Tag Archives: depression

Financial Wellness: An Important Step to Mental Health

I spoke with Jim Goldman, a Certified Financial Planner, who also volunteers with Jewish Family Services for 13 years as their Money Coach. Jim advises unemployed people in JFS’ JETS Schmoozers Job Networking Club how to manage their money, how to spend and save wisely, and how to achieve financial wellness—being able to do whatContinue reading “Financial Wellness: An Important Step to Mental Health”

Planet of Microbes by Ted Anton: Links Depression/Anxiety to Gut

If you watch the Big Bang Theory, read the Science section of the New York Times and live on the line where nature meets poetry, Planet of Microbes: The Perils and Potential of Earth’s Essential Life Forms by Ted Anton will engage you in the history and future of microbes. Anton is as much aContinue reading “Planet of Microbes by Ted Anton: Links Depression/Anxiety to Gut”

Fitness Builds Self-Confidence and Adds to Mental Health

John Zvonek has been in mental health recovery for 12 years since he was age 25. “I had to find healthy habits,” he said. “I had to take my recovery seriously that meant no drinking, drugs and be as healthy as I could possibly be.” He gained 80 pounds in one month because of hisContinue reading “Fitness Builds Self-Confidence and Adds to Mental Health”

Suicide shouldn’t be a stigma anymore

Cat was 37 and in the middle of the worst manic episode of her life. She was confused, angry, depressed. Her stringy blonde hair framed her face giving her the appearance of the late Kurt Cobain. She had been walking the streets of Minneappolis and Chicago for a week. Her clothes dirty; her body battered.Continue reading “Suicide shouldn’t be a stigma anymore”

You can’t Backpack through a Mental Hospital Or, Maybe, you can.

During college, while all my friends were backpacking through Europe or studying abroad, I spent my time in and out of psych hospitals. Sure I missed out on some terrific college experiences but I gained an education in a population who are discriminated against and marginalized. I decided I wanted to use my journalism skillsContinue reading “You can’t Backpack through a Mental Hospital Or, Maybe, you can.”

Profile in Brave: Risa Sugarman

I met Risa Sugarman as she was fighting with her insurance for a round of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat her depression. Risa struck me as a put-together, forty-something with short red hair and glasses. No one in the suburban town we’re both from would guess she had struggled with depression since college at ColumbiaContinue reading “Profile in Brave: Risa Sugarman”