It’s been a pretty hectic week for most of my American readers. A major national holiday and Black Friday, all in one week. Back to back, no less!

The only thing that could rival that excitement would be a brand new Saturday Sanity, right? (Well, it was worth a shot.)

As you read this, I’m most likely putting up Christmas decorations. And that is more exciting to me than any of it!

This week at Mental Health Notes, things were sad. People watched as a fellow human being committed suicide live, the numbers of children being dropped off at Nebraska hospitals are rising (Marcie at Kids Health Notes has posted an update on the revision to Nebraska’s Safe Haven Law), and there was an update to the tragic Lori Drew/Megan Meier case. Of course, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I told you about the IAVA and Ad Council teaming up to create online communities for veterans and veterans’ family and loved ones, as well as gave you some inspirational quotes to ponder. Oh, and I pointed you in the direction of some great money-spending ideas, which, can be good or bad news, depending on how you look at it.

Regarding mental health advocacy and education, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) wants to spread the word about nominations for the Welcome Back Awards, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released it’s latest issue of a newsletter geared toward helping returning veterans, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s (DBSA) Trauma Course for Peer Specialists is just around the corner. Chato Stewart at Mental Health Humor is offering to draw free pictures (how cool is that?!) – head on over and check out the terms and conditions. And finally, Kate McLaughlin has posted some extremely helpful information for family members and loved ones of a person with a mental illness.

In the world of mental health news, research, and studies, people with both diabetes and depression may have a harder time managing their blood sugar levels (I once read a pamphlet about how depression and diabetes interact), a panel of federal drug experts says we’re getting a bit too flippant with the antipsychotic prescriptions to children, the number of suicides among the elderly in long-term care facilities is holding steady, and the alignment of a child’s eyes could actually point to an increased risk of mental illness in later years (what?!). On a lighter note, Dr. Steven Toepfer of Kent State University has conducted some research that suggests we can be happier if we become more grateful (I so could have saved you some time, effort, and money on that one, Toepfer).

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel:

• Mark explains The Insanity of Alcohol over at A Dozen Steps.
• Mary Emma shares a personal poem of thanks at Alzheimer’s Notes.
• Angelique is holding a contest for some cute handcrafted jewelry over at Breaking the Mirror (the deadline’s tomorrow night, so hurry up!).
• Angela of Breastfeeding 1-2-3 has a ridiculously adorable baby.
• Marijke talks about laughter therapy at Cancer Commentary. (Marijke is also in the running for Best Canadian Blog with her personal blog, Marijke: Nurse Turned Writer. Give her some votes and wish her luck!)
• Scott at Health and Men points to an Swedish study dealing with stress and the physical damage it could cause you.
• Liz has posted the latest Healthbolt carnival.
• And…could it be? Is Tony back at Astronomy Buff?!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

Wow, what a week it has been, my friends. The weather here has been sunny and in the upper 60s/lower 70s (which Chopper loved), I found a ridiculously inexpensive and surprisingly potent scented oil while wandering aimlessly around Wal-Mart (mmm, Christmasy cinnamon), and I finally found the name of the song on one of the new Blackberry commercials (it’s “Live the Proof” by Jim Boggia, if anyone’s interested. It’s great. Seriously.).

And, of course, we Americans elected our leader for the next four years. Something I (but not Chopper) found even more exciting than the rest of it.

So, what else went down this week?

This week at Mental Health Notes, in addition to questions about physician-assisted suicide and a review of Lumosity, quite a few famous names were the topic of discussion, including William Shatner, Brooke Smith, Maurice Benard, and Barack Obama.

Regarding mental health advocacy, educational opportunities abound. It may be too late to attend the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s 3rd Annual Rebecca’s Dream Gala, but the DBSA is currently accepting registrations for both the Peer Specialist Training 5-Day Course and the next Peer Specialist Continuing Education (CE) Webinar, “Trauma-Informed Care: What the Peer Specialist Needs to Know.” Too, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is promoting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) free teleconference training, “Children’s Mental Health Problems and the Need for Social Inclusion.”

In the world of mental health news, 92% of the 1,137 people who took a ComPsych Corp survey claim economic woes contribute to their sleeplessness, depressed African-American heart patients are less likely than depressed Caucasian heart patients to be on antidepressants, and young ADHD patients are more likely to become addicted to nicotine. But, there’s some good news, too: Kidney transplants may improve mental performance (keep in mind this is good news for patients with kidney disease and related cognitive impairment – so, not something any ol’ body should go rounding up friends and scheduling a kidney domino theory over.

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, my fellow bloggers are chatting it up about lots of interesting stuff:

• Mark gives a list of important A.A. history dates for November at A Dozen Steps.
• Mary Emma at Alzheimer’s Notes has a guest post from Dee regarding easy finger foods for Alzheimer’s patients.
• Kristina talks about two studies regarding autism genetics at Autism Vox.
• Cherie rounds up a list of giveaways at Diabetes Notes.
• Grace tells us about how seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is linked to a mutation at Genetics & Health.
• Scott talks about bullies (and his method for handling them, ha) at Health and Men.

That’s all for this week’s Saturday Sanity!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: What A Busy Week!

I can’t believe I just discovered this.

And, in all honesty, I didn’t discover it. My mother, who’s obsessed with freebies, discovered it.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers tons of mental health publications, brochures, posters, notepads, and cards for you to order – for free.

I know, I was ecstatic, too.

And why I say “tons,” I mean tons. From anti-stigma posters to advocacy magnets to useful notepads to informational brochures, SAMHSA has it covered.

These are excellent items for everyone – mental health consumers and their loved ones, mental health advocates, and mental health professionals – so visit their order page and see if there’s something there for you!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Mental Health Freebies Galore!

In addition to May being Mental Health Awareness Month (or, simply Mental Health Month, depending on where you read about it), the week of May 4-10 is Children’s Mental Health Week and it kicked off with a bang yesterday (May 4) with Childhood Depression Awareness Day.

To help you better understand children’s mental health, or – if you already have a pretty good handle on your child’s mental health – to help you stay current with the goings-on and resources for children’s mental health, I’ve compiled a list of useful Web sites, pages, and articles for you.

You can thank Liberty for this tidbit: The May 2008 issue of Parents magazine features an article about children’s mental health and, fortunately for those of us do a lot of online reading, the piece is included in the online version of the mag. What Can Be Done About the Children’s Mental Health Crisis? includes information about health insurance concerns, doctors’ responsibilities, common mental disorders children have, and some surprising statistics.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) conveniently rounds up links to their children and adolescent mental health-related resources on one Web page, which includes information about the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the Safe Schools/Healthy Schools Initiative, and the Family Guide To Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy and Drug Free.

Similarly, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides one Web page that acts as a one-stop shop for child mental health-related information. It includes links to resources dealing with various mental disorders that affect children and adolescents, mental health medications for children, and articles on coping with traumatic life events.

And, if you’re searching for children’s mental health resources and support in your area, simply google “children’s mental health [your state]“ – this may seem like no-brainer advice, but because of the number of state-specific children’s mental health organizations I ran into during my research, I felt I should pass it along.

Do you have any other resources for children’s mental health information and support? Feel free to share in the comments! And don’t forget to check out Kids Health Notes and Autism Vox for more children and/or mental health related information!

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

Resources & Support For Children’s Mental Health Week