Archive

Being safe is about being seen and heard and allowed to be who you are and to speak your truth. –– Rachel Naomi Remen When Lisa Marie Basile was in high school, she purposely didn’t make friends. She crafted an...

When you think of the holiday season, what comes to mind? Is it symbols of jolliness and cheer, or depression and stress? Either way, we must remember that everyone experiences the holiday season differently – especially those living with mental...

When I enlisted, it was not possible for openly transgender individuals to serve in the military. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was still very much alive and prevalent in Armed Forces law and culture. I, like many others, had to hide...

Millions of people every year take a CPR or first aid class to learn how to recognize and care for a variety of medical emergencies. But what about someone experiencing a mental health emergency? That’s where Mental Health First Aid...

No one said this job was going to be easy. But if you asked me five years into my career, I’d tell you it was the best thing allowing me to live a full life, and protect and serve with...

Think that rural communities don’t face mental health challenges? Nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe it’s because we are small, unseen and misunderstood that people are unaware of the issues we face, or needs we have. But they’re similar to...

It was about 8:45 p.m. on a slow weeknight in early 2011. We were ready to close the pharmacy down as soon as 9 p.m. hit. A patient came to the counter looking anxious and exhausted; she passed me –...

The idea that military-connected individuals and civilians cannot understand one another, often referred to as the civilian-military divide, is one of the most prominent barriers to care for veterans and military members seeking mental health and addiction treatment. So how...

Addiction is a brain disorder. That finding is still relatively new within the scientific community, having only really emerged during the last two decades of research—but it should be a source of consolation for anyone living with a substance use...

I am a veteran. When I returned home to Amarillo, Texas after being deployed to Afghanistan with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, I was ready for a fresh start. Instead, I struggled with unemployment as symptoms of depression, anxiety and...

Approximately one in 10 police calls involves a person with mental illness, making police the nation’s de facto first responders to mental health crises. Although police are on the front lines, they often do not have the training to recognize...

If you haven’t read Part I of Sgt. Eric Weaver’s inspirational story, click here. In 2002, a fellow officer and close friend of mine completed suicide. Rather than continuing to work through my recovery in silence, I decided something needed...