NAMI Blog

A lot of apps claim they can help us with our mental health. However, there have been many questions about the extent to which these apps can actually help. Researcher, technology expert and psychiatrist, Dr. Torous explains the positive and negative aspects of these apps. 

For someone seeking care for trauma, experiential, body-focused methods can be more helpful than traditional talk therapies. 

After going through four years of therapy, here are Laurie's tips for getting the most our of your mental health care. 

"Mental health advocates have long recognized what we're fighting is beyond stigma. It is discrimination. This fear was why I hid my diagnosis all these years."

"If I was feeling anxious, socially or otherwise, if I was feeling depressed, if I wanted an escape from reality or if I didn’t want to feel anything—I would self-medicate my symptoms with substances."

"We must break down the silos that separate physical and mental health, because everything is connected: Physical symptoms affect a person’s mental health, and a mental health diagnosis may increase the risk for physical health-related issues."

"Three months after my hospitalizations, I got my overdue six-month review. The director cataloged every mistake I ever made so that my four-page evaluation read like an attack. I was demoted, pushed to the back of the office and stripped of my previous responsibilities."

"The principal said that something had to be done about my son because 'he’s simply too dangerous and needs to be put in another environment.' My son was six years old at the time."

"They arranged a mandatory emergency staff meeting where they informed my colleagues that they felt I might be a violent threat to the office. They even had a picture of me placed at the front desk in the entrance of the building."

"Many times, I asked the police why they approached him. I was often told someone reported him as a 'suspicious person' lingering too long in one spot or that his appearance made some people uncomfortable, despite being in public spaces."