By Shainna Ali | Mar. 02, 2018 Take a moment to consider all the people in your life: your coworkers, friends, family. At any given time, 1 in 5 of these individuals is living with a mental health condition. You may have noticed them struggling, but if you’re not a trained mental health professional, you may not have known how to help. However, you can help. You can be supportive and encouraging during their mental
By Emmie Pombo | Mar. 09, 2018 Living with mental illness is not easy. It’s a consistent problem without a clear solution. While treatments like medication and psychotherapy are incredibly helpful, sometimes people experiencing mental health conditions need to do more day-in and day-out to feel good or even just okay. Some common self-help suggestions people receive are to exercise, meditate and be more present, which are helpful and work for many people. However, other
By Marjorie Baldwin | Mar. 19, 2018 A recent survey reports that 47% of adults living with schizophrenia drop out of college, compared to the 27% college dropout rate in the U.S. overall. Another study reports that students diagnosed with bipolar disorder are 70% more likely to drop out of college than students with no psychiatric diagnosis. My son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his junior year of college. I was devastated by what I
By Jennifer Pellecchia | Apr. 11, 2018 My name is Jennifer, and I’ve lived with mental illness for most of my life. I’m diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety and an eating disorder. I have high-functioning mental illness, so even at my worst, I appear to be at my best. I’ve been able to live a full life, and, on the outside, I seem to have everything together. My parents didn’t know, my family and
By Laura Greenstein | Mar. 12, 2018 NAMI NATIONAL Each year, about 100,000 youth and young adults experience psychosis for the first time. They might see or hear things that aren’t there. They may believe things that aren’t true. It’s like “having a nightmare while you’re awake,” describes Elyn Saks, a legal scholar and mental health-policy advocate. Unfortunately, when someone starts having these frightening experiences, doctors and medical professionals often tell them that
“Be strong!” “Toughen up!” “Don’t cry!” Never did someone stand over me as a kid and yell, “Let it out! It’s okay to cry! It’s human to hurt!” From my football coaches to my own father, it seems as though the social norm for men is to be some kind of impenetrable mountain of muscle that feels no pain and has no emotion. If we’re not hunting or fighting or eating a bloody, rare steak,
By Ethan S. Smith | Mar. 05, 2018 NAMI NATIONAL I hear comments all the time: “My place is so perfect. I’m so OCD.” “No, it has to be neat and clean. I’m so OCD.” “You should see how I organized my Star Wars collection. I’m so OCD.” I was born with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I struggled throughout my childhood, through multiple high schools and left college after just one semester—consumed by my
