I grew up in an inner-city community in San Diego, California, called “Southeast.” This area has always been known for crime, drugs and — m...
It is through my own experience with loud sound as the most healing salve I have ever known that I recognize how deeply many of us want to feel better.
Finding Treatment and Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Depression
The Reality of “High Functioning” Depression
Power of Connection: Co-facilitating a NAMI Support Group
Developing Strategies and Finding Community: My Experience in Support Groups
Neuroplasticity III: Trusting Myself after Psychosis & Jail
Parenting after Receiving a Schizophrenia Diagnosis
My Journey to Accepting My Dissociative Identity Disorder
Hearing Voices and Turning Them Off Through Meditation
Celebrating My Daughter’s Life and Schizophrenia Recovery
Becoming Who I was Before Schizophrenia — Or Should I?
A Cultural Experience of Recovery
Navigating Trauma as a Refugee
From Professional Athlete to Mental Health Advocate
Navigating Early Recovery from Schizophrenia
Discovering Self-Love and Acceptance after Tragedy and Mental Illness
Transcending the Self-Stigma From my Youth
My Fight for Recovery
Separating My Identity From a Schizophrenia Diagnosis
What I’ve Learned on My Mental Health Journey
What It’s Like to Live with an OCD Monster
It’s Not the Hormones: Reflections on a Teenage Girl’s Traumatic Crisis
More than a Patient: Using a Recovery-Based Approach
Engaging Your Community in the Mental Health Conversation
Physical and Mental Illness in Children: Both Need to Be Taken Seriously
Children Should Not Have to Be Resilient
Embracing Physical Touch and Meditation for Emotional Well-Being
How I Cope with Agoraphobia
My Battle with Skin Picking
The Power and Value of Insight
My Schizophrenia Checklist
Facing the Aftermath of Abuse: My Ongoing Journey Towards Healing
How Faith, Family and a Comedy Career Helped My Recovery
Why I’m Not Making Any New Year’s Resolutions
Hanging On the Edge: Rock Climbing and the Therapeutic Relationship
How I Stay Above Water
How The Pandemic Helped Me Build a Stronger Self
Three Questions to Ask a Prospective Therapist
How Fandom Conventions Allow Me to Be My True Self
My Journey into Postpartum Bipolar and Back Again
Living with Both DID and Schizophrenia
How We Can Improve our Approach to Treating Psychosis
How to Help Yourself and Others with Suicidal Ideation
Finding Connection: Helping Child Sexual Abuse Survivors in Marginalized Communities
Emotional Recovery from Psychosis: Trusting and Believing in Yourself Again
Thoughts on The Pandemic, Trust Issues and Trauma Survivors
Expressive Arts Therapy: A Sensory Approach to Trauma Healing
Managing Mental Illness and Parenthood
Breaking Through Family Trauma: Finding Healing and Forgiveness
Navigating Secondary PTSD: Surviving the War That Came Home
What It’s Like to Inherit Trauma
What I Want my Neighbors to Know About My Mental Illness
What I Wish I Had Known: We Don’t Have to Wait for a Crisis
5 Truths I Discovered on My Road to Recovery
Lessons Learned: Embracing Treatment and Finding Acceptance
What I Wish I Had Known on My 20-Year Mental Health Journey
Observing 27 Years with OCD
What I Wish I'd Known About Caregiving: 7 Tips To Navigate Mental Health Challenges in Your Family
How Law Enforcement Perpetuated My Son’s Trauma During a Mental Health Crisis
The Power of Peers: Mutual Inspiration
Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts
From Hopelessness to Empowerment: My Ingredients to Recovery
Understanding and Coping with My Delusions
Walking on a Tight Rope: Coping with Depression
Enduring a Schizophrenia Relapse
My Battle with Bipolar Disorder
Surviving to Thriving: Coping with Dissociative Identity Disorder
What to Expect During an Inpatient Stay
Grieving the Life I Thought I’d Live
Approaching Mental Health Care with a Trauma-Informed Perspective
Managing Depression as an Asian American
I Am Allowed: Healing My Childhood Trauma and Accepting My Feelings
The Story of an Adolescence, Interrupted
Three Ways Traumatic Stress Presents and How to Manage It
Knowing and Managing My Triggers
Understanding The Early Warning Signs of Mental Illness
Warning Signs and Possible Causes of a Bipolar Episode
Life with High-Functioning Depression: Functional Does Not Always Mean Healthy
Early Intervention Could Have Changed My Life
The Consequences of Stigma Surrounding Schizophrenia
No Illness, Mental or Physical, is Shameful
Developing Effective Anti-Stigma Interventions
Fighting Internalized Stigma and Changing My Attitude
Erasing Mental Health Stigma in the Black Community
Three Lessons I Learned from a Decade in Therapy
Exploring My Own Healing as an Expressive Arts Therapist
What Mental Health Care Can Learn from Dental Health Care Strategies
Building a Recovery-Oriented System of Care
How Time Line Therapy Has Helped Me
Every First Responder Deserves Solace
Navigating Depression and Psychosis: The Experience We Rarely Talk About
Derealization: The Symptom That Makes the World Feel Unreal
Changing the Conversation about Eating Disorders
Understanding and Managing Psychosis
Navigating My Relationship and Hypergraphia
Boredom as a Symptom
Recognizing the Lesser-Known Symptoms of Depression
When Trauma Is Triggered at Work
How Volunteering Improves Mental Health
How Music Shaped My Mental Health Journey
How Walking Has Helped Me with My PTSD Recovery
Why Mourning for the Self Is a Necessary Part of Healing
The Importance of Finding Acceptance on My Mental Health Journey
From Pain to Pride: How Writing My Story Helped Heal My Trauma
Adopting a Cat Helped Me Find Recovery
Understanding Mental Illness Triggers
Taking the Leap of Faith to Healthy Self-Esteem
Finding Reality Through Cartooning
How Finding NAMI Was Pivotal to My Recovery
How to Prepare for Your Psychiatric Appointment
Learning to Identify and Self-Manage Mania
What I Learned from Experiencing Postpartum OCD and Depression
Listening to the Whispers of Mental Illness Before They Turn into Shouts
Weaving the Threads of Healing Through Writing
Medications Are Not the Only Way to Treat Depression
Learning How to Maintain Employment with Bipolar Disorder
Exploring the Connection Between Trauma Healing and Physical Health
How Mindfulness Helped Me Cope with My Husband’s Suicide
Bipolar Depression: The Lows We Don’t Talk About Enough
How Kate Spade’s Suicide Opened My Eyes to the Impact of Stigma
Finding My Way Back from Suicidal Thoughts
Asking for and Accepting Help Saved Me
How I Founded The Company I Needed During My Journey with OCD
Veterans’ Mental Health Myths That Should Be Dispelled
The Truth About Dissociative Identity Disorder
6 Things I Know Are True: My Journey with Mental Illness
Serious Mental Illness Recovery: The Basics
I Am in Charge of My Treatment Plan
Navigating My Relationship with Religion While Living with Mental Illness
Finding my Voice in Therapy as a South Asian
Fighting Gender-Based Harassment and Depression
Accepting My Sexuality in Eating Disorder Recovery
Finding Myself in the Main Character of “Prozac Nation”
Learning My Warning Signs Through Each Stage of My Life
How to Predict Your Next Bipolar Episode
Building an Early Warning Sign System
Tips for Running a Peer Support Group Online
Myths and Facts of Bipolar Disorder
Celebrating My 20-Year Recovery Journey
Let My Journey with BPD Be Your Guide (Not Your Blueprint)
The Importance of Explaining Our Lived Experience
How Biking Helped My PTSD
The Power of Delusion
Lived Experience Matters: Coming Out and Sharing
The Pain of Not Seeking Help for My PTSD
How Understanding My OCD Helped Me Manage It
Schizophrenia Does Not Have Me
Zoomed: My Experience with Online Group Therapy
What Is Mental Health Probation?
Neuroplasticity II: Recovery After Jail
Neuroplasticity: How I Survived Psychosis and Jail
Overcoming Low Self-Worth with Anxiety, Depression and ADHD
Recovery Begins with a Decision
The Many Impacts of Self-Stigma
What Black History Month Means to Me
Six Self-Care Tips on Overcoming Abuse-Related Trauma
A New Tool to Help Plan for Crises
Grounding Schizophrenia Through Tai Chi
Reframing Mental Health Labels
Healing from Heartbreak with BPD
A Letter to Those Struggling with Mental Illness
Why I Embrace 12-Step Principles as a Therapist
The Use of Language and Imagery as a Tool for Managing Anxiety
My Routine Is Both a Blessing and the Bane of My Existence
My 1,400 Pound Image of Recovery
7 Tools for Managing Traumatic Stress
What People with Mental Illness Want You to Know
The Importance of Accepting Help
Making the Most of a Psych Ward Stay: Strategies from a Psychiatric Nurse
My Faith Saved Me
Embracing the Diversity Within Us
Living with Trichotillomania: A User’s Guide to Saving Your Eyebrows
Addressing Emotions with Mental Illness
When Schizophrenia Took Over My Life
Is This Recovery?
Two Antidotes to Stigma
How I Recognize My Early Warning Signs of Mania
Coping with Schizoaffective Disorder
Learning to Take Care of Myself
How to Move Forward After Going Through a Crisis
5 Reminders for Survivors of Trauma
Using Humor as a Coping Tool
A Blueprint to Healing From Depersonalization
I Can’t Cure My Mental Illness, But I Can Make Progress
Things to Know About Living Well in 2020
6 Ways You Can Help a Loved One on Their Healing Journey
Sobriety is Not Boring
How Hiking Helps My Depression
Talking Back to Scary Thoughts
What I Wish Others Hadn’t Said After My Hospitalization
People with Mental Illness Can Work
The Messy Truth About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
The Importance of Self-Compassion in the Aftermath of Suicide
Turning Suicidal Ideation into Hope
I’m Still Here
To the Moon and Back
My OCD Confession
Study Shows NAMI Homefront Helps Veteran Family Members
4 Ways to Love Yourself as a Black Woman with Mental Illness
Balancing Expectations with Mental Health
Experiencing a Psychotic Break Doesn’t Mean You’re Broken
Responding to Bipolar Psychotic Symptoms
What Kept Me Going After My Episode
My Reality During A Psychotic Episode
Finding My Purpose After Psychosis
Living Extraordinary Alones
What Happens When Celebrities Speak Out
Making a Major Life Change for Your Mental Health
The Key to Finding the Best Help
Therapy Concepts Everyone Needs to Know
Shared Decision-making: Getting a Say in Your Care
CBT for Psychosis: Approaches Families Can Use
Different Types of Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
The Power of Emotion Education
Finding the Best Psychiatrist for You
The Treatment of Choice for Trauma
Four Lessons From Four Years of Therapy
When A New Job Became My Worst Nightmare
But I was a Victim, Right?
Millennials and Mental Health
Anxiety, the Sneaky Symptom
Maintaining Healthy Friendships with Mental Illness
Being a Parent When You Have Anxiety
Self-Help Techniques for Coping with Mental Illness
How to Use Journaling as a Coping Tool
Coping with Mental Illness: What Not to Do
Conquering Each Day with Dissociative Identity Disorder
How I Cope with Health Anxiety
Learning to Find My Identity with Bipolar Disorder
8 Ways to Deal with Depression During the Gloomy Days of Winter
5 New Year’s Resolutions for Depression
For those Who Find the Holidays Triggering
A Parent’s Guide to Mental Health for College Students
Realizing the Impact of Mental Illness on My Family
The Stages of My Mental Illness
Overcoming Barriers to Recovery
Moving Beyond the Shame Fog
The Power to Create Change Comes from Within
When Stigma Prevented Me from Getting Help
Overcoming Stigma
Rural Mental Health Work: One Therapist’s Journey
An Ode to Schizophrenia
Raising Children with Mental Illness
5 Strategies to Use When People Do Not Understand Mental Illness
Suicide is Not the Answer
Addressing Male Suicide
It Begins, Life Without My Son
My Pastor is My Hero
The Keys to Peer Support
The NAMI Man of New Orleans
Peer Support: Helping Others, Healing Yourself
An Open Letter to the Friend Who’s Always Been There
Spreading Hope Through Peer Support
Changing the Conversation About Suicide in the Black Community
How Being an Iranian Immigrant Affected My Mental Health
Getting Involved with Minority Mental Health
Opioids and Substance Abuse: What Can We Do?
Treating Depression When Medication Doesn’t Work
5 Ways I Help Myself When My Job is to Help Others
You Can Be Prepared for Crises
Combating Loneliness with EASE
Early Psychosis Programs Are Changing Lives—But What if You Can’t Find One?
A Therapist’s Journey: Learning the Art of Self-Soothing
You Can’t Plan for Mental Illness
I Found My Purpose
Are You a Chronic Self-Abandoner?
The Double Standard of Mental Illness
Anxiety, My Companion
How I Healed Myself of Shame
My First Voice
Showing Strength in the Face of Mental Illness
My Recovery Started At Breakfast
Building Bonds Behind Bars with NAMI Peer-to-Peer
You Can’t “Pray Away” a Mental Health Condition
Mental Health Conditions are Legitimate Health Conditions
Substance Use Carries Mental Health Risks—Yes, Even Marijuana
5 Myths that Prevent Men from Fighting Depression
A Diagnosis of Mental Illness Need Not End a College Career
Why Some People Harm Themselves
How Depression Made Me a Man
How to Respond to Self-Harm
Understanding Self-Harm
Reshaping My Relationship with Myself
When Your Parents Have Mental Illness: Healing Childhood Trauma
Writing Tips that Can Reduce Symptoms
How Do I Know if My Therapist is Effective?
My Great Wake-Up Call
The Problem with Yelling
Mental Illness: A Common Bond
How Dogs Can Help with Depression
Reviving Herbie the Love Bug to Rival Depression
Depression Doesn’t Need an Explanation
Motherhood and Your Mental Health
A Sermon of Truth About Depression
The Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression
Understanding Dysthymia
5 Sleep Tips that Can Help with Depression
The First Step in Getting Mental Health Care
Postpartum Depression: Ways to Cope and Heal
Let’s Talk About Depression
The Pathway to Peace of Mind
Finding Wellness After Illness
The Top Three Musicals About Mental Health
Strategies for Living and Working Well with ADHD
Pawing for Recovery
The Best Movies About Mental Health
Managing Your Mental Health During the Holidays
Hope is Within Reach
Translating Lived Experience into a Compelling Novel
Keys to Managing Schizophrenia
Sharing My Mental Health Journey on Stage
Learning to Change in Order to Heal
Why Supporting NAMI is Part of My Mental Health Self-Care
How to Encourage Someone to See a Therapist
Living With Suicide Loss
Caregivers: When to Push and When to Show Extra Compassion
PTSD and Trauma: Not Just for Veterans
Telehealth: Transforming Child Mental Health Care
The Reality of Stigma
Tricks to Enjoy Halloween Treats While in Recovery
Integrated Treatment for Mental Illness and Substance Use
Stigma Affects Everyone, Even Doctors
Can Stigma Prevent Employment?
Don’t Give Up Fighting
What It’s Really Like to Be “So OCD”
Outreach and Engagement for Early Psychosis
Life After Survival: Why Cancer Survivors Need Mental Health Care
We Don’t Talk About Grandma
Swimming for Jack
Suicide Prevention as a Social Justice Issue
How Do We Get the Men into Mental Health?
Preventing Suicide: Our First Line of Defense
Mental Health in the Workplace: The Value of Rest
Rules of the Road for Succeeding in College with a Mood Disorder
What You Should Know About Toxic Stress
Work is Recovery
The Strengths and Stigmas of My Culture
Seeking Help When You Need It
There is No Shame: The Power to End Mental Health Stigma Begins with Me
I Remember When Worry Was a Friend
Challenging Multicultural Disparities in Mental Health
Expanding Access to Mental Health Care
My Relationship Isn’t Doomed Because of My Mental Illness
The Stigma Associated with Borderline Personality Disorder
Supporting Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder
Distress Tolerance Techniques to Prevent Self-Harm
A Good Soldier: Surviving My Mother’s Life and Death
Offering Hope for Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder: What’s the Difference?
Treating Borderline Personality Disorder
Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder
An Invisible Illness is Still an Illness
Dear Me, It’s You: I Hear We’ve Been Diagnosed with Bipolar
Delivering on the Hope for Recovery
NAMIWalks Doesn’t Change, But You Do
The Healing Power of NAMIWalks
How You Can Stop Mental Illness Stigma
Depression is an Illness, Not a Weakness
Don’t Get Crushed by Anxiety
Living with Depression: How to Keep Working
Situational Symptoms or Serious Depression: What’s the Difference?
Taking Another Look a Too-Often-Forgotten Treatment for Schizophrenia
Understanding Psychotic Breaks
Mental Health is a Balancing Act
The Art of Recovery: How Medicaid Changed Crystal’s Life
Medicaid Matters: Lifting a Family from Fear to Hope
How Should We Be Treating First-Episode Psychosis?
Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder
Finding Beauty in the Creative Side of Bipolar Disorder
Family Survival Guide
Finding the Right Mental Health Professional for You
Overcoming the Silence of Stigma through Film
Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art
An Answer for Our Toughest Battle of the Day
What I Learned from Carrie Fisher
Strategies of Living Well: Four Secrets in Plain Sight
The Mental Health Benefits of Religion & Spirituality
The Impact of Music Therapy on Mental Health
From One Parent to Another: How to Help Your Child
Love Our Vets: Restoring Hope for Families of Veterans with PTSD
Community Support Builds Better Lives
Five Fingers, Five Reasons: How Knitting Comforted My Mom
Understanding the Challenges Veterans Face
The Power of Pet Therapy
Tell Us How Your Health Insurance is (or isn’t!) Working for You
Living Better through Bibliotherapy
Practicing Mindfulness through Kindness and Compassion
Discovering New Options: Self-Help Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Viewing ADHD with A More Positive Attitude
Time is Ticking on Early Psychosis
NAMI Family-to-Family: Lessons of Forgiveness
When Looking for Happiness, Find Gratitude
Why Self-Esteem Is Important for Mental Health
Riding the Shark: Surviving Crisis/Catastrophe
A Day at the Washington Post
Diversity in Motion: Raising Awareness through Dance
The Role of Ritual
The Surprising Casualty of Violent Tragedies: Police Officer Mental Health
Exercise for Mental Health: 8 Keys to Get and Stay Moving
NAMI Family-to-Family: A Network of Support
How Art Can Help Monitor Bipolar Symptoms
Sometimes All You Need is a Bit of Air
Five Ways to Stay Productive During Depression
Trading Benders for Bending Metal
Can a Book Help Make Recovery Easier?
Find Your Local NAMI