Beginning in 1992, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated October 10th as “World Mental Health Day.” As with many prevention efforts, they choose a theme or focus each year. In the past, themes have ranged from broader measures like inclusion and equality to more focused topics such as young people and mental health, mental health […]
Suicide Prevention Month comes with a lot of public health information on suicide prevention as well as statistics and education about new resources aimed at reducing the incidence of suicide. However, despite best efforts, sometimes we still lose people. As the twelfth leading cause of death in the general population, the second for people aged […]
The beginning of September marks Suicide Prevention Week, giving us a focused opportunity to learn and think compassionately about suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide), suicide attempts, and those we have lost. In the spirit of compassion, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some numbers and then, move in for a close-up view of […]
With Suicide Prevention month coming up in September, we are excited to discuss a public policy advancement in suicide and crisis intervention. In April, at Meeting of the Minds, many of us had the privilege of attending a discussion around the national change from the previous 1-800 number for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This change […]
Sleep is a daily, foundational part of our health routine, and yet, so many people struggle to get the right kind and amount, of consistent, uninterrupted snooze hours. We understand the impact poor sleep has on our physical health. We can literally feel it when we wake up and still feel tired, sluggish, have trouble […]
June is a fantastic month. It is the host to many weddings, outdoor events, and summer nights before things get too sweltering in July and August. For this reason, June is also a great month to talk about exercise. Given how comfortable it is outside, maybe we’ll all get a few more steps in! The […]
Year after year, the culture improves in awareness, advocacy, and accessibility of mental health knowledge and services. In that same breath, we also acknowledge that great strides are needed. Concerns related to insurance, availability of providers, and a lack of health equity mean we have much work to do. Despite these challenges, we wanted to […]
As is common in history classrooms, sometimes we don’t always learn a complete representation of all the pioneers who contributed to a particular subject or science. This trend holds true in mental health where names like Freud, Pavlov, Bandura, and Maslow lead the way in many of our psychology and education classes. While these men […]
Being the parent of a college-aged student can be a difficult transition for the parent/child relationship. For many parents, this is the first time their child has been out of their home on a consistent basis. With each passing semester, these young adults grow more independent, many returning home less and less often. And, even […]
In the past few days, more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities have received bomb threats. The students, staff, and faculty on these campuses have experienced fear, frustration, and the need to bolster their physical, emotional, and mental defenses. This cycle, repeating threats from throughout history, has existed for far too long for […]