Here at rtor.org we are dedicated to helping families and that includes the many different ways people make up a family. A large variety of families exist outside of the typical nuclear family consisting of a father, a mother and their biological children; this includes families formed by adoption. It’s estimated that about 5 million people […]
Our Latest Blogs
25
Feb
Feb
The following story of recovery and hope comes from Alex, who has found a creative way to help himself recover from an eating disorder. Alex has started the blog The Recovery Kitchen where he details both his delicious recipes as well as his own journey in recovery. Today’s post details his personal struggles and triumphs with […]
19
Jan
Jan
Today’s wellness story comes from Jeff Fink, the founder of Go Fetch Wellness. Jeff’s story demonstrates the amazing impact animals can have on people’s lives and the importance of a holistic approach to mental health. We are grateful to Jeff for sharing his story with us at rtor.org. –Veronique Hoebeke, Associate Editor Suffering, medications, […]
17
Dec
Dec
Today’s story reminds us all to be grateful for the blessings in our lives and to have hope for the future when times are hard. This story comes from Tom who used to lived in San Francisco. He experienced the traumatic loss of his mother at an early age followed by homelessness but he still made it out […]
08
Dec
Dec
The following story is written by Chris who is a Brooklyn, NY resident living with a mental health disorder. She shares her unique outlook on recovery as well as her hopeful message with us today. We are grateful that Chris is sharing her story on rtor.org. —Veronique Hoebeke, Associate Editor Before I give the details of my recovery, I […]
03
Nov
Nov
Let me give you an idea of who I am, what type of OCD I have and what exactly I’m doing about it. I have an annoying OCD enemy situated at the forefront of my brain. We have been together for about 8 years on and off, we disagree on everything and I have been […]
29
Oct
Oct
Does the term “mental illness” bother anyone else as much as it bothers me? As a treatment provider helping people to determine if they would like to discuss their “disability” with an employer, I have been in the uncomfortable situation of informing someone that their anxiety disorder, depression, PTSD or some other DSM diagnosis […]
29
Sep
Sep
The following story is written by 19 year old Salman, a Kenyan refugee who now lives in Omaha, Nebraska. We all know childhood trauma can have a very negative effect on one’s mental health yet Salman has not let the difficulties of his past stop him. Due to Salman’s persistence, positive attitude and desire […]
08
Sep
Sep
Remember how you learned to ride a bike? What if you had to unlearn everything you knew about this basic task you probably learned in childhood? This video illustrates how hard it is to re-train the brain to think differently. The narrator of this video speaks about his experiment riding a backwards-handled bike. During […]
18
Aug
Aug
The following post is written by Drew Osbahr who uses his love of music as a way to recover from anxiety and depression. We are thankful that Drew has let us share his recovery story on rtor.org -Veronique Hoebeke, Associate Editor Hi, my name is Drew and I have been recovering one step at a time from […]
21
Jul
Jul
The following post is written by Bing Devine, a Connecticut resident who lives with mental illness. We are grateful to Bing for allowing us to share her story on rtor.org. -Veronique Hoebeke, Associate Editor Who Am I? I have been excited all day, for today I am going to meet all the tenants in my unit. We will assemble in […]
11
Jun
Jun
The following untitled poem was written by Betsi, a 54-year old participant in Laurel House’s Thinking Well program. Thinking Well is a group activity that helps people with serious mental health conditions practice and improve their thinking skills for better functioning at home, work, school and the community. During her time in Thinking Well, Betsi […]
13
Mar
Mar
. The following recovery story was written by Tammi Way, a 43-year old woman from Florida with lived experience of mental illness. We are grateful to Tammi for allowing us to share her powerful story of Recovery and Hope on rtor.org. . […]
25
Feb
Feb
. Rtor.org is pleased to have disability advocate Michael De Rosa guest blogging on the site today. Michael is editor of the website dismantlingdisABILITIES.com and author of the soon to be published self-help workbook “Unlimited Potential: empowerment tools at your finger tips.” His lived experience with anxiety and other disabilities, […]
06
Nov
Nov
Laurel House Employment Specialist Elizabeth Fouracre, LMSW, writes this week about her experience with a training program that simulates the subjective experience of a person with schizophrenia hearing voices. CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper undergoes a comparable sensitivity exercise and afterwards describe in terms similar to Elizabeth’s how profoundly difficult and isolating this experience was for him. Watch […]
