Editor's Note: This article represents the perspective of an individual who identifies as a psychiatric survivor and whose experiences with the mental health field have many times been traumatizing. It is not meant to dismiss the valuable aspects of psychiatry, psychopharmacology, or therapy, or to suggest that others don't benefit from these (often life-saving) resources. I … [Read more...]
How Stigmatizing Male Emotional Vulnerability Has Created a Crisis for Us All
This article first appeared on AlterNet under the title "Toxic Masculinity is Killing Men: The Roots of Men and Trauma" and is reprinted by permission. “The three most destructive words that every man receives when he’s a boy is when he’s told to 'be a man.'” — Joe Ehrmann, coach and former NFL player If we are honest with ourselves, we have long known that … [Read more...]
3 Tips For Practicing Self-Care When Grieving
My mother was killed on August 1, 2014 while driving to her final teacher recertification class. She was about to start teaching in a new county and had to take courses in preparation for the fall school start. The person who hit her car, resulting in her hitting a beltway lane divider, was a Maryland State Police cadet. My mother was killed a week before Michael Brown. Other … [Read more...]
Thwarted Belonging and Reasons for Hope: Queer Black Trans Pain Matters
Content note: This article includes (non-graphic) discussion of a completed suicide. One of my closest friends died by suicide. The days after their death were jarring and bewildering. I carefully tried to drink water, only to involuntarily spit it up while sobbing. I tried to eat, only able to eat soup and beans. (To my horror, the hot Funyuns a friend offered made me … [Read more...]
The Strain of “Model Minority”: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Just last year, when a person very close to me admitted she was struggling with depression, my initial internal reaction was disbelief. This can’t be true, I thought. My next thought was mortification for feeling this way. Why was it that I, a socially conscious person who believes strongly in mental health advocacy, immediately felt incredulity? I had to be honest with … [Read more...]
7 Ways I Take Care of Myself During Depressive Episodes
I have been living with Bipolar Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder for about 14 years now. Along the way, I've learned that the taboo around talking about mental illness needs to end. It does not further growth, healing, or self-love, so let’s just go ahead and throw it out the window. I've found a few tricks to ease the blow of my depressive episodes and dark mood … [Read more...]
Excommunicate Me From the Cult of Toxic Social Justice
“confronting racism, sexism and all the underlying structural oppressions of our system is never easy, and taking a good, hard look at our own privilege is inevitably a painful process. but there’s a harshness in the air now that is more intense than i’ve seen in fifty years of involvement in social justice struggles.” --starhawk in building a welcoming movement “solidarity … [Read more...]
4 Dating Tips For Mentally Ill, Disabled, and Neurodivergent People
Over the past three years, I’ve learned a lot about the ways in which my brain and body work. I’ve learned that the intense sadness and stress I dealt with in high school did, in fact, qualify as depression and anxiety, and that I could and should seek support for those things. I learned that the extreme physical and mental exhaustion I felt after completing a few days of … [Read more...]
Surviving Crisis: How To Make It Through When Everything Falls Apart
As 2012 rolled into 2013, the following three things happened in the span of one and a half months: The girl I thought I’d one day marry very suddenly told me she didn’t want to be with me anymore. I went on anti-anxiety meds, which made me feel like I had the flu, and when I tried to go off them, I ended up in the emergency room. My mother’s breast cancer came back … [Read more...]
The Highest Highs and Lowest Lows: Living with Borderline Personality Disorder
Content warning: mentions of abuse, suicide and self-harm. [note: For clarity and simplicity, I will refer to those with Borderline Personality Disorder as “borderlines” multiple times in this article. However, the general consensus within the BPD community is that it is inappropriate for those without BPD to refer to us as “borderlines”. It is offensive, dehumanizing and … [Read more...]
Have a Strategy: 6 Steps to Ease Social Anxiety This Holiday Season
The holidays are full of joy and cheer. Unless they’re not. For people with anxiety and depression, the holidays can be pretty miserable, leaving them looking for some kind of relief. If you’re the type to suffer from the holiday blues, there are ways to get through the season without a great deal of suffering. Lower Expectations One of the main causes of … [Read more...]
Creating a Culture of Openness: 14 Things I Realized About Suicidality
Are you managing depression and suicide this holiday season? We know this time of the year can be hard for some and hope this article helps in your healing. On August 5th of this year, I tried to kill myself. The police were called. I was restrained, patted down, taken to the hospital, and held on a 5150. I was there for two days before they left me go. The term “5150” … [Read more...]
“How Can I Best Support You?” & 6 Other Questions to Ask When Your Friend is Suffering
When I hit rock-bottom in my drug addiction and mental health, I spent a whole year and a half recovering. Six months of that time, I slept almost every day until two or three in the afternoon. I would not say that I had nothing to live for, but I felt there was nothing in my immediate future to work towards. I did not even see it as time to “work on myself” because I was … [Read more...]
Why Music Might Be Your Best Friend While Managing Depression
I get sad a lot these days, and I’m sure you do too. Whether it’s due to mental illness, or stress from work, or seeing something that just rubs you the wrong way, we all go through the motions of sadness from time to time. Sometimes it’s easier for us to snap out of our sadness, maybe by watching a funny YouTube video or talking to a friend who knows how to cheer you up. Other … [Read more...]
