Two months ago, my mother committed suicide suddenly and shockingly. Disclaimer: I have no background in psychology, so I can only share my personal experiences with suicide and mental health. I can only break the silence with my words. Many people were totally taken aback when they found out that my family went totally public…
One out of every four of us struggles with mental illness, yet most people we speak with about this feel so alone. We have been giving people living with mental illness and addiction a place to share stories and strategies, to feel accepted and safe, and to let go of, for many, decades of shame….
Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay lost their own son Matthew to suicide in 2013, following severe depression and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. That’s one reason why the two have become so passionate about ministering to those with mental illnesses as leaders of the Saddleback Church, a Southern Baptist congregation where weekly…
Much of the discussion in faith community efforts to improve diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases — and social support of those who have them — has lately focused on three areas: 1) Planning a Sabbath of Inclusion or “Mental Health Weekend of Faith” either for your local Jewish community or your city’s larger combined…
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. So begins the poem “Unetaneh Tokef,” which is recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I have always struggled with this poem. The very literal translation speaks to an intervening God, one who is ready to stand in judgement and hand down…
Passover is here. It is usually one of my favorite holidays. I love the ritual of preparing the house, the smell of the food and the joyous atmosphere at the Seder table. But this year is different. Passover begins only three days after the one year anniversary of my father’s suicide. My father was trapped…
Troubled former teenage star Amanda Bynes has left a California facility after court-ordered psychiatric treatment and is recovering at her parents’ home in Los Angeles, People magazine said on Thursday. The 27-year-old actress was receiving psychiatric care at a Malibu facility after she was alleged to have started a small fire in the front of…
Mental illness took my brother’s life on numerous occasions, most recently and for the last time when he was 58. He was 22 the first time he died, six years to the day after my father’s yahrzeit. His obituary noted that Gerald M. Jacobs died at home, but funeral arrangements were incomplete. Contributions could be…
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