“Laughing Matters is a 30-minute documentary that brings comedians together for an honest look and real conversations about comedy + mental health because when the cost of bringing others joy is your own joy…the cost is too high.”
This is a SoulPancake production in association with Funny Or Die and Alpen Pictures.
If you’re struggling, text HELLO to 741741 or call 1-800-273-8255.
Backline, a new mental health foundation and a collective effort of the music industry, has been formed to raise awareness and provide easy access to mental health resources for performers and professionals in the music industry.
The project will begin as a “referral-based system, where [mental health] professionals will assess visitors’ needs and lead them to appropriate resources. Backline’s goal is to provide a network of on-demand mental health services available at no (or low) cost for industry professionals, with a focus on addressing the unique challenges and stresses of our space.”
In addition to its online space, Backline will also provide a backstage resource for performers at events who may find themselves in distress.
For more information, see: https://backline.care/
At the beginning of this year (2019), officials in New Hampshire released a blueprint for how the state plans to address the mental health crisis for the next decade.
See coverage of the 10-year plan on WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire:
https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-implements-10-year-mental-health-plan/29254050
https://www.wmur.com/article/10-year-mental-health-plan-aims-to-improve-services-in-nh/29251763
View Part 3 of the WMUR Project CommUNITY special, “Shining Light on Mental Health” (12 minutes 37 seconds)
See the transcript for Part 3:
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-3/29255860
View Part 6 of the WMUR Project CommUNITY special, “Shining Light on Mental Health” (3 minutes 4 seconds)
See the transcript for Part 6:
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-6/29255920
View Part 1 (14 minutes 19 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik3_1Fx1luM
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-1/29255928
View Part 2 (7 minutes 46 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aecxSzDH1IM
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-2/29255834
View Part 4 (4 minutes 9 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJQRBFzTDdE
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-4/29255901
View Part 5 (3 minutes 221 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf63vD6DmvM
https://www.wmur.com/article/project-community-shining-light-on-mental-health-part-5/29255909
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the USA, with more than twice as many suicides as homicides.
Do you think there should be a three-digit telephone code for help with suicidal thoughts, just as there’s a three-digit number (911) in the USA for emergencies?
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free service. In 2018, the hotline received 2.2 million calls. Its phone number is 1–800–273–8255. Would more calls be made and more lives saved if the phone number was easier to remember, such as 988?
The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (H.R. 4194) of 2019 is a bipartisan bill in the US Congress that would make 988 the nationwide telephone number for suicidal counseling. The bill has thus far attracted 52 co-sponsors (29 Democrats and 23 Republicans) and now awaits a potential vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Read the text of the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4194/text
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a nonpartisan organization and the largest grassroots mental health organization in the USA.
Although suicide prevention is important throughout the year, NAMI says, “Suicide Prevention Awareness Month provides a dedicated time to come together with collective passion and strength around a difficult topic” and that, “we can all benefit from honest conversations about mental health conditions and suicide.”
If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
If you’re uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can send a text NAMI at 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.
NAMI: https://nami.org
Can what we eat help us to feel happy and protect us from depression? Is it any surprise to learn that research confirms that food affects our emotions and moods, including depression?
Kira M. Newman reports that new research is exploring the connection between the foods we eat and our feelings of depression, anxiety, and happiness.
See the article by Kira M. Newman at Greater Good Science, “What Is the Best Diet for Mental Health?”
Original: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_the_best_diet_for_mental_health
Also: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/best-diet-for-mental-health/
See a research report published by Psychosomatic Medicine, “The Effects of Dietary Improvement on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.”
Food is medicine! Eat for well-being!
Four teenagers in Oregon led a successful, first of its kind, effort in the USA to treat physical and mental health equally by lobbying for a mental health bill that was signed by Oregon’s governor in July. As a result, Oregon schools now allow students to miss classes for mental or behavioral health reasons without penalty.
Read the report by National Public Radio, “Feeling Blue? Oregon Students Allowed To Take ‘Mental Health Days’”
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Oregon residents aged 15 to 34, and the eighth-leading cause among all ages in the state, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
The national suicide rate increased 33 percent from 1999 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each person who experiences depression does so in their own way. In this video, Pete Holmes, most known for his comedy, talks about coping with depression by “witnessing” his thoughts and feelings using a technique he learned from Ram Dass.
Listen to how Pete Holmes describes his experience with depression, anxiety, and negative emotions in this video produced by Big Think. Big Think helps individuals and organizations by catalyzing conversations.
Pete Holmes: https://www.peteholmes.com/
Ram Dass: https://www.ramdass.org/
Big Think: https://bigthink.com/
Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. It provides advice and support to more than 500,000 people and campaigns to improve services, raise awareness, and promote understanding.
Mind’s “Mental Health Awareness at Work” is a 50-minute interactive course designed to help employers to raise awareness of mental health in the workplace. It covers the following topics:
• Introduction to mental health and wellbeing
• Overview of common mental health problems – depression, anxiety and stress
• Stigma and how it impacts on our mental health
• Raising awareness of workplace wellbeing
• Tips on self-care
• Potential triggers of poor mental health in the workplace
• Building resilience
• Supporting others
• Signposts to support and information.
See a Demo: https://www.walkgroveonline.com/Mind/Demo_Version/story_html5.html
Mind’s “eLearning for Managers” includes five modules, each lasting 20 to 30 minutes to be completed at your own pace.
Learn More: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/training-consultancy/e-learning/
The following 2-minute video explores the relationship between pressure, stress, and performance.
Research from Mind reveals that emergency services staff and volunteers are over twice as likely to say their service encouraged them to talk about their mental health as compared to four years ago.
“When you’re living with a mental health problem, or supporting someone who is, having access to the right information – about a condition, treatment options, or practical issues – is vital.” – https://www.mind.org.uk
“Exercise keeps us physically fit, but what about our Emotional Fitness?”
Fika is an app designed in the UK to help students be emotionally fit by developing skills for resilience, coping, active listening, and healthy relationships.
“The world is emotionally out of shape. We all know the benefits of regular physical exercise, but what about the benefits of regular emotional exercise?” said Nick Bennett, founder of the app, on University Mental Health Day.
Bennett says it’s important to shift the mental health narrative from negative to positive. He says our emotional muscles need just as much training as our physical muscles and we need to use positive terminology when addressing these issues.
The belief is that essential emotional skills need exercise and that apps such as Fika can help students address mental health issues before they escalate to substance abuse or self-harm.
As of this writing, Fika is currently in closed trials and not yet available for download. However, interested parties can send e-mail to hello@fika.community.
See the website: https://www.fika.community/
UPDATE: This post about Fika, an app for emotional fitness, has been here since March 31, 2019. Now, five years later, the URL for fika.community results in an error page. We noticed it a couple weeks ago and see it’s still the case.
However, we’ve learned about a different Fika, Asia’s first female-focused AI social and dating app – the #2 dating app in Asia. Yes, AI as in Artificial Intelligence… for real relationships. See FikaConnects.com
“Painful emotions such as regret can be powerful sources of inspiration,” writes Jennifer Taitz in the Smarter Living section of the New York Times on February 7, 2019.
She reports that researchers have found obsessing over regrets has a negative impact on mood and sleep, can increase impulsivity, and increase the risk of binge eating and misusing alcohol.
Taitz writes, “As a clinical psychologist, one of my most important tasks in helping people lead healthy, happy and meaningful lives is to teach them evidence-based strategies to manage their emotions. That includes how to use regrets to motivate them.”
See her article, “6 Steps to Turn Regret Into Self-Improvement”
See her website: https://drjennytaitz.com/
Jennifer Taitz is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of “How to be Single and Happy: Science-Based Strategies for Keeping Your Sanity While Looking for a Soul Mate” and “End Emotional Eating.”