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New York City Should Become the Site of a National Museum of Mental Health
New York City prides itself on being a center of cultural institutions, boasting proudly on its tourism website that “there's an institution for every interest in the City.” The city is the site of roughly 170 museums! Yet, inexplicably, there is currently no museum focused on improving public...
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When Opioid Narratives Become Policy
For more than a decade, US opioid policy has been guided by a compelling but incomplete story: aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and overprescribing by physicians flooded communities with addictive pills, igniting an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and death. This narrative drove sweeping...
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Why More Adults Are Seeking ADHD and Mental Health Evaluations Later in Life
For decades, mental health evaluations were often viewed as something primarily sought by children, adolescents, or individuals experiencing severe psychiatric symptoms. Today, however, increasing numbers of adults — including many in midlife and beyond — are pursuing evaluations for...
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The Power of Peer Support: Walking Alongside Someone Towards Recovery
I remember the nights I’d cry, looking in the mirror, not recognizing the girl I was looking at. I wanted and needed a way out. With so much shame and stigma around substance use and mental health, I did not know how to ask for help. The process of calling detoxes and getting certain documents...
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Meeting the Moment: Addressing the Challenges to Advance Solutions for Mental Health Clinical Trial Recruitment
Mental health has become one of the most urgent and complex public health challenges of our era. Today, more than 1 billion people globally live with some form of a mental health disorder.1 Among young people, the situation is equally concerning: 1 in 7 adolescents experience a mental health...
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Relapse Is Part of Recovery, Shame Shouldn’t Be: What I Wish More Families Understood
When someone returns to treatment after a relapse, it’s often with a heavy heart. They walk through our doors carrying the weight of shame, disappointment, and fear of judgment, not just from others, but from themselves. Families often ask, “what went wrong,” and wonder why their loved one...
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What It’s Really Like Living with Bipolar Disorder
As of 2019, 0.53% of people in the world are bipolar, according to a study from the World Health Organization. I am one of them. Living with bipolar disorder isn’t easy. Scholarly journals document the symptoms and struggles that come with this disorder, but they’re far from accurate. Common...
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Using Virtual Reality to Address Loneliness and Increase Social Connectedness in a Personalized Recovery-Oriented Services (PROS) Program for Older Adults
Social isolation refers to the lack of meaningful friendships, connections, and relationships in one's life, whereas loneliness is the perception of the feelings associated with isolation (Wu, 2020). Wu (2020) reported that one-quarter of older people living in-community report feelings of...
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The Silent Barrier: How Fear of Judgment from Healthcare Providers Keeps People from Seeking Help
What if the person meant to help you was the one you feared most? Imagine sitting in an exam room, fidgeting with your cell phone, scrolling through apps, and trying to distract yourself from the anxiety building inside. You are aware of the antiseptic smell lingering in the air, but it’s drowned...
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Collaborating for Change: Building a Stronger System of Maternal Mental Health Support in New York
Effectively addressing maternal mental health requires a comprehensive public health solution that targets risk and protective factors. These include social determinants of health, clinical care, community support, culturally responsive interventions, and policy changes. This is why the New York...
