How to Start a Conversation about Suicide
Trigger warning: suicide Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people aged 15-24 in the United States. However, there is still so much stigma around it, which prevents people from speaking...
Tagged: mental health
Why Do Plants Improve Our Mood?
The cliched image about someone having a “green thumb” typically involves someone in their backyard, their overalls covered in dirt, hands protected by thick gloves that are rough to the touch. The garden can...
Tackling Stigma
The topic about how stigma affects how we view mental illness is not new. The way that people talk about mental illness can not only impact how we view those with mental illness, but how...
Concealing my Depression
I first encountered depression symptoms when I was 11. As a kid who was bullied, coming from a broken home with emotionally unavailable parents, these feelings were almost inevitable. We never talked about our feelings in...
Can Schools Influence Stigma?
Our environments can have a powerful impact on how we view things, especially in how we view the things about ourselves. Because adolescents spent a lot of time in school, their teachers, their classmates,...
Giving Back
There are going to be a lot of chances to reflect and give back now that the holiday season is in full swing. This doesn’t only include Thanksgiving during November, but other holidays such...
There’s No Shame in Taking Antidepressants
I was about four years into my battle with depression when I began taking Lexapro. I had been in and out of therapy in the preceding years, and each therapist I visited asked if...
A Minority in Mental Health: Asian Americans
The “model minority stereotype” of Asian Americans perceives them to be hardworking, and academically, economically, and socially successful when compared to all other racial minority groups. Because of this, Asian Americans are assumed to...
Can a Poor Diet Predict Mental Illness?
Food is so much more than gaining energy to get through the day. Many see food as an experience: some see cooking as therapeutic, eating with others as a way to deepen relationships, and...
Learning to Fight Thought Distortions
I would consider myself to be on the emotional empath spectrum. At times it feels like I’m a sponge that absorbs all the emotions, stress, and problems of others. On the surface these emotions...