Mental Health Stigmas in Small Rural Hispanic Communities
The words loco and loca, meaning crazy, are broadly used in my community back home to describe people mostly in a favorable way. These are people who are naturally funny and think outside the box. Members of my community who are virtuous and full of life always seem...
Vocation Purpose and Bridging the Digital Divide – A Conversation With David Israelian Of Peer Mental Health and the Painted Brain
Description: David Israelian joins Kerry Morrison in a conversation that explores his passion about the importance of work, vocational rehabilitation, and purpose for people living with a mental illness in our communities. David is the founder and CEO of Peer Mental...
Bebe Moore Campbell: The Importance of Her Legacy in 2020
Blackness in Mental Health Today The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that have followed the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have shed a heavy light on the problem of racial inequality in America. While racial inequality is by no means a new issue...
Musings From the Borderline, Journal Scribbling February 16th 2020.
Sometimes my skin doesn’t quite fit. I wriggle inside of it, like there’s some kind of alien being trying to get out. I look in a mirror and wonder who I am. I can be at home yet still feel lost; feel emptiness even with a full life. The safe zones that anchor me can...
Dissociation
Recently, whilst walking through town, I became temporarily dissociated. My physical presence felt detached from my surroundings and my senses shut down to the point of numbness. Nothing beyond my self felt real, and even the self felt curiously alien. WebMD describes...
Talking Therapy : A Personal Assessment
Here in the UK we have a system called IAPT – Improved Access to Psychological Therapies. The waiting list is quite long, but, I decided to go along to see what it is all about and if the therapy could be helpful. So, I made the appointment and, initially my therapist...
Observational Self Help
Have you ever noticed the light as it falls across a garden or parkland? I mean really noticed, not just seen it, but felt it as every shadow taints the foliage, like an angel’s breath has whispered over the landscape, changing the tones; noticed how every sparkle of...
Journal Entry 29th July 2019 – Touching the World Through Glass
There are days when we can all feel disengaged from material reality. The mind can drift apart from the physical world and take us out into an unknown zone of dissociation. Unplanned feelings like these can just happen sporadically and we are left feeling empty and...
The Hallucinating Brain
There are many reasons why we hallucinate. An over-taxed mind leading to stress, depression, extreme fatigue, psychotic conditions, drug and alcohol use and general illness can all be causal factors of hallucinations. So, what is a clear expression of what a...
Eye Wonder
An artist once intentionally looked into my eyes whilst I was sat in the staff room of my local art college. He tried to pierce my gaze but couldn’t. He said he could not see past my eyes, he could not see into me, and that there was nothing there. I think that...
Mindfulness and Interpersonal Communication
Journal Entry, 16th June, 2019, Happy Lulu Has Returned!
Sun shines through my forest of darkness today, lighting deep beyond the canopy, illuminating the ground that I walk upon. My thoughts are elevated and I feel the giddiness of happiness. Living with Borderline Personality Disorder can be a challenge to say the least,...
Journal Entry, 2nd June, 2019. Alienation.
Today I’m thinking about being alienated from everyone. Dealing with feelings of dissociation and alienation when I’m out and about can be tough. Sometimes I feel so condensed I notice the blood running through my veins. There’s not much I can do when feelings of...
This Is Why The Opposite of Play Is Depression
The statistics of depression amongst full time U.S. workers and the consequent economic damages alone should lead us to evaluate what is missing in our work environments. More often than not, work equals stress and deadlines. What if we could change that by...
Can we talk about video games and depression?
The potential for video games in treatment for depression is a very overlooked and under-studied field. For decades, popular media has played up the narrative that video games are bad for children and developing youth. Whether it was behavioral problems, lack of...
How Hot Is Too Hot: Tackling The Climate Crisis Discussion
What is the climate crisis, and how is an individual’s mental health affected? Just what, exactly, is climate change? Of all the hot-button issues making their rounds in public discourse, perhaps none have received the same level of attention as climate change. And...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Cutout Art With Message
Our contributor Ed Tsokolakyan did a cutout of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day, Jan 17th, 2022 in celebration of the wise message and question of what is one’s life’s blueprint. Ed specifically created this video to contribute to Mental...
Grounding Techniques for Anxiety
Whether experiencing a full-blown attack or just overwhelming anxiety, most feel out of control and powerless through these episodes. By learning a few simple grounding techniques, people can self-soothe and calm their anxiety before it...
Phone Apps For Your Mental Health
By Mary Abzug If you are one of the 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide, then you likely are familiar with the abundance of apps available at your fingertips. Between social media platforms, fitness trackers, games, music, news, there is basically an app...
Meditation for Mental Health
By Roz Hedayatian Currently, there are many different types of meditation techniques being used to manage mental health issues. Meditation is a great way to decrease stress and allow space for consciousness in an overstimulating world....
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Cutout Art With Message
Our contributor Ed Tsokolakyan did a cutout of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day, Jan 17th, 2022 in celebration of the wise message and question of what is one's life's blueprint. Ed specifically created this video to contribute to Mental...
6 Ways to Advocate for Employee Mental Wellness in your Workplace
By Kevin Naruse Making sure one’s mental health is in check is so important these days. Most importantly, knowing this information while someone performs their daily duties in the workplace, will not only provide employers with a more...
5 Ways Depression Can Affect Your Physical Health
Author: Rachel McCallum February 21, 2020 The American Psychological Association states that depression is one of the most common mental disorders. According to Healthline, although we think of depression as being a mental and emotional disorder, it can have various...
IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES BY CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: Part I
Originally posted on: linkedin.com/pulse/digital-divide-psychological-wellbeing-communities By: Kevin Naruse How are mental health and digital literacy related? Let’s start by defining mental health. Mental well-being must be defined as something more than the absence...
IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES BY CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: PART II
Originally posted on: linkedin.com/pulse/digital-divide-psychological-wellbeing-communities By: Kevin Naruse Closing the digital divide can pay huge dividends in mental health All of this technology - used wisely and effectively - supports people in recovery and works...
Imposter Syndrome: Beating the Cycle
If you’ve ever had the feeling that you were a fraud, that you don’t belong and don’t deserve your job or accomplishments, you’re not alone. Imposter syndrome, defined by Psychology Today as “a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their...
The Newfound Benefits to Telehealth
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone has had to make some major changes to their everyday lives within the past year. Many adults have grown accustomed to working from home, children have been doing online school, and most healthcare providers have made the...
10 Instagram Accounts to Follow if you Suffer from Depression
It’s no secret that those of us suffering from depression often feel alone and with nowhere to turn for support. While some of us have friends or family who we can call when feeling depressed, we may not always want to ask for help or even have the energy to pick up...
Your Brain On Social Media: What Makes It So addictive?
How many times have you checked your phone today? Do you place your phone on the table when you’re having breakfast, lunch and/or dinner? Does your phone rest underneath your pillow or on your nightstand while you sleep? All these preferences may seem like natural...
Virtual Reality Might Be the Next Big Thing for Mental Health
There is more to VR (Virtual Reality) than playing life-like games. This fairly new piece of technology is promising a great change in the field of mental health. Can VR reshape the healthcare system and introduce an innovative way of improving our well-being? So...
Mental Health Stigmas in Small Rural Hispanic Communities
The words loco and loca, meaning crazy, are broadly used in my community back home to describe people mostly in a favorable way. These are people who are naturally funny and think outside the box. Members of my community who are virtuous and full of life always seem...
Vocation Purpose and Bridging the Digital Divide – A Conversation With David Israelian Of Peer Mental Health and the Painted Brain
Description: David Israelian joins Kerry Morrison in a conversation that explores his passion about the importance of work, vocational rehabilitation, and purpose for people living with a mental illness in our communities. David is the founder and CEO of Peer Mental...
Bebe Moore Campbell: The Importance of Her Legacy in 2020
Blackness in Mental Health Today The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that have followed the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have shed a heavy light on the problem of racial inequality in America. While racial inequality is by no means a new issue...
5 Ways Depression Can Affect Your Physical Health
The American Psychological Association states that depression is one of the most common mental disorders. According to Healthline, although we think of depression as being a mental and emotional disorder, it can have various effects on our physical well-being....
Musings From the Borderline, Journal Scribbling February 16th 2020.
Sometimes my skin doesn’t quite fit. I wriggle inside of it, like there’s some kind of alien being trying to get out. I look in a mirror and wonder who I am. I can be at home yet still feel lost; feel emptiness even with a full life. The safe zones that anchor me can...
Dissociation
Recently, whilst walking through town, I became temporarily dissociated. My physical presence felt detached from my surroundings and my senses shut down to the point of numbness. Nothing beyond my self felt real, and even the self felt curiously alien. WebMD describes...
THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP IN ACHIEVING OPTIMAL HEALTH
Sleep disturbances are the most frequently reported psychiatric symptom in the general population and are commonly associated with various mental illness diagnoses
The Natural Antidepressant: Your Dog
As it turns out, our little furbabies are more than just cute and loyal companions; they improve our mental health too! Have you ever come home from a bad day and instantly felt better after seeing your pet? If so, you’re not alone. A Survey conducted on the...
This Is Why The Opposite of Play Is Depression
The statistics of depression amongst full time U.S. workers and the consequent economic damages alone should lead us to evaluate what is missing in our work environments. More often than not, work equals stress and deadlines. What if we could change that by...
Can we talk about video games and depression?
The potential for video games in treatment for depression is a very overlooked and under-studied field. For decades, popular media has played up the narrative that video games are bad for children and developing youth. Whether it was behavioral problems, lack of...
Grounding Techniques for Anxiety
Whether experiencing a full-blown attack or just overwhelming anxiety, most feel out of control and powerless through these episodes. By learning a few simple grounding techniques, people can self-soothe and calm their anxiety before it...
Phone Apps For Your Mental Health
By Mary Abzug If you are one of the 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide, then you likely are familiar with the abundance of apps available at your fingertips. Between social media platforms, fitness trackers, games, music, news, there is basically an app...
Meditation for Mental Health
By Roz Hedayatian Currently, there are many different types of meditation techniques being used to manage mental health issues. Meditation is a great way to decrease stress and allow space for consciousness in an overstimulating world....
The Natural Antidepressant: Your Dog
As it turns out, our little furbabies are more than just cute and loyal companions; they improve our mental health too! Have you ever come home from a bad day and instantly felt better after seeing your pet? If so, you’re not alone. A Survey conducted on the...
Leveraging Technology for Mental Health in the Workplace
When digital technology is misused, it's not only a waste of company funds, but it can highlight problems in communication within your team. It helps to think of your team or organization as a living system, because in many ways, it really is. How Healthy and Robust...
What Google and Facebook knows about you
By Matthew Permuy and Kevin Naruse “What Google and Facebook knows about you.” Both Google and Facebook have been known for many years to collect and store many pieces of information on you and about you. Google stores your location (if you have location tracking...
Exercising For People With Depression
Another similar study found that “exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression.”
Journal Entry, 2nd June, 2019. Alienation.
Today I’m thinking about being alienated from everyone. Dealing with feelings of dissociation and alienation when I’m out and about can be tough. Sometimes I feel so condensed I notice the blood running through my veins. There’s not much I can do when feelings of...