David Susman

It All Starts with Love and Listening

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Rebecca Schaper This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate, filmmaker and author Rebecca Schaper about her family’s mental health journey and her chronicle of their journey in her documentary and book. Here’s our interview: DS: You’ve done both a documentary (“A Sister’s Call”) and a companion book (“The Light in His Soul: Lessons From My Brother’s Schizophrenia) about your …

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How to Express Your Mental Health Advocacy (part 2: fully dressed)

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So you want to be a mental health advocate. You’re well informed about the issues. You have a passion to make a difference. You want your voice to be heard. You’re ready to take action. Now what? How can you express your mental health advocacy? There are many, many options. If this intro sounds strangely familiar, it should. In a recent post, I covered several ways to get your advocacy groove on while still at home and comfy in your …

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Your Life Awaits You

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Stephanie Anne Allen This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate Stephanie Anne Allen about her mental health journey and her current advocacy activities. 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 before you sought treatment? SA: I was first diagnosed …

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How to Express Your Mental Health Advocacy (part 1: while in your jammies)

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So you want to be a mental health advocate. You’re well informed about the issues. You have a passion to make a difference. You want your voice to be heard. You’re ready to take action. Now what? How can you express your mental health advocacy? There are many, many options. There’s even a lot you can do from your couch at home while you’re still in your pajamas. Or there are other options that might require you to be fully dressed …

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Accept Who We Are in This Moment

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Mike Stroh This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate and graduate student Mike Stroh about his mental health journey and his current advocacy activities. 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 before you sought treatment? MS: I …

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10 Ways to Help Your Therapist Help You More

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You may already know that I’m a big fan of psychotherapy to treat mental health concerns and other personal and emotional challenges. In previous posts, I’ve discussed various aspects of the therapy process, including “How to Find a Good Psychotherapist,”“Psychotherapy Works!,”“20 Life-Changing Benefits of Psychotherapy,” and “10 Things You May Not Know About Your Therapist.” Now, let’s talk about some simple but important things you can do to help your therapist. Help your therapist? That’s right. By being more in …

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I Have So Much to Live For

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Julia Stabler This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate and stylist Julia Stabler (pictured with her niece) about her mental health journey and her current activities. 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 before you sought treatment? …

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How To Publicly Share Your Mental Health Story

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In two recent posts, we talked about the “Honest, Open, Proud” program, which describes a process for deciding whether to disclose your mental illness to others. In the first post, “Should You Disclose Your Mental Illness?”, I reviewed lesson one, which helps you thoroughly consider the pros and cons of sharing your story. In the second post, “How to Begin to Disclose Your Mental Illness,” I went on to review lesson two from the program, which covers several different ways to disclose …

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