ARTICLES
Prozac Campus: the Next Generation
May 27th 2012
http://chronicle.com/article/Prozac-Campus-the-Next/131951/
“My interest was piqued by two sensationalistic but widely reported stories a few years ago. The first was of a precipitous deterioration in college students’ mental health…The second story was of a stark rise in the amount of academic stress faced by college students…Sometimes the stories about stress on campus implied that this new breed of students were the type of kids—from affluent, self-aware, achievement-oriented families—who had been raised to view antidepressants and ADHD medications as a means of keeping up. Were these stories true, I wondered? What role did medication play on campus now, and what did students’ attitudes toward it augur for the future? With those questions in mind, I decided to return to a college whose size and orientation reminded me a little bit of my own, to look for the change that 15 years had brought.”
Inside the Looney Disco: Dancing the Night Away at a German Mental Hospital
May 14th 2012
http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-looney-disco-0000199-v19n5?Contentpage=-1
An interesting article from VICE about a monthly dance party at a psychiatric hospital in Germany.
Junior Seau’s death sheds light on ignorance of depression
May 5th 2012
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120505/OPINION03/205050381#ixzz1wCZgYcws
Thought this was a good read, especially for hinting at a lot of the policing we do to each other around things like depression and mental health.
Are Bipolar Characters Finally Getting a Fair Shake on Television?
April 10th 2012
http://jezebel.com/5900806/are-bipolar-characters-finally-getting-a-fair-shake-on-television
The comments section following the article is also great…a lot of people sharing their personal experiences! “As anyone who’s experienced bipolar disorder in their own brain (or been close to a bipolar person) can attest, it’s not all magnificent highs and crushing lows as depicted on television dramas, and treatment is never as simple as one noble, weepy trip to the hospital and back. In fact, many (most?) bipolar people live their lives and take their medication and keep their shit together in a way that’s more mundane — and, in some cases, more grueling — than what we see on TV. That is, maybe, until now.”
Don’t tell me to try harder: Reframing stress and mental health at UofT
March 29th 2012
http://www.thestrand.ca/editorial/don-t-tell-me-to-try-harder-1.2834361?pagereq=1#.T8PuJr_qSZf
This is an article written by a student at UT about college culture and mental health… very relatable.
On Depression and Getting Help
February 6th 2012
http://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/414007899/on-depression-getting-help
Not sure if any of you are into Rob Delaney (hysterical comedian/writer, one of the funniest people on twitter) but he wrote a piece awhile back about his experience with depression. I really liked it and thought I’d share.
It’s No Wonder Untreated Mental Illness Has a Stigma
March 15th 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marvin-ross/stigma-mental-illness_b_1344377.html
Woah – what do you guys think? “Spending money on programs to fight the stigma of mental illness is a waste and ineffective. It would be far more appropriate to use that money to provide proper treatment. If that were done, what stigma there is would be reduced.”
One Settled Comfortably In the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Posted February 3rd 2012
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/one-settled-comfortably-in-the-cuckoos-nest
“No one wants to talk about Uncle Bob’s chronic depression or why it is that Aunt Sue refuses to travel anywhere by boat… What’s worse than acknowledging this history, is admitting to yourself and the loved ones nearby, that some level of mental illness has quite possibly set up shop inside of us as well…”
Wonder Dog
February 2nd 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazine/wonder-dog.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me
A golden retriever was the only thing that could reach a raging, disconnected boy.
‘American Idol’ Recap: Bipolar Teen Wants To Be Known For More Than Disorder
January 26th 2011
American Idol contestant sharing her story with bipolar disorder.
How To Be Emotionally Stable Without Getting Bored
January 20th 2012
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/how-to-be-emotionally-stable-without-getting-bored/
I found this to be very personally relatable, poignant, and well written. What do you guys think?
An Artist Whose Compulsions Have Their Upsides
December 29th 2011
“Ed Loftus, an Oakland artist known for his hyper-realistic graphite drawings, sat in a cafe in downtown San Francisco last week talking about how he had become obsessed with his hair… His hair fixation has nothing to do with vanity, but rather with obsessive-compulsive disorder…”
Blessings from schizophrenia? Believe me, they exist
December 26th 2011
It was interesting to read this article, and the comments as well because some people object to the mental illness as a spectrum thing, what do you guys think?
A Serious Illness or an Excuse?
December 13th 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203430404577094330403235506.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
As Awareness of Mental Issues Rises, Colleges Face Tough Calls; Playing ‘Detective’
72 Hours
November 25th 2011
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/72-hours/
Really interesting piece about a man’s 72-hour stay in a psychiatric hospital.
Lighting Up Our Mental Ills : Focused flashes could, literally, change the mind
November 19th 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204190504577040253172678244.html
This emerging field of optogenetics as applied to psychiatry is REALLY interesting, and relates to a lot of the things brought up in our conversations last night. Take a look!
We are none of us alone. We are all connected. Choose your own adventure.
http://www.bandbacktogether.com/
I recently found this website that has people submit stories about all sorts of hard-to-talk-about topics.
One in five U.S. adults takes medication for a mental disorder
November 16th 2011
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/16/news/la-heb-mental-health-20111116
“Medications to treat mental health disorders is soaring among U.S. adults, according to data released Wednesday by Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager.”
Adventures in Depression
October 27th 2011
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.fr/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
“Some people have a legitimate reason to feel depressed, but not me. I just woke up one day feeling sad and helpless for absolutely no reason.”
Eating Disorders a New Front in Insurance Fight
October 13th 2011
“People with eating disorders like anorexia have opened up a new battleground in the insurance wars, testing the boundaries of laws mandating equivalent coverage for mental illnesses.”
Is it Okay to Jokingly Call Someone Bipolar?
October 10th 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15213824
OCD, bipolar, schizophrenic and the misuse of mental health terms
VIDEOS
Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough
June 24th 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruvWiXowiZ8
Thinking of mental illness as a spectrum rather than categorical erases stigma.” Certainly food for thought.
Frontline: The Medicated Child Part 1 of 6
January 8th 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48KnwKGV0Pw
Okay, so the uploader has an obvious opinion, and i think the documentary is definitely slanted in the whole no-medication (for young children, at least) direction, but it’s pretty interesting (albeit old).
What’s going on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg&feature=colike
(small trigger warning for cutting) Another example of the effects bullying can have. A very simple, but powerful video. Luckily, this one does have a happy ending. Comment: I suggest clicking through to the youtube page– he gives an update about how things are going for him now (4 months later) in the description, which was pretty uplifting