Month: March 2016

Learning a New Way of Living

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Belinda Bennetts This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, author and coach Belinda Bennetts graciously offered to share about her personal mental health challenges and her current activities. Here’s our interview: DS: Tell us about your first awareness of concerns related to your mental health. How did these issues continue to affect you before you sought treatment? BB: From the age of about five I became aware that I was ‘different’ to others. I …

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Anger Management for Voters?

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Guest Blog by Joan Cook, Ph.D. It’s hard not to feel all the anger spilling out at presidential election campaign rallies, particularly from the fans of Donald Trump. As a psychologist who’s spent a lot of her professional life working with combat veterans, I’m very comfortable with intense trauma-related anger. But the causes and effects of sustained anger among voters are less clear to me. Anger is a normal, healthy emotion. It becomes problematic when it is experienced too frequently, …

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Your Life Is Worth Fighting For

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Allison Williford This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked author, blogger and advocate Allison Williford about her own mental health challenges and what’s she up to now. Here’s our interview: DS: Tell us about when you first started becoming aware of concerns related to your mental health. How did these issues continue to affect you and those around you before you sought treatment? AW: I was 16, in …

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How do I Know if I’m Drinking Too Much?

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I’ve worked for many years with people who have concerns about their use of drugs and alcohol. A question that comes up frequently is “How do I know if I’m drinking too much?” Perhaps they have had one hangover too many, or their friends have begun to express concerns about how much they’re drinking. Even worse, they may have been pulled over for driving under the influence or they may have failed to complete important tasks at work or school …

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Don’t Give Up!

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Neesa Sunar This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health peer specialist Neesa Sunar about her personal journey with mental health challenges and about some of her current work in peer support. Here’s our interview: DS: Tell us about when you first started becoming aware of concerns related to your mental health. How did these issues continue to affect you and those around you before you sought …

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