Mental illness is present in everyday life. If you know at least five people, chances are you know someone with a mental health condition, as it affects 1 in 5 American adults. Despite what stigma and stereotypes would have you believe, these people matter —their challeng...
When bp Magazine launched in 2004 at NAMI’s 25 th Anniversary Convention , it was a pioneering publication—the only one of its kind to serve the millions of Americans experiencing bipolar disorder. Thank you to our beloved Carrie Fisher —who agreed to be interv...
Anna struggled to leave her home because of her severe anxiety and depression. Because her psychiatrist’s office was more than an hour away, the stress of commuting often made Anna’s symptoms worse. Anna needed a more practical treatment option and believed there had to be...
Sometimes, Disney gets dark and emotional. There is a scene in the 1968 film, “The Love Bug” where Jim Douglas, played by Dean Jones, ditches Herbie the Love Bug and buys a brand-new Lamborghini. Heartbroken, Herbie smashes his front end against the Lamborghini repeatedly ...
Selfish. Manipulative. Untreatable. Clingy. This is how people (even mental health professionals) describe those who live with Borderline Personality Disorder ( BPD ). But considering what a person experiencing BPD deals with daily, these labels aren’t fair. “People with...
According to Dr. David Burns, a researcher and author in the mental health field, everyone experiences unreasonable and/or irrational thoughts from time-to-time. Even children. For example: Let’s say your son receives a low score on a test. He believes that he got the wors...
I was 21 years old and living in France. I had just graduated from college and was living near Paris when the symptoms began. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I had never heard of mental illness; I did not think mental health existed. All I knew was that I cou...
One November day in Gaston County, NC, traffic was at a stand-still on I-85. It was unfortunately caused by a 16-year-old who took her life on the highway. As cars grinded to a halt, a pick-up truck was rear-ended by someone not paying attention. The driver of that truc...
Today there are more people and more technology in our society than ever before, leading to greater stress and anxiety. Just as we are careful with what food we put into our bodies, we need to give ourselves every advantage when combatting toxins of the mind. Personally, I...
For as long as she could remember, Sarah felt like she had to apologize for being herself. Not only for being a queer woman, but also for being someone who lives with mental illness. When Sarah came out as a lesbian, her friends and family were relatively supportive, bu...
Life can often be unpredictable and stressful. Whether it’s divorce, job loss, relocation, death of a loved one or even a flat tire, life’s stressors can trigger many emotional states, including anxiety and depression. Anxiety is a normal reaction to life’s stressors an...
I have depression. Even though I’m in a place right now where things are consistently getting better, I know there will be times in the future when things will be hard again. One thing that has really helped me over the last few years is being more open about my struggles ...
More than three-fourths of adults who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) as children, still experience symptoms—and no matter the setting, it’s a challenge every day. Starting from childhood, it’s critical for school counselors to use evidence-base...
We all feel a little blue from time to time. Sadness is a fundamental part of the human condition. For the majority, feeling down is often a temporary experience connected to specific events. For others, a sense of sadness or hopelessness can be more persistent—this is ...
Community Partnerships Twenty years ago, there was little constructive collaboration among mental health providers, laws enforcement agencies and advocates. Some reasons for this include mistrust, misunderstanding and misbeliefs by all parties. Since then, starting in the...
Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” But for Crystal Littles, it’s more than that: Painting is how she shares her story of living with a mental health condition. Crystal is a 32-year-old mental health advocate from Arizona who has...
Imagine every action you take—big and small—requires incredible mental and physical energy. Energy you lack due to sleep problems and continuous fatigue. You can’t concentrate. You don’t feel like doing anything, but you also feel bad for not being productive. You inter...
I was 16 years old when my dad, who lived with depression, died by suicide. His unexpected death profoundly impacted my family. Isolated by stigma, I struggled in silence for years, internalizing my grief and never speaking about my dad or his death. Nearly twenty year...
Work is just one area of life where stigma can manifest. Especially for the many people struggling with serious mental illness, who are often labeled as “too sick” or “too dangerous” to work. The majority of individuals with serious mental illness express the desire to w...