Lately, I have written blogs about having a good support system, practicing positivity and knowing your dark thoughts / depression triggers. These are all important aspects of continued treatment for my depression. Another aspect of depression treatment is to try to get involved in a charity or cause. The obvious benefit of said involvement is to the benefactor. What makes this an important part of coping with depression is that we are exposed to the needs of others.

Today, we are continuing our discussion of grief and its effects on those with mental health diagnoses. Grief Reveals Itself Layer By Layer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described grief as five individual stages. The order in which an individual progresses through the stages of grief may not be sequential and more than one stage may be experienced at a given time. (http://www.helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm) Stages of Grief: Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.” Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?” Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.” Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.” Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

School is officially in session and whether you are in high school or college, you’re probably feeling a little bit of stress.  Well, some of you may be feeling completely overwhelmed and that is more than understandable.  However, take a step back and look at everything you have on your plate.  Homework? Sports? Jobs? Rent? All of the above? Being overly ambitious can, at times, lead to stress and being too stressed can, at times, lead to negative behaviors – such as self-harm.

If this is your first time attempting recovery from your eating disorder, a lot of what an eating disorder dietitian will help you with is understanding why your body needs to be fed what it does. For a while now, your mind has convinced you that your body does or doesn't need that or fats are the devil or white bread makes you fat or whatever. None of it's true. Food is just fuel. And every macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate) has a very specific purpose in your body -- you need all of them every day in order to maintain a healthy, functioning body and brain. The dietition you see in eating disorder recovery is an important person on your treatment team.

Hiya fellow parents. I share a lot about self-care here. What to do and why it is so important to practice good self-care. But, I don't always follow my own advice. And when I don't, everything seems to backfire for me. It happened last week with Bob's school attendance.

In this two-part series, I speak with former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, D-RI, about mental health stigma and the work he and others are doing, not only to combat stigma, but to bring research into brain disorders and illnesses to the forefront. Kennedy is a co-founder of One Mind for Research, a group dedicated to brain disorder research. In this interview, Kennedy speaks about mental health stigma; the role his uncle, President John F. Kennedy played in bringing about treatment to local communities, and the role of post-tramatic stress in the "astronomical" suicide rate of today's veterans.

Christopher asked me this question about accepting and letting go of anxiety: Hi Jodi, I have lived with anxiety for 20 years. I am 37 now and I am sick of it. My counselor says that accepting and letting go of my anxieties will help. I don't understand how. Thanks, Christopher

This video provides quick and simple tips for helping you stay confident and secure on a first date. Men and women can both have a hard time feeling confident, this video helps you before the date and during. Good luck and go make some love connections!

I am doing an on-air shift at a radio station today - so have access to the NewsWire from the Associated Press. This just in: NEW YORK (AP) _ The mother of the man who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard says she is ``so, so very sorry that this has happened.'' Cathleen Alexis said Wednesday in New York City that she does not know why her son, Aaron, did what he did and she will never be able to ask him.

Years ago I was traveling from Philly to L.A. on business and found myself seated next to an unremarkable gentleman – mid-40s, clean-shaven, tall, closely-cropped hair, dressed casually but in all regards neat and presentable. One is captive on a plane and I hoped he understood the difference between friendly and intrusive.