Practicing Gratitude,
November 27, 2019

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and that of course makes us think about gratitude.  Studies show that gratitude is good for us, and not just on national holidays.  A disposition of gratitude on a daily basis makes us healthier people both physically and mentally.

Indeed, recent research suggests that counting our blessings on a regular basis can help decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety over the long term. More research is in the works, but in conjunction with therapy or other medical treatment, it seems that gratitude can have a significant impact.

World Mental Health Day,
October 10, 2019

Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day.

As time goes on, awareness efforts to normalize discourse about mental health have been incredibly successful. Though stigma still persists, it is no longer shocking to see candid reporting about depression and other mood disorders, especially as we come to grips with just how common depression is.

Unfortunately, reporting on mental health often clusters a variety of disorders together without clarifying how they may differ from, or relate to, each other. For today’s e-mail, we want to look more closely at the difference between depression and anxiety, two related but distinct disorders that often go hand in hand.

September 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day,
September 10, 2019

Today, September 10, is the annual World Suicide Prevention Day, and we here at HDRF wanted to take a moment to discuss the day itself as well as ways all of us can help to prevent suicide in our own communities. This year, World Suicide Prevention Day focuses on the theme of “Working Together to Prevent Suicide,” to emphasize that mental health care and suicide prevention is incumbent on us all.

Before delving into what individuals can do to help, we first want to highlight some of the staggering facts about suicide.

Pride Month and Mental Health Awareness,
June 28, 2019

Today, June 28, marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the event that sparked the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States, and later inspired Pride events every June.

In honor of this milestone, we want to shed light on mental health issues affecting LGBTQ people.

Unfortunately, a stigma still exists surrounding the LGBTQ community, which leads to increased rates of bullying, harassment and even homelessness among a large percentage of this population.  Studies in 2015 and 2018 showed that the experience of feeling stigmatized leads to:

Cyberbullying and Mental Health – Know the Facts,
May 20, 2019

Laptops, cell phones, and other mobile devices have made access to the online world almost a given for many people across the United States. There are certainly positives to modern technology and the freedom it gives us, but unfortunately some negative consequences of the cyber world have become increasingly apparent.

Bullying is by no means a new phenomenon, but cyberbullying, defined as “any behavior performed through electronic or digital media by individuals or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others,” has increased dramatically in the last decade or so¹.