With the recent death of Sylvia Plath’s son, the question of inherited suicide has been once again raised in the news. A recent article at CNN says that a “first-degree relative — a parent, sibling or child — of a person who has committed suicide is four to six times more likely to attempt or complete a suicide” themselves.
One reason for this could have to do with thinning of the right cortex of the brain. This thinning could be one reason why certain people are able to adapt more easily to emotional events than others. It’s also …read more

There isn’t a poet around who doesn’t know the story of Sylvia Plath. Known for deeply moving poetry that provides a woman’s perspective, Plath had an emotional life and marriage with fellow poet Ted Hughes. In 1963, she put her head in a gas oven and took her own life. Her small children slept in the next room.

Now her son Nicholas Hughes, just 47-years old, has also taken his own life. Hughes was single and had no children of his own. He had recently left his job as a marine biologist to open a pottery …read more

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.
In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some celebrities who have either reportedly attempted suicide, or who have completed suicide.
Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness, nor am I an authority on celebrities who have committed suicide. For a celebrity to be on this list, he or she or a spouse or reliable family …read more

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.
In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some famous writers and artists who have a mental illness – or had, in the case of the deceased. I’ve covered several music artists throughout the series, so I think I’ll keep this post to writers and artists who were painters, sculptors, etc.
Unless I find one that interests me – say, a historical …read more

Not only is April Cancer Control Month, but it’s also National Poetry Month!
As a writer, I can’t pass up the opportunity to share with you a list of poets with mental illness. These are just a few of the men and women who lived with mental illness and still managed to do what they loved – write poetry! (Of course, some would argue their mental health is what made the writers so talented, or that their careers as writers helped lead to their mental illness, but, that’s a completely different conversation altogether.)
Recognize any of these names?
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Bright star, would I were …read more