENT TO CHANGE
This week, Betty Mujica-Milano, president of our board of directors, and I, stood in front of a gymnasium full of hundreds of high school students, slightly terrified I must admit, and poured our hearts out about the project. We walked into that gym having flashbacks to high school and wondering what the heck we had gotten ourselves into, but let me tell you, we walked out with, well, hope.
THS IS OUR STORY
Depression and anxiety are very real and though some forms come from experiences such as mine and others from chemical imbalances, the most important thing to know is that YOU AREN'T ALONE and I'm not alone. We are all in this together.