"Support Our Troops? Dealing with PTSD Requires Commitment" article
Click here for article Suicides by active-duty troops and veterans are at levels that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. Each day, on average, a current service member dies by suicide, and each hour a veteran does the same. In response, President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act in February. The act aims to make information on suicide prevention more easily available to veterans; it offers financial incentives to mental health
"The Army’s New Plan To Help Soldiers With PTSD" article
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/05/18/3660057/army-overhauling-mental-health-services/ CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE Even though fewer troops are now going into war zones, Army officials are still struggling to connect soldiers with the appropriate treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder amid a surge in PTSD cases in recent years. However, an impending overhaul of the Army’s mental health care system could help extend immediate, personalized care to those who need
"Sebastian Junger on PTSD: 'It's coming home that's actually the trauma'"
Source: http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-05-13/ptsd-isnt-about-what-happens-battlefield-what-happens-back-home We might think we have a basic understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD: Soldiers in battle see things they'd like to forget, but years later combat memories come back to haunt them. That's the received wisdom. But perhaps we have it all wrong. Maybe it's not the reminders of the fighting that cause post-traumatic stress so much as the void ex-combatan
"Depression, the Secret We Share" recommended TED talk!
Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO This TED talk features great information about "what it feels like to be depressed" presented by Andrew Soloman. "The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment." In a talk equal parts eloquent and devastating, writer Andrew Solomon takes you to the darkest corners of his mind during the years h
Pennsylvania Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Pennsylvania state senators have approved legislation to legalize medical marijuana. Senate Bill 3 was sent to the state House on Tuesday by a vote of 40-7. The bill would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for 15 medical conditions including cancer, epilepsy and seizures, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV/AIDS, and glaucoma. Amendments approved before the final Senate vote added three qualifyi
"Why It's So Hard to Come Home From War" article
America’s war in Afghanistan has been its longest, and arguably its most grueling — and yet for 13 years it’s also been strangely invisible. For those of us far removed from the front lines, it can be almost perplexing to remember the battles being fought in our name. Sebastian Junger’s work helps bring them back into focus. In 2010, he released the documentary film Restrepo, for which he and a photographer, the late Tim Hetherington, spent nearly a year living in a spectacul
"Cumberland, Perry counties host Mental Health Awareness Month events" PennLive article
"A number of events that are open to the public are set around Cumberland and Perry counties to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month in May. The Cumberland-Perry Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities office is kicking off this year's activities with its annual Mental Health Walk on Friday. The walk starts at LeTort Park in Carlisle at 10 a.m. and ends at the Old Cumberland County Court House where a short rally will be held. After the rally, lunch
Cpl Dane Freedman honored at the OC Half Marathon this weekend!!
A dear friend of Dane's sent us these pictures from a half marathon she ran in his honor in Orange County, California this weekend. This means the world to us, having her get our message out about veteran suicide and PTSD. Dane was so lucky to have such amazing friends. Thank you Shari Coble Yoder so much for remembering our Dane Shari writes: "The most emotional race i've ever done but only 3 hours of sleep after a crazy work week doesn't help. Ran alongside a marine for mos
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. During the month of May, NAMI and the rest of the country are bringing awareness to mental illness. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for equal care. Each year, the movement grows stronger. In 2013, President Obama proclaimed May as National Mental Health Awareness Month and brought the issue of mental
"Mindfulness May Be As Good As Meds for Staving off Depression" article
THE QUESTION Doctors generally prescribe antidepressants to help people avoid the recurrences that are common with chronic depression. Might mindfulness therapy, which helps people change the way they respond to feelings and experiences that trigger their bouts of depression, offer an alternative for those who do not want to take antidepressants long-term? THIS STUDY involved 424 adults — their average age was about 50 — who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder b
