Blogs
Mahevash Shaikh
You may have noticed the phrase 'The Great Resignation' in the news these days. Coined by management professor Anthony Klotz, it is a term to "predict a mass, voluntary exodus from the workplace." In fact, it is more than just a term. According to Harvard Business Review, "the last several months have seen a tidal wave of resignations, in the US and around the world." With so many people quitting their jobs, the thought may have crossed your mind as well. But is this move right for you?
Cheryl Wozny
Are you the verbal abuser perpetuating the cycle of abuse? The cycle of verbal abuse is a complex one that many individuals are unaware of until they are in the middle of it. Often, verbal abusers are acting out learned behaviors that they experienced in their lives.
Annabelle Clawson
I've written for the "Mental Health for the Digital Generation" blog for a little over a year now. My experience as a writer here has been both difficult and rewarding. In writing about mental health, I've had to confront the realities of my own mental illness, a very vulnerable process. I've also gotten to connect with all of you online, which has been a treat.
Mary-Elizabeth Schurrer
I will be the first person to confess that physical rest does not come easily to me. In fact, one of the most persuasive lies from my eating disorder, which I'm still working to dismantle, is that I am not allowed to rest. For years, I assumed that a body in constant, relentless motion would equal strength, power, and control, whereas a body at rest would signal weakness. However, as recently as this past weekend, I had no choice but to pause and remember that rest is an essential part of eating disorder recovery—and health overall.
Laura A. Barton
Two things are going to become clear in this blog post: my taste in music and that there are songs that remind us that it's okay not to be okay. Realistically, "It's okay not to be okay" is probably a statement you've heard repeatedly in the world of mental health awareness and advocacy. As potentially overused as it is, this sentiment is an important one when combatting mental health stigma.
Nicola Spendlove
Something I started doing when my brother was first diagnosed with mental illness was personifying his mental illness symptoms. This might sound a little kooky but stay with me here.
Jennifer Lear
The title of this blog is "Coping with Depression." In the past, I've used it to talk about ways to feel productive, beat procrastination, and improve relationships during a depressive episode. But the reality is that some days, "coping" just means surviving through the worst days. So, in honor of World Suicide Prevention Month, I would like to offer some simple tips on how to get through when "getting through" seems impossible.
Kate Beveridge
It can be challenging to stay grounded in the present moment when you live with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Unstable emotional states and anxious thoughts can often pull you into a past or future mindset. However, bringing yourself back into the present can have a wealth of benefits for your mental health.
Elizabeth Caudy
I was diagnosed as schizophrenic in 1999 after a psychotic episode at college. My first diagnosis of a serious mental illness markedly changed my sense of fashion, and the changes stuck even with a later reassessment that I was schizoaffective. I have a few ideas as to why.
Kim Berkley
The stories we tell ourselves can often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Using creative writing for self-harm recovery is one way to rewrite the narrative of your life in a way that can affect real, positive change.
The police would do nothing - not even take a teport. Once I packed to leave and he came in with a ridiculous list of things he said I owed him money for - like half the food (he kept every little piece of paper, including supermarket receipts, filed by year) and said he knew I woukdn’t oay him, but this box of music tapes was probably worth that much so he was hoing to keep them until I paid him or sell them.
I called the cops then but they said everything I owned, including my clothes was community property and he could keep anything he wanted. They said to let him have it if I wanted to leave so bad and argue in court. That gave him more ammo; he began hiding treasured possessions and secretly made an extra set of keys to my car so he could “hold” the “community property’” “until the divorce is over and the judge decides what is whose.” It was to keepme from leaving.
He had neighbors watch the house and call him if they saw me trying to losd up my car and leave while he was at work. He needed their help so he coukd “save” our marriage.
I couldn’t confide in friends because he would call them and cry, saying he was worried about me and thought I was depressed, and had I said anything to them? A friend of more than twenty years repeated everything to him, including that I was planning to leave. She looked me right in my fave and told me I “didn’t understand” and “he is worried about you.” Nobody would listen to me when I begged them not to talk to him. They thought they were “helping” us “save” our marriage. I lost friends over this.
I finally got away while he was on a business trip. His flying monkey neighbor ran over to try to stop me and called him, but he didn’t make it back in time.
I tried to get a protective order but the judge said I had no proof. He contested the divorce, crying and swearing he loved me in court. My stupid state requires a year waitbefore you can file for divorce and he harassed me constantly.
It took two years to get divorced and he only agreed because he found a new girlfriend.
She moved out after a year and he wentthrough a seriesof broken engagements. The last girl DID get a restraining order and he spent almost a year in jail and got ten years probation for violating the restraining order.. At least now everyone, including his family, believes me now. His sister keeps me informed now because she is afraid he will still hurt me someday. She says he sometimes explodes in rants out of nowhere, saying I ruined his life.
He is hiring lawyers and trying to get his time reduced. His sister and I are afraid he willget away with it. I am afraid he will kill a woman someday. He has contacted me several times, saying I was his one true love, although I am now remarried.
We live in another state but I am afraid I willnever truly be rid of him.
He wasn’t like this until the second year of our marriage. I don’t know what happened, although there is a history of mental illness on his father’s side of the family. He is totally different from the guy I met and married.
Stalking laws and restraining orders are a joke. Divorce laws that make you wait a year with an abuser are cruel.
It’s been 16 years since I left, but I am still not over the damage. Thank God for my present husband; he understands and supports me.
Women can’t win. It is our fault for getting involved with the man in the first place, our fault fornot leaving, our fault for “dwelling on it” and “not moving on and forgetting about it” if we are damaged. Nobody ever asks THEM why they do what they do.