Mental Health
Serious mental illness and cancer: Treatment outside the box
“On average, Americans with major mental illness die 14 to 32 years earlier than the general population.”
Every time I hear it, I’m alarmed. Contrary to popular belief, most people with serious mental illness do not die from suicide or violence. They die from the same conditions as those without serious mental illness – cancer, heart disease, diabetes.
Stronger support for Americans who risk their lives for ours: Changes for veterans
Happy New Year, Veterans (and all of us who benefit from your selfless service on behalf of our country)!
Despite a year of political upheaval and angst in Washington, veterans can be pleased with the new administration’s Veterans Affairs (VA) policy direction that has earned significant bipartisan support.
Half the battle: My story of bipolar disorder in an already sober world
April 2011. It’s late afternoon, and my second day of the Partial Program at Beverly Hospital has wrapped up.
I’m plowing down Route 128 with a song on the radio that I don’t remember. Everything has changed, but I’m not totally sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
Momentum – Beacon’s progress bringing Zero Suicide to life
Sometimes we get so involved working on an initiative, it’s hard to mark our own progress.
One year ago at this time, Beacon Health Options was still drafting our suicide prevention white paper. In February 2017, Beacon released, “We Need to Talk About Suicide.”
From misdiagnosis to stability: A story of struggle, of hope
My story is really about one of my daughters.
To protect her privacy as I tell her story, I’ll call her Elizabeth. Elizabeth has had suicidal ideations from since she was about 12 to about 17. At 4 years old, she was misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The 2017 NAMI National Convention: Behind the Booth
Within hours of being at the Washington Hilton, I knew I was in for a special experience.
As I began to set up Beacon’s booth at the 2017 National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Annual Convention, I couldn’t help but notice the hopeful faces all around me.
Suicide’s common tale: ‘If only I had spoken with him’
I first met “Ted” when I was barely 18, both of us transients in a city of transients where superficial friendships were the common social norm.
Ted was about 10 years older, and although we never dated, we had maintained casual contact with each other. We never discussed our personal history or hopes for the future, but I had sensed a deep, quiet loneliness about him that meshed with my own.
The many faces of suicide
The phone rings, early on a Sunday morning. I’m excited, as it is a childhood friend whom I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with; only she asks me to let my parents know that her brother committed suicide the night before.
No words can describe the pain heard and felt. Of course, as outsiders, as onlookers, our first unspoken questions are “How did this happen?” “How did he do it?”
The power of Zero
The U.S. News & World Report ranked Colorado Springs as number 11 on its list of 2017 Best Places to Live in the USA.
However, even in this ultimate vacation destination of snow-capped mountains and clean air, tragedy can strike.
How to solve the Emergency Department boarding crisis? Systemwide change
Emergency Department (ED) “boarding” – when patients get stuck in the ED for hours, sometimes days, because there is no placement option readily available – is an issue across the country and has received much attention in Massachusetts recently.
Earlier this month, The Boston Globe published an article highlighting the fact that many of these individuals have behavioral health conditions.