Hello!

Did y’all know the winners of the Facing Us 2008 Music Contest were announced? If so, shame on you for not telling me (I’m a bit behind, apparently), and if not, well, obviously you’re not alone.

For those of you just tuning in, the Facing Us 2008 Music Contest was sponsored by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance and Dave’s Spark with the intention of recognizing and embracing “the creative spark of so many individuals who live with mood disorders.”

Anyway – yay! The first, second, and third place winners are up, and I’ve just checked them out. They are really good.

Radio Jesus (a.k.a. Ray Henry Ulrich) came in first with “Never Mind,” which is by far my favorite. It’s very trippy, and has the kind of beat that, if you heard it during a TV show or movie, you’d know some kind of scandalous drama was getting ready to go down. You can visit Ray’s MySpace page to listen to it.

Miria came in second with “Break Your Heart,” and she’s not exactly new to the business (she co-produced the first Los Angeles Women’s Music Festival and had a song featured on Grey’s Anatomy, which, to me, used the be the definitive moment for indie artists everywhere). I cannot for the life of me find her song on her website or her MySpace page, but the official announcement page does include it as the first song on the sample player.

And, Ben Mitchell Arthur came in third with “Lifetime,” a thought-provoking, upbeat little ditty that you can check out at his MySpace page. Arthur also authored A Simple Twist of Faith.

Don’t forget to check out all 16 finalists (I’m thinking I’ll start looking for “Crack Baby” and “Serotonin” when I get a free minute), and let’s all congratulate the winners, finalists, and everyone who entered for sharing their creativity with us and helping put stigma in it’s place!

Post from: Blisstree

Rock Out With The Facing Us 2008 Music Contest Winners

Remember back in July when I told you about the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s (DBSA) Facing Us 2008 Music Contest?

Well, the DBSA has announced the Top 16 finalists!

Voting is now open, so head on over to listen to these artists and vote for your favorite one.

I haven’t gotten a chance to listen yet, but I hope to at least start on the list at some point today. I absolutely love listening to new music and new artists, and with this being a contest with such a great point, I’m even more excited!

Oh, and while you’re listening, pop over to Contest: Win A Copy Of Surviving Ben’s Suicide By C. Comfort Shields for your chance to win a copy of the book!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

DBSA Announces Top 16 Facing Us 2008 Music Contest Finalists

Boy, when I fall into a blogging slump, I really fall into a blogging slump, huh? This is the second week in a row I’ve not offered up more than one post a day here at Mental Health Notes and, honestly, that blows.

However, in my defense (what little bit of defense I have), I have been dealing with work-related matters, surprise visitors, and doing some housekeeping here at MHN, which includes putting an excellent editorial calendar together for the coming weeks here at MHN.

And do I have so great things lined up for y’all!

In the meantime, let’s take a look at what’s been going on in the world of mental health this week.

This week at Mental Health Notes, I talked about going green for your mental health at Daily Tomorrow, talked about an interesting study regarding visual impairment and suicide risk, started a conversation about the idea of compassionate release for brain cancer patient and former Manson Family member Susan Atkins, introduced you to the Health & Wellness Channel’s newest blog about fitness, and passed along an update about Mental Health Parity.

In the world of mental health news, researchers at Yale believe there’s a connection between bullying and suicide (I believe it), researchers at Cambridge believe they can measure brain activity to help identify people at risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder, a couple of doctors whose names I can’t pronounce have found a partially shared genetic profile between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, new research suggests tricyclic antidepressants increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and getting enough sleep is still good for your mental health – unless you count strokes as, you know, bad things.

Regarding mental health advocacy, Mental Health America provides updates on both the 2008 Annual Conference Hill Day and the Inaugural Promotion and Prevention Summit, both held back in June, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance published the DBSA e-Update July 2008, which contains more information about the Facing Us 2008 Music Contest and the addition of another speaker at the 2008 National Conference, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness announced the appearance of two NAMI members on The New York Times’s Patient Voices.

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, it’s giveaways and contests galore! Both Healthbolt and Alzheimer’s Notes are hosting book giveaways this week, Daily Tomorrow is offering a chance to win a “Learn to Create a Healthy Home” CD, and Fertility Notes is having a drawing for a free Fertility Scope. Of course, there’s plenty of news, too. Kendra discusses the heart health benefits of being optimistic, and good ol’ Scott tackles the prevalence of eating disorders among men.

Of course, the best news of all is…Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 has given birth to her baby girl! Head on over and congratulate her!

And, that’s the end of another Saturday Sanity. Remember, if you have anything mental health-related to share for next week’s edition, send it my way. (You may want to include “Saturday Sanity” in the subject line so I’ll make sure to save it.)

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Slow Week For Mental Health Notes, But Not For Mental Health News