By: Jorge Arredondo Meza Have you heard of CBD recently? CBD is the acronym given to the plant molecule “cannabidiol.” The naturally occurring plant chemical was recently legalized through the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 [1]. CBD molecules are naturally made by our bodies when we are feeling happy, relaxed, and secure. The CBD system…
Understanding “Miscarriages” & How to Recover: Part Two
By Denise Padilla de Font In part one of this blog post, I discussed the complexities of processing and recovering from a miscarriage. Here, I’ll share more on the emotional process that comes after miscarriage, as well as some less common ways to cope. In part one, I also discussed how the word “miscarriage” is…
Understanding “Miscarriages” & How to Recover: Part One
By Denise Padilla de Font Being a therapist didn’t spare me from the effect that recurring miscarriages had on my mental health. I had plenty of moments I thought I’d never be whole again, days and nights feeling humbled to the core, weeping, cursing everything I thought I believed in. There was no roadmap for…
The Real Failure of “13 Reasons Why”
by Beth Shulman, MS, LPC, NCC We all know that images are powerful. That’s why the creators of “13 Reasons Why” originally included a graphic suicide scene in the first season of the show. Their hope was that the explicit details of a teen’s suicide would illustrate the horror of the act, and thus dissuade…
Being Non-Binary: Finding My Authentic Self
By: Jorge Arredondo Meza In our society, most people, including some transgender people, have a preferred gender. When such a society only recognizes and legitimizes two genders, you end up with a hard case of gender binary. A binary, meaning composed of two parts, because people assume that only one masculine and one feminine gender…
Mental Health Stigma & What To Do About It
by Anna Yoni Jeffries When many people hear the words “mental health,” they think of a “crazed” individual who is unfit to live amongst others socially. Characters with mental illnesses are often sensationalized in the media and in fictional stories, exacerbating the stigma that already exists. The recent popular horror film Midsommar, for example, has…
Mood Food: The Family Table
by Ellen Minier (aka: ChefNurse) Consistent family time is something that may seem difficult to achieve given the hectic schedules of the average American family, but there is a simple way to come together with proven positive impact on the mental wellness of the entire family. Eating together may seem like a small step to…
Strength Training for Mental Health
by Jorge Arredondo Meza When most of us hear about strength training or weight lifting, a certain stereotype creeps into our minds that can make the experience a bit off-putting. That just goes to show how harmful stereotypes can be, not just for those that are stereotyped, but for those that hear them. I hope…
Women’s Mental Health Concerns are Often Dismissed: Here’s What to Do About It
by Nia Spencer As a woman, I find that my mental health concerns often get brushed off or dismissed by professionals. Studies show that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, and although hormonal changes alone cannot account for depression, women’s mental health concerns are nonetheless frequently dismissed as merely hormonal. Dr.…
The Words We Use – The Evolution of Mental Health Language
by Ari Borhanian Warning: This blog post uses some dated psychological terms for educational reasons. Language is a fluid thing, and new words are being created and adapted all the time. Words we used to consider everyday and normal are sometimes replaced, whether it’s due to a change in societal standards or just a desire…
My Experiences with Suicidal Thoughts and How I’ve Worked Through Them
by Anonymous Suicide is a very, very serious topic. It’s all too common, too, being the sole cause for the death for around one million people each year.(1) That isn’t even counting the people who attempted, or the people who have thought about attempting, This is a depressing topic, but it’s an important one for…
The Psychology of Suicide
by Andy Greene Those who have known someone who has taken their own life will always ask themselves this question: “Why? Why did they do it?” This question often leads to a whirlwind of negative thinking patterns, and sometimes people can even come to blame themselves. For this reason, it is important to learn the…