Building Mental and Emotional Health

HelpGuide.org updated an article in December 2016 that describes how to improve life by increasing mental, emotional, and social well-being.

The article describes six keys to building mental and emotional health and addresses the following:

• How does mental, emotional, and social health affect our lives?
• The role of resilience in mental and emotional health
• Overcoming obstacles to mental and emotional health
• Why are we often reluctant or unable to address our mental health needs?
• Risk factors for mental and emotional problems
• When to seek professional help

The article, written by by Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., also provides a number of resources and references.

See: Building Mental and Emotional Health at HelpGuide.org

Standing Up for America’s Mental Health

The U.S. Congress is debating the future of mental health care right now (January 2017). If there is one thing we know, they need to hear from constituents.

Ask your members of Congress to ensure continued insurance safeguards and Medicaid coverage that help people with mental illness get the treatment they need.

The 114th Congress passed important mental health reforms as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to address the mental health crisis in our nation. This brings hope to the 60 million Americans living with mental illness, but these reforms are in peril if mental health coverage is not preserved.

The Affordable Care Act includes provisions that improve coverage for mental health care and promote independence and self-sufficiency for people who live with mental health conditions. With fair and equal mental health coverage, more Americans are getting treatment when they need it, helping them to stay in school, on the job and in recovery.

Ask Congress to protect access to affordable, quality mental health care.

Standing Up for America's Mental Health

For more information, see “What’s At Stake” – How the Affordable Care Act helps Americans with mental illness and why it matters, by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

What is BFD? Borderline Personality Disorder

What is BFD? Borderline Personality Disorder

BPD – Borderline Personality Disorder – is considered a treatable medical disorder characterized by a persistent instability of emotions, behaviors, and/or relationships.

See this 90-second video by the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center at Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital:

For more information: Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center

App Suite for Treatment of Depression and Anxiety

The Journal of Medical Internet Research is publishing a paper by David C Mohr, PhD of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs) in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, “IntelliCare: An Eclectic, Skills-Based App Suite for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety.”

Mohr writes:

“We developed a suite of apps for depression and anxiety called IntelliCare, each developed with a focused goal and interactional style. IntelliCare apps prioritize interactive skills training over education and are designed for frequent but short interactions.

The overall objective of this study was to pilot a coach-assisted version of IntelliCare and evaluate its use and efficacy at reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.”

See: http://www.jmir.org/2017/1/e10/

App for Emotional Wellness Everyday

Stop, Breathe, and Think is an app (for iOS, Android, Web) designed to enhance awareness of one’s emotional health.

The developer writes, “With this app, you can develop and apply kindness and compassion in your daily life through a process called STOP, BREATHE & THINK… We believe that taking a few minutes each day to feel the calm is as important as regular exercise. If we can help more of you regularly find peace of mind, we’re doing our part to help make the world a better place.”

See the website: StopBreatheThink.org

See an interview with co-founders Julie Campistron and Jamie Price.

StopBreatheThink.org

“Change A Mind And Change A Life”

A new web site, BringChange2Mind.org, reports “1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind.”

You’re invited to share your story, learn the facts, get help, be involved, and get in contact.

The Home page includes a number of videos, including features with Ron Howard, Glenn Close (and her sister, Jessie), Brigadier General Loree Sutton, and others.

Glenn and Jessie Close will talk about Bring Change 2 Mind on Good Morning America and The View (both ABC) and Dr. Nancy (MSNBC) today, Wednesday, October 21, 2009.

BringChange2Mind.org is a not-for-profit organization created by Glenn Close, the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF), Fountain House, and Garen and Shari Staglin of IMHRO (International Mental Health Research Organization).

The idea of a national anti-stigma campaign was born of a partnership between Glenn Close and Fountain House, where Glenn volunteered in order to learn about mental illness.

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New MTV Series to Focus on Mental Illness

The producers of MTV’s True Life, a respected documentary series, are developing a new documentary series that focuses specifically on young adults living with mental illness.

Producers are looking for 18- to 25-year-olds living in the continental U.S. who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and are willing to share their personal experiences with a television audience.

MTV expects to start filming this fall and a camera crew would follow participants going about their daily life over the course of two to three months.

Participants should be comfortable sharing the ups and down of living with their illness, including the effect the illness has had on their relationships with family and friends, side effects from medications, therapy and other ways to manage their illness and challenges they take on in their academic and/or professional lives.

If you would like to be considered, please send your name, phone number, and a brief description of your experiences (250 words or less) to MTV via e-mail to <mentalillness@mtvn.com>.

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American Psychiatric Association Endorses ‘Public Option’

On September 18, 2009, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), whose membership includes more than 38,000 physicians, announced that its Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, as the basis for health reform.  In doing so, the APA said it was “pleased to stand with the American Medical Association.”

The APA Board of Trustees also voted to support the concept of a public plan option based upon the voluntary participation of physicians and other healthcare professionals in the ongoing dialogue of health care reform.

Download the announcement: APA_Endorses_HR3200_091809.pdf (37K)

APA Chief Executive Officer Norman B. Anderson, PhD, sent letters to Congress in June and July that noted, if passed, the health reform legislation would improve “access to affordable, quality health care for our nation, most notably for the 47 million individuals who are currently uninsured.”

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National Depression Screening Day

Thursday, October 8, 2009 is National Depression Screening Day.

“Whether for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or depression, health screenings provide a quick and easy way to spot the first signs of serious illness and can reach people who might not otherwise seek professional medical advice.

Clinical depression is a common medical illness affecting more than 19 million american adults each year. Like screenings for other illnesses, depression screenings should be a routine part of healthcare.”

Original Source: MentalHealthAmerica.net/go/depression-screening-day

Online Depression Screening – Data And Statistics: https://mhanational.org/research/online-depression-screening-data-and-statistics/

Over 1,000 sites across the country are offering free, anonymous mental health screenings as part of this national awareness program.

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH) is the non-profit organization that first introduced the concept of large-scale mental health screenings with its flagship program National Depression Screening Day in 1991.

Another “free, confidential depression-screening test”: depression-screening.org

The depression-screening.org web site is sponsored by the Mental Health America as part of the Campaign for America’s Mental Health.

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Mental Illness Awareness Week – Minds on the Edge

Today is the start of Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 4-10) which highlights efforts to promote public education and eliminate stigma.

Beginning this week and continuing throughout the month of October, many PBS television stations will broadcast MINDS ON THE EDGE: Facing Mental Illness.

MINDS ON THE EDGE is a multi-platform media project that explores severe mental illness in America.  The goal is to advance consensus about how to improve the kinds of support and treatment available for people with mental illness.

MINDS ON THE EDGE connects the dots between personal dilemmas facing individuals and families who are living with mental illness, medical practices that can be obstacles to treatment, and public policies that all too often fall short in providing support that could make a positive difference.

Web Site:  MindsOnTheEdge.org

TV Schedule: MindsOnTheEdge.org/listing/

Video Clips: MindsOnTheEdge.org/watch/

Take Part: MindsOnTheEdge.org/takepart/

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