First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Alcohol is a killer hiding in plain sight. While we demonize the use of other drugs, we celebrate with alcohol. It’s part of our weddings and graduations, our birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. […]
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How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.. – Annie Dillard The iconic designer Kate Spade hid her depression and anxiety behind her bright smile and colorful, eponymous brand. That made her death by suicide earlier this year even more difficult for her family, friends, coworkers and legions of loyal […]
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I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou Ensuring that people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders have access to treatment and recovery services at parity with those offered for physical illnesses is a […]
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Integrated physical and behavioral health care is a concept whose time has come. Integrated care is about providing trauma-informed, holistic care to seamlessly address all health concerns of patients and their families. In practice, it means: Checking a person’s blood pressure when they come in for a medication visit with their psychiatrist. Screening for substance […]
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Are we willing to live in a world governed by fear or are we willing to fight for a world driven by love? – Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy We live in an increasingly interconnected world, yet we are lonelier and more isolated than ever. And it’s literally making us sick. That was […]
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We need a new type of health facility, one which will return mental health care to the mainstream of American medicine, and at the same time upgrade mental health services. – President John F. Kennedy Now, more than ever – with drug overdoses skyrocketing, suicide deaths increasing and life expectancy continuing to decline – we […]
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The last time I took my grandson through the drive-through at Burger King, I found myself wondering whether the young woman who took our order might prefer working in our field. We are always looking to bolster our workforce, which is shrinking and rapidly aging. But I quickly realized there was one very good reason […]
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May is Mental Health Month, and I can’t think of a more appropriate way to mark the occasion than to announce the launch of #BeKindBeTheDifference – a contest sponsored by the National Council and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to encourage people to get trained in Mental Health First Aid. Anyone can learn to […]
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National Council and SAMHSA to Host Informational Webinars Stigma. Fear. Lack of awareness about mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Inability to access services that can help. There are many reasons why individuals with mental illnesses and addictions don’t get the treatment they need, but these shouldn’t be among them. Everyone can be the difference […]
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Addiction is a chronic disease that changes the structure of the brain and how it works. This understanding helped fuel our fight for parity, promote evidence-based treatment and recovery services, and now supports a $35 billion drug treatment industry. But critics – including renowned addiction psychiatrist and NatCon18 speaker Sally Satel – believe that calling […]
Read More on If Addiction is a Disease, What kind of Disease is it? Join the Conversation! View Comments of If Addiction is a Disease, What kind of Disease is it? Join the Conversation!
