David Susman

I Found a Way to Forgive Myself

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Cindy Kolbe This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked advocate and writer Cindy Kolbe about her history of mental health challenges 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? CK: When I turned thirty, I …

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The Top Reasons Why People Don’t Receive Needed Mental Health Services

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I’ve written several times about the important issue of the need for affordable and effective treatment for mental health issues. I’ve also thoroughly discussed several of the main reasons why large numbers of people get little or no treatment for mental illnesses. Two of my most popular posts on this topic are “8 Reasons Why People Don’t Get Treatment for Mental Illness” and the follow-up piece on “Overcoming the 8 Reasons…” Since it’s been a while since I last visited this topic, …

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You’re Worthy of All the Goodness Life Offers

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Krista Pfeiffer This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate Krista Pfeiffer about her history of mental health challenges 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? KP: The birth of …

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13 Healthy Ways to Unplug from Technology

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OK, so we’re all obsessed with technology. Everywhere you turn, we are all constantly buried in our phones, laptops, tablets, headphones and other tech gear. How much time have you spent today on your phone, on a computer, or watching TV? Chances are you don’t really know the answer, but you and I both know it’s a lot. I recently tried an app which tracks the amount of time you spend on your phone, and I was horrified to see …

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Interview on ‘Go Friend Your Self with Dr. Baker’ Podcast

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I recently had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Dr. Baker for her “Go Friend Your Self” podcast. First, I’ll introduce Dr. Baker and the podcast, then I’ll give a brief preview of our interview. Finally, I’ll provide a link to the podcast interview at the end of this post. The “Go Friend Your Self” podcast describes itself in this way: “From worst critic to best friend, join a community of individuals who transform their lives by changing the …

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You Have the Right to Love Yourself

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Hannah Blum This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked mental health advocate and media specialist Hannah Blum about her history of mental health challenges 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 and those around you before you sought treatment? …

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Finding Quality Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

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If you or a friend or loved one is in need of treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, often one of the biggest challenges is finding an accessible and affordable program that provides high quality treatment services. Recently, SAMHSA (the US Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) published a guideline to help people more easily connect with good substance use treatment programs. The guideline is called “Finding Quality Treatment for Substance Use Disorders.” Let’s do a quick review and see …

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Throwing Up Rainbows

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Z Zoccolante This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked advocate and aspiring therapist Z Zoccolante about her history of mental health challenges 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? ZZ: My background is 11 ½ years with …

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