Not only is Jameela Jamil ill-equipped to be a mental health advocate, she has shown that she doesn’t care to learn better. By Candice Alaska [TW: brief mention of gun violence and murder, sexual violence towards women, and police violence towards disabled BIPOC.] Ever one to be a part of the discourse, self-described “Feminist-in-Progress” and...
Tag: mental health
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What A Psychiatric Hold Taught Me About Prison and Policing
Both the police and the mental health industry treat us inhumanly by taking us away from our homes and placing us in cells. By Treva Flores “Treva Flores… 1995. Treva. God. Treva God Brain. But Treva Not God. Treva,” my head raced while two police officers handcuffed me. I was 5150’d, later changed to a...
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Submitting To Death: What My Grief Is Teaching Me
Embracing the discomforts of grief helped me to stop wrestling with both death and life. Sometimes grief is simply not allowing what is dead to die. This essay discusses death, grief, and mental health, and mentions suicide By Namupa Shivute 2019 was a year of upheaval. Much of what was foundational in my world crashed...
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Therapy Is Helping Me Break My Latinx Family’s Stigma of Mental Health Care
Therapy has taught me to no longer keep quiet about my mental health. Millennial and Gen-Z Latinx folks must combat the stigma against therapy in our culture. TW/CW: this essay contains mentions of COVID-19 related death and grief. By Miryam R. Pinto My mother passed away from COVID complications in late March. Not only did...
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Bipolar Disorder Is Demonized In The Coverage Of A Bollywood Star’s Death
People with bipolar disorder must not only cope with the challenges of the illness but also the stigma and discrimination in an ableist society. By Suryatapa Mukherjee CW: suicide, ableism Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput passed away in June of this year at the age of 34, shocking all of India and plunging millions of...
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To Be Black, Suicidal, And Dedicated To Keeping Black Life Sacred
My greatest fear is dying by the hands of white supremacists and just becoming a hashtag that eventually loses steam. But, I frequently do want to die. TW: This essay discusses suicidality, mentions of Black death, inpatient stays, madness, abuse, police encounter, hopelessness, and depression. By Lennox Orion It is 2012, I am 15-years-old and...
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We Cannot Transcend Mental Illness In The Context of American Capitalism
Healthcare systems in the United States place the onus of healing on individuals and focus on self-optimization in service of inherently violent capitalism. TW: mentions of suicide, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and forced institutionalization Every suicide prevention day, week, or month, I once conveyed the same message, regurgitating advice that, at the height of my battle...
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‘The Umbrella Academy’, Vanya Hargreeves, and The Impact of Residual Trauma
‘The Umbrella Academy’ presents Vanya as a villain—and she is understood as such by many fans—but, in truth, she is the one who has been the most victimized. This essay contains spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of ‘The Umbrella Academy.’ It also discusses childhood, familial, and partner abuse. The Umbrella Academy is a flawed,...
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Ahsoka, Survival and Leaving the Ones You Love
Ahsoka Tano is a reminder that you can’t save everyone. Love alone does not conquer all, and to quote someone from my chosen family, love shouldn’t hurt. This essay contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Clone Wars By Rebecca Wei Hsieh I’ll admit, I had a whole meltdown and a half after watching the series...
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We All Failed Oluwatoyin Salau. All of Us.
At every turn in her life, Oluwatoyin was failed by all the people, all the places, and all the entities that were supposed to protect her. TW/CW: suicide ideation, murder, anti-Blackness, domestic/interpersonal violence, and sexual assault. I should not be here. This, of course, does not help my suicide ideation. But… I think about that...