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Welcome to a new year to continue our discussion on Mental Health Awareness and, hopefully, to reduce stigma.  To read previous entries in the Mental Health Awareness series, visit the blog author page on our website. Over the past century or so, many novels have been written about characters living with mental health problems. Some…

This Mental Health Awareness blog post is about awareness and prevention of suicide.  Any conversation about suicide is difficult. Some people worry that talking about it might cause someone who is thinking about suicide to act on those thoughts. But not discussing suicide at all isn't an option either. Treating suicide as a taboo topic…

This discussion of bullying is part of our Mental Health Awareness series. What's so bad about a little bullying? It's just harmless kid stuff, right?  Wrong. People who have been bullied can experience pain and trauma that affects them for the rest of their lives.  What do we know about bullying? How do we know…

In this segment of our Mental Health Awareness series, we'll take a look at Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.  People tend to have misconceptions about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Sometimes people jokingly say "She's so OCD!" about someone who is very organized. OCD is often unrelated to a desire for tidiness and it isn't a joke. OCD…

Not all injuries caused by trauma are visible. In this segment of our Mental Health Awareness series, we're going to discuss Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.  According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD,"PTSD is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like…

We continue our Mental Health Awareness series with a look at borderline personality disorder, an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed condition.  According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,"Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a condition characterized by difficulties regulating emotion. This means that people who experience BPD feel emotions intensely and for extended periods of time…

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Mental Health Month. In recognition of Mental Health Month, we have created some lists of library and online resources that may interest you. Please note: The information in this post and the items in these lists are intended for informational purposes and are not meant to take the place…

Please note: Due to the sensitive subject matter, the following information includes content that may be upsetting or unsuitable for some readers. April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. According to the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LaFASA), "in the U.S., one in 5 women and one in 71 men will be raped at…

Most people with autism want to advocate for themselves, without interference from non-autistic people. With this blog we intend to encourage neurotypical (i.e. non-autistic) people to become more informed and to show more consideration for people with autism.  While our intent is to show respect toward all kinds of people, whether autistic or neurotypical, please…