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The Transformative Power of Families Helping Families
“I can now see that my loved one and their mental illness are separate.” I was fortunate to hear this powerful insight recently from one of NAMI-NYC’s participating family members. The National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC) is built on the transformative power of...
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When Internalized Ableism and Stigma Intersect
In February of 2020, I received a letter from the government that I had been approved for disability payments. According to their records, I had been disabled with incapacitating, treatment-resistant depression since November of 2017. The Social Security Administration’s definition of disability...
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To End the Drug Crisis, Bring Addiction Out of the Shadows
When I was six years old, as I was having dinner with my mother and three sisters, my mother received a telegram. She broke down crying as she read it. Her father - my grandfather - had died. In her grief, she locked herself in her room and would not let me console her. The memory of my inability...
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The Many Benefits of Volunteer Programming
Like many nonprofit organizations, The Bridge welcomes volunteers who are willing to donate their time and expertise to further our mission and enrich the lives of our clients. Founded in 1954 as a self-help organization for adults diagnosed with a serious mental illness, The Bridge has since...
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Serious Mental Illness Recovery: The Basics
When managing serious mental illness (SMI), the recovery journey can be long and challenging. It often requires creative and prolonged efforts to build and maintain a full life, but many people do reach recovery. In fact, up to 65% of people living with SMI experience partial to full recovery...
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WellLife Network Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention Survey
Suicide rates in America were continuing to increase at alarming rates even before COVID-19. However, the economic and sociopolitical landscape as well as the increased turmoil, stress due to uncertainty, and disruption in people’s lives since COVID-19 has caused tragic changes in the lives of...
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Why Healthcare Systems Should Address Housing Insecurity
She had seen it in the movies a long time ago. She was sure it wouldn’t work, but at this point, she didn’t have much else to hang her hopes on. She was tired, cold, and hungry. She looked down. They weren’t ruby red and they certainly couldn’t pass as elegant heels, but despite all of...
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Navigating America’s Unprecedented Mental Health Winter of 2020/2021
As the dust settles on one of the most polarizing and emotionally charged presidential races in the United States’ history, the country finds itself in the midst of a mental health crisis of historic proportions. The mental health aftershocks of the 2020 election will be felt for months...
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The NYSPA Report: American Psychiatric Association Approaches to Social Determinants of Mental Health
The year 2020 refocused our attention on the social determinants of mental health. From structural racism to economic insecurity to healthcare disparities, people have become acutely aware of the insidious discrimination and losses that vulnerable individuals and communities have suffered. Rates of...
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Circle of Grief: Inspired Survivor Speaks Openly About Suicide
I walked into the “survivors of suicide” group physically aching and emotionally doubled over in pain. The group – people who’d had a loved one die by suicide – sat in a circle of folding chairs in a pleasant if nondescript meeting room. This was my first visit, a trial effort at relief...
