True Acceptance is a unique social community that provides opportunities for adults over the age of 18 to meet other adults with mental illness. Interested in true love, dating, or just want to make some new friends? You can sign up for your free profile  and get started living your life the way you have always wanted without the social stigma holding you back!

The folks at trueacceptance.com know the importance of relationships. And with a solid belief in recovery, change, and self determination they are providing a platform for rewarding relationships to be formed.

Post from: Blisstree

True Acceptance – A Stigma Free Community for Adults with Mental Illness

On October 6, 2008, the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (<- you gotta love those Canadians!), with the support of Manulife Financial, launched Let’s Face This – Confront the Stigma of Mental Illness. As the name suggests, Let’s Face This is a grassroots, web-based campaign to bust stigma and promote public awareness and education about mental health. And – as the name suggests – the campaign really does want you to face this.

When you visit Let’s Face This, you can add your picture to a growing tree of people who – like you – want to help promote public awareness and education of mental health issues. You can also add your name and a message.

Of course, Let’s Face This isn’t just about showing off your pretty mug in the name of kicking stigma’s ass. The website also provides:

• Information about mental illness, including a glossary, resources, and tips on how to get help.
• The opportunity to donate funds to Sunnybrook’s cause.
• Tips on how to raise funds for Sunnybrook (you know, for those of us who can’t afford to plunk down a nice chunk of change).
• A free downloadable poster you can hang to help promote awareness and updates on community events, in case your in the Sunnybrook vicinity.

At the time of this post, 822 people have added their pictures to the Let’s Face This tree. Head on over and add your own!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Let’s Face This: Canada’s Confronting The Stigma Of Mental Illness

From online support groups to using laughter as medicine, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) has some awesome chats. I am especially hoping I can attend today’s chat about stigma hosted by Stephen Propst, the Chair of the DBSA Board of Directors.

I’ve submitted my RSVP, but, you never know what surprises may pop up.

The chat is scheduled for 1 p.m., and if you’d like to attend visit Recovery Chat: Stigma – Featuring Steve Propst.

For more stigma-related posts here at Mental Health Notes, be sure to check out:

• It’s No Secret: Stigma Hurts
• Statistics Have Already Let Your Little Secret Out Of The Box

Imae: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Here’s Your Chance To Talk About Stigma With Stephen Propst

Anyway, on to what went on this week in the world of mental health!

Here at Mental Health Notes, I was all over the place. From sharing a few thoughts about LiveJournal to reviewing Google’s top five results for “brain games” to offering resources for help with cyberbullies in light of Megan Meier’s suicide and Lori Drew’s indictment, the topics this week were certainly diverse at Mental Health Notes. Too, I had to lash out about the battle against abusing mentally ill patients, pass up the opportunity to present an A.S.S. Award, share a little mental health humor, and remind everyone about the current Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway and This Is Why I ROCK! series!

Mental health advocacy group news was definitely a challenge to keep up with this week – there was so much! The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is reminding everyone about registration discounts for their Power of Peers conference in September, as well as their upcoming June webinar course Not a Pity Party: Effective Peer Support Groups. Mental Health America sent around a reminder for us to urge our House representatives to support including a delay on the Medicaid regs in the war funding supplemental bill. And TIME Magazine has named Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., who speaks at many National Alliance on Mental Illness conferences and is president of NAMI Indiana’s Greater Bloomington affiliate, one of “the world’s 100 most influential people.”

Of course, keeping up with mental health in the news is always a busy time. Ira Katz, the VA’s director of mental health, has apologized for his email discussing veterans’ suicide attempts – you know, the one that read “Shh!” in the subject line. An study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry suggests low levels of vitamin D and high levels of the parathyroid hormone could lead to depression in older adults. After recent studies, researchers are paying more attention to the role a distinctive pattern of the genetic variations single nucleotide polymorphisms may be playing in the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. And, assistant professor of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Roberto Fernández Galán, Ph.D., used math and a computer model of brain activity (and no rats) to show new looks at the dynamics of the brain’s cortex.

And finally, perhaps the easiest thing to keep up with this week was the b5media Health & Wellness Channel’s involvement in the world of mental health. Because May is Mental Health Month, our monthly theme day was focused on the topic of mental health. I hosted the event, so make sure you check out what all my fellow bloggers had to say! Also, the Health & Wellness Channel bloggers got together and shared their versions of “Top 5″ posts. Find out which posts I chose, and check out the rest of the channel’s lists courtesy of Kendra James!

That’s all for this week’s Saturday Sanity. If you have any news you’d like to share, send it my way for next week!

All images (except for the b5 logo) courtesy of Newscom.

Remember! You have until May 31, 2008 to enter the Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway, and forever to join the This Is Why I ROCK! series!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Light Your Fire

Yipee! It’s the Health & Wellness Channel’s monthly theme day, and I’m super excited because not only am I finally hosting, but the theme is mental health in honor of May being Mental Health Month!

My fellow b5media bloggers have really pulled together and presented some great information this month, so grab a cup of coffee and settle in for some good readin’!

Over at Help My Hurt, Marijke Durning addresses Depression and Chronic Pain, and touches on the question of, “Which comes first, depression or chronic pain?”

Healthbolt gives us a first-hand look into depression via a Question and Answer session with a long-time sufferer. Diagnosis, triggers and treatments are all discussed in this exclusive interview.

At Alzheimer’s Notes, Mary Emma Allen discusses Depression – a Mental Health Concern for Caregivers and Alzheimer’s Patients. (Something I’ve experienced firsthand and can’t wait to read!)

With Stigma and Pride, Kristina Chew at Autism Vox reminds us that some of the past and present stigma cast upon autistic individuals is in part because of misconceptions not only of autism, but of mental illness.

Karen Lynch at Pink Ribbon Review points out that Breast Cancer Can Cause Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In her post she lists symptoms to watch for and links you to an assessment tool to see how far you’ve come in terms of personal growth and healing.

Weighting Line’s Hope Wilbanks gives us some insight on How To Deal With Depression And Weight Gain.

Over at Lively Women, Kristen King asks a very thought-provoking question – after she offers up some just as thought-provoking quotes – with In Honor Of Mental Health Awareness: Are You REALLY Happy?
Gabrielle Sedor at Fertility Notes nods in the direction of this year’s Mental Health Month theme, “Get Connected,” with Get Connected for Mental Health Month. Not only does she encourage us to get connected, but she offers resources to do so!

Gab is also now the blogger for Daily Tomorrow, and for that she offers up Is Going Green Good for Your Mental Health, or Just Making You Crazy? (You can bet I’ll be leaving a comment or two on that one!)

Grace Ibay reminds us of the importance of Building A Positive Self Image In Our Children at Kids Health Notes.

Health and Men’s Scott Wharton got a jump on all of us last week by rounding up FIVE of his mental health-related posts with Health And Men’s Best Of Mental Health.

Mark W. discusses Anger Turned Inwards at A Dozen Steps (something I’m really looking forward to reading, especially given that he explores mental health and alcoholism – over the past couple of years, I’ve become very interested and somewhat involved with mental health and addiction of any sort).

Angelique at Breaking the Mirror fills us in on mental health, medication, and eating disorders with Anorexia, Bulimia, Depression, Prozac – What You Should Know.

Breastfeeding 1-2-3’s Angela White takes a look at traditional anti-depressants and alternative treatments for depression in breastfeeding mothers with Breastfeeding, Mental Health, Anti-Depressants and Alternative Treatments.

Gloria Gamat over at Cancer Commentary talks about how mental health is a critical factor in the life of a cancer patient, thus it shouldn’t be ignored by healthcare professional and the patients and their families alike, with PTSD, Cancer Patients, Mental Health Month and Channel Theme Day.

And finally, at Diabetes Notes our very own Channel Editor Kendra James presents Depression Is An Independent Trigger For Type 2 Diabetes to inform us that depression is an independent factor for type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that depression alone, and not lifestyle factors like being overweight, can trigger Type 2 diabetes in adults 65 and older, a population with a high prevalence of diabetes and depression.

Kendra also writes A Hearty Life, and over there she tells us about Heart Disease And Depression/Anxiety: It Is Directly Related.

That’s all for now! Be sure to let each one of these awesome bloggers know how much you appreciate the time, effort, and research they dedicated to these posts!

Ken Jensen is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

Join The Health & Wellness Channel In Recognizing Mental Health Month!

As I mentioned yesterday, my NAMI affiliation had a cookout at one of our local city parks in honor of Mental Health Month.

Well, it turned out to be a lovely event! The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and aside from a crowd of skateboarding teenagers (who eventually moved on to skate somewhere else – I guess we were boring, ha!) and restroom facilities that were out of order (a water leak forced the manager to shut everything down – the day before our cookout!), everything went perfectly.

My only gripe is attendance.

We had a fairly decent turn out, but nothing to brag about. I don’t understand what went wrong. I hung fliers, and announced the cookout well in advance on the news (including the news station’s Web site), in the paper, through group emails to our regular meeting attendees, through phone calls, and on our Web site. It’s all very reminiscent of the health fair ordeal.

I know that, throughout the country, there are many folks who prefer other mental health advocacy organizations over NAMI. However, in my neck of the woods, NAMI is “the thing,” so to speak. They are very active, and very well liked with an awesome reputation and great relationships with other health organizations. So, I’m not inclined to say, “It’s because it was NAMI.”

Last summer, when I took on the NAMI Affiliation Leader role, I knew it was going to be a serious effort getting people to not only want to address their mental health issues, but to actually get out of their houses and join others dealing with similar health and life situations; however, I had no idea it was going to be this difficult.

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not getting discouraged, nor am I overlooking the importance of the people who do participate. I am very grateful for them. Not only are they taking action to learn more about their mental health, but they’re also helping advocate for mental health.

I guess I’d better head back to the drawing board and try to think of new ways to promote and get people interested and involved. Any suggestions are welcome!

Image: morgueFile

Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

NAMI Cookout For Mental Health Month

First up, let me refresh your memory regarding some of the more interesting things that went on at Mental Health Notes this week: The Lolcats paid us a visit, Boston Legal made me proud, the folks opposing the postpartum depression legislation confused me, I offered fellow American Idol Michael Johns fans some help, and, oh yeah, Mental Health Notes wants to know why you ROCK!

Next in line, I have a couple of Saturday Sanity-worthy Web sites to share with you sent in by MHN readers: Chato B. Stewart would like to announce the launch of his Web site, Mental Health Humor – and remind folks that the site is in no way meant to promote stigma. I checked it out myself, and while it seems to be in the beginning stages, I was certainly not offended and give it a Sparks Stamp of Approval. (I would also like to take this time to remind folks that, in my opinion, there is a very clear difference between mental health humor and tasteless, stigma-promoting. For example, this is mental health humor. This, however, is disgusting and promotes stigma.)

Moving right along, Hana Hasani would like to let you all know about Mamaherb, a new Web site geared toward spreading the word about natural health remedies. While browsing the site, I’ve so far found information about natural treatments for depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, anxiety, and narcolepsy. I’m all about using what nature gives us, so I’m happy to pass along this beautifully-designed site; however, I’d like to remind all readers that you should always consult with a medical professional before trying anything new – natural and non-natural, alike.

Now, for some scientific, research, and government-related mental health news: With more than 53,000 soldiers having been deployed to Iraq three or more times, the Army is seriously worried about the mental health effects return tours are having on our men and women in uniform – even though senior Iraq commander is telling Congress he’s “not ready to endorse any drawdowns beyond those already scheduled through July.” According to an Indiana survey, 83% of psychiatrists currently support a universal national health insurance plan. Parents with children who have ADHD and take Ritalin may be able to rest a bit easier: Researchers don’t feel Ritalin boosts the likelihood of future substance abuse.

And, finally, what’s going on around the rest of b5media’s Science & Health Channel? Well, Jul over at Veggie Chic is giving you the chance to win a copy of Gorgeously Green, Kristina over at Autism Vox shares a simply heartwarming story of sharing, and Liz over at Alzheimer’s Notes wants to remind everyone about the “All About Alzheimer’s” Carnival.

That’s all for this week’s Saturday Sanity! If you think you have some Saturday Sanity-worthy news, shoot me an email!

Image sources and credits here, here, and here.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Your Brain’s Weekly Smorgasbord Of Sanitylicious

As you may or may not should know, May is Mental Health Month. Last year, May was the first month Mental Health Notes was live (how appropriate, huh?), and in honor of Mental Health Month I posted information about mental health-related tips and resources on each of the 31 days.

This year, I’m still focusing on you – the mental health consumer – but taking a slightly different approach.

Throughout Mental Health Month (May 1, 2008 – May 31, 2008), I am running a series called “This Is Why I ROCK!” highlighting mental health consumers and the wonderfully awesome and kick ass things they are doing. (EDIT: The This Is Why I ROCK! series will now run for an indefinite amount of time, i.e. longer than May 31, 2008.)

Hmm… That may be a bit vague, so let me explain.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year” (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America). That’s a pretty high percentage.

However, what isn’t a high percentage (or, at least, what I feel shouldn’t be a high percentage – I don’t have any actual statistics) is the percentage of people who just sit around and let mental illness kick their asses.

These are the people I want to feature in this series – the go-getters who continue living their lives despite the issues they sometimes face thanks to mental illness such as managing their symptoms, countless doctors appointments, expensive prescription medications to work into their budgets, dealing with family and friends who just don’t “get it,” and, of course, stigma.

In this series, I want to showcase the artists, the photographers, the writers, the business owners, the homemakers, the entrepreneurs, the athletes – EVERYONE who is making it happen and managing mental illness.

If this is you and you want me to showcase you and your awesome life or talent or occupation or whatever it is that makes you rock here at Mental Health Notes, simply:

• Download and complete this form.
• Email it to me at alicia AT writingspark DOT com with “This Is Why I ROCK!” in the subject line. Using this subject line is important; otherwise, I may mistake your email for spam.

My goal is to showcase one person on each of the 31 days in May; however, I will definitely try to showcase every single person who contacts me with the required information between today and midnight on April 30, 2008.

So, what are you waiting for? Gather up all the information and shoot me an email! Let’s tell the world why you ROCK this Mental Health Month!

Post from: Blisstree

Mental Health Notes Wants To Know Why You ROCK!

Tonight’s episode of Boston Legal was an emotional one for me. Sure, Alan Shore’s closing arguments get me fired up and ready to start changing the world every Tuesday night, but tonight’s episode was particularly engaging.

And, it was Shirley’s closing argument – not Alan’s – that did it for me. The frank, bottom line closing argument she gave in defense of a Vietnam war veteran living with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder who was being charged with killing seals on multiple occasions. Because the veteran had killed the seals numerous times, even though he’d been warned, Shirley wanted to “plead insanity.” (Of course, the bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder were to be key pieces of artillery.) The veteran, however, refused such a plea, claiming “crazy” would have been not killing the seals and allowing himself to starve to death.

Touché.

After finally deciding how to approach the case, Shirley ended with a powerful closing argument focused on how it made much more sense to provide food to our country’s veterans than to spend X number of dollars a day keeping them in jail for trying to provide food for themselves.

Instead of relying on the crazy train to carry them on past those a possible prison sentence, Shirley relied on the judge’s (and our country’s) conscience to simply see the bigger picture and do the right thing.

Naturally, Shirley won. Rather than telling the veteran he should have applied for welfare and throwing him in prison, the judge reminded the prosecuting side of the moral obligations we as a country have when it comes to the men and women who defend us, and I walked away singing the National Anthem and wanting to donate money or food to…well, lots of people.

Tonight’s Boston Legal episode was an interesting theme combination for me. Animal rights and mental health and soldiers – all in one episode? It was all almost too much for my little advocate heart. However, in the end, I was pleased and not at all surprised – as the Boston Legal writers have always, in my opinion, handled mental illness in an entertaining way and without promoting stigma.

Image source and credit.

Post from: Blisstree

Boston Legal Takes On Mental Illness Once Again

Or, soccer, for American readers.

I love Saturday Sanity.

Not only does it give me a chance to recognize all the important mental health-related news I discover throughout the week (that, for one reason or another, I don’t have time to talk about in depth), but it also gives me a chance to let you all know about things going on here at Mental Health Notes and the rest of the b5media Science & Health Channel.

• Yesterday I told you about the work The National Council is doing via Second Life. Soon after I posted it, I found out that Preferred Family Healthcare (a member of The National Council) is also doing great things with the help of Second Life. Hopefully I can get some more information on this soon!
• Taking care of yourself should be the first item on your list of priorities today and every day, and I firmly believe that in order to best take care of both your physical and mental health, you need to take care of your soul – regardless of what your religious (or nonreligious) definition of “soul” may be. Having said that, Mark over at A Dozen Steps is good for his thought-provoking posts, and two of his most recent are Things That Nurture My Soul and Things That Rot My Soul.
• Autism Vox’s Kristina Chew highlights a new study on rare genetic mutations and schizophrenia, but reminds us that “80-85% of people with schizophrenia do not have the mutations.”
• In an effort to treat and manage depression and/or bipolar disorder, are you upping your intake of omega-3 fatty acids like me? If so, and if you have babies (specifically babies you feed infant formula), you may be interested in one of Ruth’s latest posts, Infants Need Omega-3 and AA Omega-6 Fatty Acids, at Eating Fabulous.
• Dr. Frederick W. Reimherr of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and his colleagues report that women with ADHD are more impaired than men. And, speaking of ADHD, in addition to ADHDFamilies, which I added a while back, I’ve also added a wonderful new ADHD-related blog to the blogroll: ADHD-Living. Check it out!
• And how awesome is this news? In an effort to keep “mental health publicity” from being “mainly people just out of hospital stabbing someone,” Janette Hynes, founder of the London-based Positive Mental Attitude League, runs two football leagues for mental health consumers which she claims has both “positive psychological and physical benefits.”
• Speaking of the psychological benefits of football (or any sport, I’m assuming), check out Mental Help Net’s The Relationship Between Exercise and Mood by Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D.
• NAMI New Jersey’s Eric Arauz and NAMI New York City Metro’s Mary Ann Ceron spoke frankly on the ABC News digital cable channel’s “Mind and Mood” program about living with bipolar disorder. Getting on national television and discussing your mental illness? How’s THAT for busting stigma!
• I’m sure by now most, if not all, of you are aware of the reports of drug traces in our drinking water – including mental health drugs. While many of us could use a little extra help (a joke, and one in poor taste, I admit it), Mark Shannon of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is addressing the demand for cleaner H2O.
• Not only am I passionate about mental health advocacy, but I’m also passionate about mental health care and advocacy within the prison system. Imagine my delight when I found out “[t]he four-month-old NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal is investigating how to maintain the human rights and dignity of people detained in a mental health facility, or serving a community treatment order issued by a court.”

That’s all for this week, lovelies! Remember, if you have any mental health-related news you feel is worthy of Saturday Sanity, send it my way!

Cool image source and credit.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Are You Ready For Some Football?