Mental Health

Coping With Unavoidable Stress  

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When stress pops up in our lives but quickly goes away, it doesn’t usually have any lasting effects. The more often it appears, however, and the longer it lasts, the greater the effect stress has on our physical and mental health.   Our body’s stress response is designed to help us […]

When Will We All Be OK? Stress, Trauma and Covid-19 

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In a recent survey, the American Psychological Association found that 63% of respondents said their lives had been permanently changed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Not all of these changes are changes for the worse, as 51% of respondents said that their life was merely different, not any better and not […]

Limiting Lethal Means Saves Lives 

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The crisis that leads to suicide is intensely painful, but often very short-lived. This is one of the reasons it’s important to secure easily accessible suicide means. When someone suffers from suicidal ideation, removing or locking up lethal means (drugs, firearms, etc.) can help save a life. Hopefully, if lethal […]

Research Shows Gratitude is Healthy

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Both research and common sense tell us that people who practice gratitude are happier. As it turns out, they also tend to be healthier. Writing it Down Makes a Difference The Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, offers a free, online, gratitude journal Gratitude Journal […]

Building a Suicide Prevention Safety Plan for Yourself 

A suicide prevention safety plan is a written set of instructions that you create for yourself as a contingency plan should you begin to experience thoughts about harming yourself. It will contain a series of gradually escalating steps that you will follow, proceeding from one step to the next, until […]

Self-care for a Suicide Attempt Survivor Caregiver

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“If you don’t do things to keep your cup full, you have nothing left to give others.”  This seems like a pretty practical and obvious “life lesson”. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to forget when you’re caring for a someone experiencing suicidal ideation. It seems impossible to think of self-care […]

How to Recognize a Phobia

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Everyone has felt afraid of something at one point or another. A phobia, however, is very different from normal fear and can be quite difficult to overcome.  According to healthline.com, “A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense […]

When Children Ask About Suicide  

  • Woman holding sons hand walking to school

Most people associate youth suicides with the teenage years, but pre-teens are also vulnerable. In 2018, suicide was the second leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14 in the United States. It’s important for parents to be prepared to discuss suicidal ideation with preteens as well as older adolescents.   […]