I consider myself a mental health advocate, but what does that actually mean? It probably means different things to different people, but let’s chat about it. What a mental health advocate is Before we get to my definition, here’s what a couple of other sources have to say. “Mental health advocates are heroes — individuals […]
What Makes Someone a Mental Health Advocate? Read More »
A lot of us in the mental health blogging world are already engaged in advocacy in terms of raising awareness, providing information, and supporting others living with mental illness. There’s another kind of advocacy, though, that many of us (including myself) don’t typically engage in, which is political advocacy. Quorum.us says “Political advocacy is an
Political Advocacy to Challenge Mental Illness Stigma Read More »
We’re surrounded by awareness campaigns, particularly health awareness campaigns. In the US, the number of designated national health awareness days had reached 200 by 2015 (Purtle & Roman, 2015). In 2017, the Stanford Social Innovation Review published an article titled Stop Raising Awareness Already. Pointing to the great many awareness month designations all for a
How Effective Are Mental Health Awareness Campaigns? Read More »
Today is World Mental Health Day 2021, and this post’s title is this year’s campaign slogan. Mental health conditions don’t get the same attention as physical health conditions, and there has been chronic underinvestment in mental health care for years. That needs to change. According to the World Health Organization: Depression is a leading cause
Mental Health Care for All: Let’s Make It a Reality Read More »
Patrick Corrigan has been an academic crush for a number of years now. And what is an academic crush, you might ask? I like how his mind works. He’s a psychologist and stigma researcher, with lived experience to boot. He’s one of the most prolific publishers in academic journals that I’ve ever come across. His
Stigma and the Problem with Language Policing Read More »
I saw a post recently by another blogger about stigmatizing language that people should avoid. One of the things he mentioned was “committed suicide,” which is something that comes up regularly in discussions of language use related to suicide. I’m not convinced that it needs to be as big an issue as people make it
“Committed Suicide”: Word Policing of Suicide-Related Language Read More »
