By Mathew Ahmon A while ago, I wrote a post on a potential name change for schizophrenia (Michelle also tackles this topic in this Schizophrenia and the City episode), and we concluded that changing the name would ultimately do nothing to erase stigma. A recent Slate article revisits this topic, focusing instead on diagnostic [...]
Properly Taking Care of Your Mental Health in the World of Social Work Social workers do incredibly important work for people from all walks of life. It’s a career that’s perfect for people who want to make a difference in the world. However, it’s also an extremely stressful career that can affect one’s mental [...]
A Glimpse Into Schizophrenia Overseas by Matthew Ahmon The African people suffer from many things – famine, drought, epidemic, and colonialism – but a recent CNN article comments on a less well-known problem: stigma. In Africa, mental healthcare is ignored by the state and even humanitarian organizations, which are more interested in the big names, like [...]
The Connection Between Mental Health & Addictions Prioritizing strong mental health is important in today’s highly volatile and turbulent world. Part of preserving mental health is understanding the influences that can damage or stress one’ mental health and cognitive functions. One of the biggest detriments to one’s mental health can take the form of [...]
Helpful Resources to Find Supportive Housing For those who are struggling to get on their feet, supportive housing can make a drastic and positive change in one’s life. Living somewhere where one feels supported is a great way to promote healthy habits and improve one’s mindset. Unfortunately, finding supportive housing can sometimes feel like [...]
Mind in a Haze by Ben Albus TW: drugs, hallucinations, suicide My story starts as many others do. I had a normal childhood, or so I feel. I had always really felt like an outsider in every group I’ve been in and that had led me to really isolate myself at times during young [...]
What to Look for in a Therapist or Counselor People from all walks of life can benefit from working with a mental health professional. Mental illness, trauma, or simply just needing someone to talk to are all valid reasons for seeking out help from a therapist or counselor. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to [...]
Mental Health Needs: Social Workers Can Help Mental health needs and mental illness account for a staggering amount of public health and intervention concerns. They are prevalent not only in the United States but around the world. In the aftermath of COVID-19 and the incredible stresses and strict lockdowns it imposed on large percentages [...]
People who suffer from mental illness are unfairly stigmatized in western society. Often these biases occur through micro-aggressions. Insensitive use of language. A silent aversion to people with mental health concerns. A simple unwillingness to learn more about what it means to suffer from mental illness. In all cases, however, mental health stigmas and [...]
by Matthew Ahmon The word “schizophrenia” carries lots of negative connotations and stigma – erasing those associations are one of the principal goals of Michelle’s company. In Canada, however, some companies are removing the word from their names in order to make it easier to raise funds and support for schizophrenia research and treatment. [...]
The Social Impact Potential of Clinical Mental Health Counselors Almost anyone who has received help from a clinical mental health counselor will readily share that the experience shaped and changed their situation, circumstances, or even their life as a whole. Mental health counseling is becoming more widely recognized as a vital cog within [...]
Telehealth and the Importance of Remote Therapy Stigma. Awareness. Finances. Time. There are many roadblocks keeping the average person from taking care of their mental health. And yet taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of the rest of your body. Despite the hurdles, mental health services are [...]
Is it Criminal to Be Mentally Ill? Mental illness is becoming increasingly criminalized by the system. Jail is often where a lot of people with mental illness end up, simply because there is no system designed to help them. This was the case at a county jail in Oregon. The story of Jermelle [...]
7 Essential Components of Good Mental Well-being Unsurprisingly, mental health had been neglected and not discussed in families for a long time. People frequently mistook mental health issues as taboo and something incurable. In truth, deteriorating mental health is an alarming issue that affects people of all ages. Good mental health is undoubtedly [...]
Are Students Receiving the Mental Health Help They Need? Mental health is slowly becoming a topic that is widely regarded, better understood, and safer to talk about amongst the general public. However, the challenges of mental illness still affect a profoundly large number of people. Many people across countless demographics and walks of [...]
4 Mental Illness Myths In the past few years, people have become more open to talking about mental illness. The New York City Mayor’s Office reports that one in five residents experience at least one of these conditions a year. But despite the growing conversations around the topic, there are still many prevalent [...]
Why it is difficult for people to realize their own mental illness Anosognosia (uh-noh-suh-noh-zha), or a person’s inability to recognize that they have a mental illness, affects an estimated 30% of people with schizophrenia and 20% of people with bipolar disorder. It is not denial; rather, it is hypothesized to be a condition [...]
Will changing the name of a mental illness help de-stigmatize it? A recently published New York Times article describes a survey designed to build momentum for the name change. The name “schizophrenia,” meaning “split mind” and coined in 1908 by Dr. Eugen Bleuler, was not intended to have negative connotations. However, it has taken [...]
Our mental well-being is vital for our behavioral, emotional, and physical health. It drastically impacts the way we behave, assume, and experience things. How we make our everyday decisions, how we deal with others, and how we handle stress; are all affected by our mental health. Mental health nurses, also known as psychiatric nurses, [...]
My name is Mackenzie and this is my story. Mental health has been a very prominent topic since I was 4 years old after my parents divorced. I remember seeing behavioral health specialists, social workers, psychologists, and the like throughout my entire childhood. Fast forward to my teens, I began showing symptoms of depression [...]
Each year I battle depression in the summer. I don’t know if it’s seasonal affective disorder or not. My psychiatrist hasn’t said; but every year as summer approaches I can feel it like I’ve heard people say they can feel that it’s going to rain, only this is darker. This feels like when you’re [...]
Guest Blog by Theo Kuczek, MA, CPT, MFT “Man-Up, you’re too sensitive, suck it up” When someone is saying “you’re too sensitive” what they are really saying is…. “I see that you’re uncomfortable right now or affected by something that's happening." “When I see your affectedness by this it makes me uncomfortable. It [...]
In the world of mental health, we know it’s common to find multiple disorders grouped together. For example, depression and anxiety are often found together, as well as OCD and Schizophrenia. It can be difficult to properly diagnose when sufferers are dealing with multiple issues at once. Does this person need help with their [...]
by Nathan Shuherk I’m not sure I ever uttered the exact phrase, “2020 is going to be my year,” but I likely said something similar enough. And while the sentimentality was nice, it now seems daft. April 2020 is starting, finally. March seemed to last an entire decade, and the concept of a fun, [...]
My primary carer when growing up was my father. As a painter/schizophrenic HE was the best of playmates. His vivid imagination and heightened good moods made him the most exciting and fun person to play with. It was on his downward spirals however, when his paranoia got the best of him. At these times [...]
