Month: June 2015

7 Points of Hope to Reclaim Your Life from Mental Illness

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If you or someone you care about has been affected by mental health concerns, trauma, mental illness, or addiction: …you may feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and exhausted. …you may not fully understand what you are going through. …you may think life is unfair or that you are being punished. …you may believe it’s all your fault or blame someone else for your difficulties. …you may withdraw from others and keep your struggles a secret. …you may be afraid or ashamed to …

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Take the Advocacy Aptitude Quiz

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What do Martin Luther King, Jr., Bill and Melinda Gates, Susan B. Anthony, and Rosalynn Carter all have in common? They are all known for their outstanding advocacy, in the areas of civil rights (King), world hunger and poverty (Gates), women’s rights (Anthony), and mental health (Carter). Although these famous icons have helped bring about positive change on a national or global scale, all of us can be effective advocates for many different causes to improve society and the human …

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8 Reasons Why People Don’t Get Treatment for Mental Illness

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It’s probably no big surprise that many people with mental health issues don’t readily seek treatment for their concerns. But how widespread is this pattern? A report by the World Health Organization reviewed rates of psychiatric treatment usage across 37 research studies. The findings are unbelievable. Between 30 and 80 percent of people with mental health concerns never receive treatment. From this analysis, the average non-treatment rates for specific disorders were: schizophrenia (32%), bipolar disorder (50%), panic disorder (55%), major …

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Deciphering Your DSM Diagnosis

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If you’ve ever heard the terms “OCD,” “PTSD,” or “ADHD,” you probably know they’re all abbreviations for mental health diagnoses. Respectively, they stand for “obsessive-compulsive disorder,” “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.” No wonder we tend to use the abbreviations since the complete descriptions are quite a mouthful. These diagnostic terms (and over two hundred others!) are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision, better known as the “DSM-5-TR,” but often referred …

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