[…] has the potential to be part of a wider core curriculum. As a former coach, I would love to see classes in mental wellness and training in suicide prevention become common and required coursework in the way that physical education has been for over a century. This could include broader range of psychology courses […]
[…] my two children (who were with their father) and my two best friends. I cried so hard, writing those letters. I have lost a loved one to suicide, so I knew, as I wrote them, exactly how my loved ones would feel once I was gone. In the moment, I was willing to inflict […]
[…] mental health emergency deserve quick access to effective mental health care — just as people expect when experiencing physical health emergencies. In 2020, Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, creating 988 as the nationwide number for suicide prevention and mental health crisis response. This number will be available in every community beginning […]
[…] hallucinations. In the decade since that diagnosis, I’ve spent my time trying to get well. It has been an unpredictable journey, with plenty of setbacks. Hospitalizations. Suicide attempts. Medication changes. Psychotic episodes. Sexual assault. Therapists. Doctors. Electroconvulsive shock therapy. Chronic illness. Life. For each of these setbacks, I’ve also made progress in my […]
[…] in my family suffered from mental health issues, and I didn’t hear any conversation about it in the parenting or school community. In the months before Nick’s suicide attempt, our relationship had deteriorated. He’d said I was a bad mother; evidently, I had never loved and cared for him. I was selfish and self-centered. […]
[…] from his command and forced to medically retire from the career he loved. Shame, guilt and depression overcame him. It crushed him. I stopped him from two suicide attempts — something I never thought my strong husband would even contemplate, let alone try. He Kept Talking Me Out of Getting Him Help Both times […]
[…] severe mental illness. Other arrangements should be made to keep you safe if you must take a break in your medication regimen. A few weeks after my suicide attempt, I had to undergo a sleep study, with yet another set of instructions to not take any medication before it. I called the office and […]
[…] Ripple of Hope from My Hometown Something shifted when I stumbled upon a news story about high school kids opening up the mental health conversation and fighting suicide. The link I just happened to click on led me straight back to my hometown of Danville, Pa. The daughter of a friend of mine, Lauryn […]
[…] psychological distress, which has proven to interfere with academic and social functioning. In 2020, one in six high school students in the state reported that they considered suicide in the past year. These numbers are alarming for many reasons, including the fact that far too many students and school staff don’t have access to […]
[…] has been 25 years and my sister has never gotten clean. My Mental Health Journey The family curse took its toll on me as well. I attempted suicide several times, and eventually, when I hit my teen years, I was institutionalized from the severe trauma I’d internalized. Sadly, treatment also exposed me to others’ […]
NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “helpline” to 62640, or chat online. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).
