APRIL 2019 BY WILLIAM POLKOWSKI Kay Redfield Jamison — author of the autobiography “An Unquiet Mind” and “Touched With Fire,” a study of the connection between creativity and bipolar disorder (or manic depression) — wrote “Night Falls Fast” in an attempt to understand suicide more deeply. Dr. Jamison, who lives with bipolar disorder, once attemptedContinue reading Understanding Suicide From the Inside Out
Return to U-M Helps NAMI Volunteer Find New Career Path
FEBRUARY 2019 BY SPENCER WALZ Note: This story was originally published online under a different headline on March 15, 2018, by the U-M School of Public Health. Both the School of Public Health and the author, who leads a NAMI Washtenaw support group, granted NAMI Washtenaw permission to republish it. I started at the UniversityContinue reading Return to U-M Helps NAMI Volunteer Find New Career Path
Is Romance in the Offing? NAMI Offers Advice
FEBRUARY 2019 Note: Our thanks to NAMI for allowing us to republish this article from the NAMI website: nami.org/find-support/living-with-a-mental-health-condition/romantic-relationships. When you’re living with a mental health condition, you may wonder whether or not to talk about it with your significant other. And if you’re single, you may wonder if having a mental health condition rulesContinue reading Is Romance in the Offing? NAMI Offers Advice
A Psychologist Tells Her Own Story of Schizophrenia
FEBRUARY 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG Arnhild Lauveng has written the kind of mental health book I like to read: an intimate account of lived experience and insight from a person who recovered her health and became what she wanted to be. But Lauveng’s diagnosis was schizophrenia, and schizophrenia is understood by many to be anContinue reading A Psychologist Tells Her Own Story of Schizophrenia
The Shame of Recovery
DECEMBER 2018 BY CHRISTI BURKETT It was 6:30 a.m. on the last day of summer. I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I made some coffee. I’ve gotten into the habit of a brief meditation before drinking my coffee. After meditating, I held my hot mug of coffee between both hands, porch doorContinue reading The Shame of Recovery
Internet Resources for Mental Health
DECEMBER 2018 BY LOIS MAHARG Looking for assistance with a mental health condition? If you’ve got access to the internet, resources are close at hand. While not recommended as a substitute for professional help, said Dr. Sagar V. Parikh, a physician with the University of Michigan Depression Center, resources from the internet can supplement therapy.Continue reading Internet Resources for Mental Health
Mental Illness on the Job: Conceal It or Reveal It?
DECEMBER 2018 BY LOIS MAHARG Years ago I worked as a reporter on a small town newspaper, and one day at the water cooler a colleague suggested taking a mental health day. “A mental health day?” the editor called out from his office in a sarcastic tone of voice. “What’s that?” I vowed then neverContinue reading Mental Illness on the Job: Conceal It or Reveal It?
Science of Happiness Explored in Online Course
DECEMBER 2018 BY WILLIAM POLKOWSKI “Coursera” is a platform for massive open online courses, or MOOCs. It offers hundreds of free courses from many top universities in the world, including Yale, Stanford, Princeton and University of Michigan. There are courses in many different subjects. Among them are courses on depression, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, medicalContinue reading Science of Happiness Explored in Online Course
Thinking More About Living
OCTOBER 2018 BY STEPHANIE ROTH My name is Stephanie and I am 35 years old. I grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, and currently reside in Novi with my husband. I was diagnosed with depression at the young age of 7. I grew up in an environment where I was very anxious and needed toContinue reading Thinking More About Living
Cloud Community
OCTOBER 2018 BY CHRISTI BURKETT The first question asked when a new person arrived was, “What brings you here?” To an outsider that might seem strange and invasive. After all this was a mental hospital; typically talking about one’s mental health is taboo. Some were guarded and did not wish to talk about what experiencesContinue reading Cloud Community