I was working out this morning and heard a song by Chris McDaniel titled Somebody Like Me. It inspired me to write a blog post about how the stigma of mental health affects males. Boys and men are far more likely to die by suicide. According to the AFSP, men died by suicide 3.90x [...]
1 in 5 Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year. The JEM Foundation encourages everyone to get a mental health checkup every year. You are not alone! There is help for you.
Did you know that July is Minority Mental Health Month? According to census data over 316 million people live in the U.S. and in 2010 minorities comprised 36.3% of the U.S. population, by 2020 this is expected to grow to 39.9%. Minority mental health is an important topic and one that isn’t talked about enough. [...]
Faith-based leaders are often the first notified when a member is struggling with mental illness. They are in a unique position to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness and provide hope to those in their congregation and their communities. Many individuals struggling with suicidal ideation are in a spiritual crisis. They may question their existence, [...]
Losing a loved one to suicide is often confusing and surreal. A great deal of energy is expended churning through a whirlpool of questions - especially the whys. I’ve heard it countless times from other survivors of suicide loss – why did my loved one do this when they were the first in line [...]
*Trigger Warning* A friend tagged me in a post on a private Christian page showing a video in which a student asks Ravi Zacharias a question: "does suicide send you directly to hell?” I am unsure why my friend tagged me; I assume he thought I would want to discuss Mr. Zacharias’ response. I watched [...]
Unfortunately the posted image was a response that we received to one of our posts on FB. I wanted to share it with you in the hopes of educating others. I was going to respond to this individual but my husband wisely told me not to waste my time and energy, it wasn't worth it. [...]
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer in 2012. After fighting for my life, I came to understand the terrible mental toll that I had paid through that season. I wrote the following post to the women in our private Facebook support group, Booby Buddies, in 2014: [...]
I’ve always considered myself a “late bloomer.” I have never had any real passions. I am not athletic, artistic, and I have come to acceptance I will never be an engineer for NASA. However, something changed inside me when I turned 40 last year. Something cathartic. Something that moved me to take action. I am [...]
Let's face it, being a parent is hard work. It's probably the hardest job you will ever have. Adding special needs to parenting can make it seem almost impossible. To the mother facing that challenge I have a message: you are not failing, nor are you a failure. I remember days when my son Jake [...]
