A soldier’s exploration of mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder
It’s amazing how the human brain picks up on something in childhood and clings to it. So it affects everything about a person years later. I discovered this in the course of therapy I received to help with the aftermath of mental illness. What happened to me was crazy, I had seen and done so…
Will the new FDA-approved drugs help ease the mental health crisis in the US?
The deaths of Robin Williams and child star Sawyer Sweeten have focused the mental health crisis in America. While there has been a growing debate about whether mental illness receives the care and health dollars necessary to effectively treat affected people, there may be new hope on the horizon. One of the main mental illnesses…
Mental health: how to stop believing in illusions
Our dreams do not let us doubt that we are absurd and we are wrong. We have a tendency to be false, aggressive, immoral, indifferent, selfish, greedy and cruel. That is why we have many mental health problems and our world is a living hell camouflaged by hypocrisy. When I declared that human beings are…
The importance of nutrition for your overall physical and mental health
The scientific evidence is very clear on this: we can definitely control our own health through the things we eat on a daily basis. Did you know that scientists are looking for ways to protect astronauts from radiation through dietary supplements? The dangers of radiation in outer space pose a huge danger to the safety…
Dealing with mental health problems in Nigeria
Nigeria has a population of approximately 230 million people, in fact it is a boon for the country and a good market for local and foreign investors. But my beloved country has 80 million people at risk for mental health problems. Unfortunately, there are less than 200 professionals, trained and qualified with certificates to attend…
What Mental Health Recovery Means
Recovery in mental health is not used in the same way that recovery is normally viewed. Webster defines recovery as: 1) a return to normal conditions 2) an act, instance, process or recovery period 3) Something gained or restored upon retrieval 4) The act of obtaining a usable substance from unusable sources, such as waste…
Professional athletes and mental health
For about 15 years I kept that dream of becoming a professional tennis player and lifting the US Open trophy, these were moments when I felt nervous before tennis matches. For 6 years after that, I was anxious and needed help just to get to the tennis court before tennis matches. I looked around one…
State Mental Health Hospitals: Lost in the Past
The padded room. The strait jacket. Nurses adjust leather confines to a squirming patient. That’s the image that comes to mind when I hear “state mental health hospital.” As unfortunate as it is, this is not a completely outdated image. While community-based and university-based mental illness treatment facilities have slowly begun to move towards recovery-based…
Tips for Parents to Help a Teen Avoid Depression
Susan’s 13-year-old son Joe was rushed to the emergency department after he was found unconscious in his room with a cut on his wrist. The attractive young teenager did not tell anyone that he was battling chronic depression as a result of his obesity and short stature. Like Joe, there are many teens in the…
Setting boundaries with your difficult adult child who has a mental illness
Wondering how to set boundaries with your difficult adult child who has a mental illness? It is difficult to have adult children who make poor decisions that cause problems in their lives and in the lives of their parents; it is even more difficult to have adult children with mental illness who contribute to those…