Laurel House, Inc., the non-profit sponsor of www.rtor.org recently lost a beloved, long-time employee, Wendy Champeix, who is honored in this post about her life as a Champion for Recovery. The last time I saw Wendy she was conducting a walk-through of the Laurel House kitchen and café areas to make sure everything was in […]
Our Latest Blogs
24
May
May
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are inviting different guest bloggers each week in the month of May to write about their perspectives on mental health. Today’s guest blog post comes from Lisa Scott whose post highlights the importance of gratitude and the power of speaking out about mental health issues. Be sure to check out Lisa’s […]
17
May
May
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are inviting different guest bloggers each week in the month of May to write about their perspectives on mental health. Today’s guest blog post comes from The Mental Runner whose post details how a combination of living a healthy lifestyle and taking medication has helped him manage his mental health conditions and live a […]
30
Mar
Mar
Yesterday, when I first learned of Patty Duke’s death (on Twitter, of all places), the first thing that went through my mind was the theme song from her hit TV show of the mid 1960s, The Patty Duke Show. If you are over 55 and grew up in America, it’s probably etched in your […]
10
Mar
Mar
I recently read The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks, an autobiography about the Yale-educated law professor’s life-long struggle with schizophrenia. It would be easy to write a book review, judging the work solely on its entertainment value and well-crafted prose. Yet, the core of the book contains serious messages about mental health, mental illness […]
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 […]
22
Oct
Oct
This article contains spoilers for The Visit, The Village, The Happening and The Sixth Sense. If you don’t want the details of these films ruined for you, watch them first and meet me back here. Dear Mr. Shyamalan, I want to discuss your latest work, The Visit with you. I went to see this […]
13
Oct
Oct
Rarely does a movie get beneath my skin the way that the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy did. As a child growing up in the 60s I preferred the American pop sound of the Beach Boys to the anglicized rock and roll of the Beatles. So I silently cheered when Paul Dano playing […]
01
Oct
Oct
In late summer 2007, my teenager self got the devastating news that my favorite band, The White Stripes had cancelled their tour. I was not going to be able to attend their concert that was only a few weeks way in my local area. Like any teen with a music obsession, I was crushed. […]
14
Jul
Jul
As you can see from our last post on the topic, our Editor in Chief, Jay Boll has some strong opinions about the new video game Hellblade. In short, the game features the Celtic warrior, Senua who battles a variety of mental illnesses after a Viking attack on her village. I understand my coworker’s point of […]
18
Jun
Jun
An RtoR SmackDown of the Generations – Millennial vs. Baby Boomer! The metaphor of mental illness as a kind of living hell within the mind is nothing new. But Hellblade, the Game? When I first read that gaming company Ninja Theory wants to provide an “accurate and sensitive” portrayal of mental illness in its combat-based […]
16
Jun
Jun
Video gaming gets a bad rap. It’s either being blamed for causing violent behavior in children or being called out for perpetuating negative stereotypes of women. Game developers at Ninja Theory plan to change all that by releasing Hellblade in 2016 for PS4 and Windows PC. The game focuses on the female warrior, Senua […]
29
May
May
How common is mental illness? The answer depends on what you mean by “mental illness.” The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that 18.6% of adult Americans experienced mental illness in the last year (call this the “1-in-5 definition”). The rate for children is slightly higher, although the childhood statistics from NIMH refer to […]
18
May
May
Mental health is a topic no one in the workplace wants to talk about but no one can afford not to. Many companies lose revenue and productivity by not addressing mental health but the fear and shame surrounding the topic leads both employers and employees from speaking out about this very important issue. Mental […]
13
May
May
In the most recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Franchise, Avengers: Age of Ultron, the superheroes encounter a superhuman who has the power of mind control. She uses her abilities to make the heroes hallucinate their worst fear which is either an incident from their past or the worst outcome in the future. When we see […]
12
May
May
Adolescents who identify as LGBTQ are known to face discrimination. Not only do they experience stigmatization and alienation from their peers but also can face similar attitudes at home. It is believed that experiences of discrimination may contribute to mental health issues in LGBTQ people. Research has found that those who identify as homosexual […]
05
May
May
These days, you could be forgiven for thinking that Cinco de Mayo is a new holiday celebrating Americans’ freedom to drink Mexican beer and enjoy delicious Mexican-American cuisine. If you think it is the celebration of Mexican Independence Day, you would also be wrong. In fact, the 5th of May is not even a national holiday […]
20
Apr
Apr
For the last twenty minutes I have been struggling with the question of how to open this post on teenage suicide. It seems that there is just no easy way start. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (7th for males). Chances […]
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 […]
