Mental Illnesses

Over the weekend, two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, left 29 people dead. Following public outcry for gun reform, President Donald Trump blamed social media, violent video games and mental illness for the shootings. In a briefing on Monday, Trump condemned the shootings, white nationalism and racism while calling for reforms in a number of areas to …

One of the most important parts of breaking a stigma is education. The more we know about something the less we fear it. Some things are really hard to understand though. When it comes to the thought process of a mental health issue, understanding is often complicated because the person experiencing it can struggle to understand it themselves at times. People have …

Dear past in-patient psychiatrists, Imagine having your freedom stripped from you “for your own good.” Imagine that consisting of: being handcuffed, placed in the back of a police car and locked in a psychiatric ward for an unspecified amount of time. Being in a psychiatric unit can feel so dehumanizing. In the psychiatric ER, you are told you cannot wear …

What is hyperfixation? Hyperfixation is being completely immersed in something — whether it be a video game, movie/TV fandom culture or a hobby like crocheting. While typically associated with ADHD and autism, people with mental illness may also experience hyperfixation. How do you you use hyperfixation to cope with mental illness? So why do I hyperfixate? Why can’t I just like …

I wasn’t sure I wanted to write this. I’m not sure anyone wants to think about what makes them unlikable, and I doubt anyone wants to think about the times they have been party at fault in the break up of a friendship. I know I’ve spent a fair bit of time convincing myself of the opposite, that as the …

“I’m tired of medication, therapy and fighting. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired of having a mental illness. I’m tired of everything.” These are the words of Mighty contributor Brooke Bowie, from her piece, “To the People Who Don’t Understand Why Mental Illness Makes Me so Tired.” If you can relate, you’re not alone. Maybe your mental illness has …

I believe I have a “high-functioning” mental illness. I’m able to force myself to shower every two to three days. There are a lot of people I know struggling with mental illness who go a week or more without showering. This is something I have found the rest of the world has trouble understanding. One I often heard from my …

Pete Davidson is clearing up misconceptions about dating with mental illness. After some on Twitter suggested he was unable to be in a stable relationship because of his borderline personality disorder diagnosis, the Saturday Night Live star took to his Instagram Stories on Thursday with a PSA. “Normally I wouldn’t comment on something like this ’cause f/*ck you,” he wrote. “But I been hearing a lot …

If you’re sensitive to suicide, especially graphic depictions of suicide, you may want to skip Netflix’s latest thriller, “Bird Box.” The movie, which stars Sandra Bullock, centers around an unseen entity that drives mass suicides around the world. The movie is an adaptation of a book by Josh Malerman. The film received mixed critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a 67 percent rating. Though …

When you live with a mental illness, it can be pretty tough to let others in and show them the “truth” of what’s going on. The truth comes in varying degrees. Maybe you tell others things aren’t really as bad as they seem, or simply state you’re doing OK when all you want to do is hibernate until spring. Whatever the …