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The Only Way Out is In
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicidal ideation. This post was written by Dr. Colleen Coffey, a member of the Active Minds Speakers Bureau. I think that mental health issues exist on a spectrum. I mean this, of course, in the context of the range of issues we all face and the spectrum of…
From the Active Minds Speakers Bureau: Be Who You Needed
Frank Warren is the creator of PostSecret and a member of the Active Minds Speakers Bureau. Bring Frank to your campus to speak about mental health. I posted this image on the PostSecret Facebook page last week and it reached nearly 5,000,000 people. I don’t know the specific reasons why so many people chose to…
Caring Words and a Listening Ear
In the fall of 2015, I was heading off to graduate school at the University of Washington in Seattle. I saw this opportunity as a rebirth, a time to start over, and with that came the all too common thought that my mental health was under control, that I no longer required the self-care or…
My Last Conversation with My Dad
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. One of the last conversations I had with my father was him pleading, “Help me. Please, help me.” My dad came to this country from Cuba when he was just 15, speaking no English and having no family in the states. Over the course of a few…
Why I Promised to Take Care of My Mental Health in My Wedding Vows
One month ago today, my partner Rich and I stood under a big tent during the loveliest late-summer rain storm and did a really wonderful thing: We got married. Our wedding was beautiful and special and fun and silly — all the things we had hoped it would be during the months of planning. We stood under the alter…
Suicide Prevention Month: A Life Worth Living
This post is part of a Suicide Prevention Month blog series. Read the other blogs here. Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. According to the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (Van Orden et al., 2010), desires for suicide arise from a combination of perceived burdensomeness (i.e. “the world would be better off without me”)…
9 Tips to Help Support a Friend with Mental Illness
Supporting a friend with a mental health issue or in a stressful situation can be difficult. Here are 9 simple tips that will help get the conversation started. Read more about how to help a friend. Choose a suitable time. Plan out your message in advance and make it straightforward. Be honest and specific. Your…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.