#Reduce Stigma

[trustbehavioralhealthcareserv]

Access to quality behavioral health services in Philadelphia, PA, is crucial for the well-being of the community. Trust Behavioral Healthcare Services recognizes the importance of collaborative efforts with hospitals to enhance the delivery of care. Through strategic partnerships, we aim to address the growing need for mental health support in our region.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

5 Benefits to Embracing Neurodiversity in Schools

Mrs Speechie P

[tomorrowusa]

Rosalynn Carter (1927-2023)

Rosalynn Carter has died at the age of 96. She was one of the more influential First Ladies – ranking behind just Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton.

Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter and a longtime mental health advocate and humanitarian, died on Sunday in her home in Plains, Ga., surrounded by family, according to the Carter Center. She was 96. The Carter Center announced Rosalynn Carter was in hospice care on Friday. Her family said earlier this year that she was diagnosed with dementia. Jimmy Carter, who is 99, has been in hospice care since February. "Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," the former president said in a statement. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me." Rosalynn Carter was first lady from 1977 to 1981 and was dubbed the "Steel Magnolia" by the press during her years in the White House for the toughness she exhibited behind the gentle persona she outwardly embraced. Throughout Jimmy Carter's time in public office, she was her husband's closest political adviser. She also revolutionized and professionalized the first lady role by expanding the office beyond hostess duties. [ ... ] After her husband was elected president, Carter ushered in a new era as first lady. She attended Cabinet meetings and was only the second first lady to testify before Congress. According to Brower, she took a professional approach to the role, exemplified by the fact that she was the first presidential spouse to carry a briefcase to the office on a daily basis. "I think Rosalynn was a feminist and somebody who wanted to be a true partner to her husband," Brower said. "And she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't be allowed to do that."

She had been an advocate for mental health long before she came to Washington.

As first lady of Georgia, Carter encouraged her husband to establish a governor's commission on mental health, which outlined an influential plan to shift treatment from large institutions to community centers. "She really began the effort in this country to modernize mental health care," Cade said. "And the mental health care system that we have today in many ways reflects her 50 years of advocacy." Carter was also an early advocate for reducing the stigma around mental illness and, in speeches, often framed mental health care as "a basic human right." In 1980, President Carter signed the Mental Health Systems Act, which provided grants for community mental health clinics, one of many achievements credited, at least in part, to his wife's advocacy in the U.S. and globally.

Mental health as a basic human right is one of Rosalyn Carter's legacies.

On the subject of mental health, Mrs. Carter took part in a forum at the JFK Presidential Library in November of 2010.

ROSALYNN CARTER ON THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS | JFK Library

[thriftdyke]

feel like some people need to understand that just bc a word is used as part of a diagnostic label / criteria in the dsm doesn’t mean it doesn’t have like. meaning outside of that

[honeysuckle-venom]

Sometimes I'm really frustrated that I didn't get certain types of testing and therapy when I was much younger. My brother was in occupational and physical therapy by the time he was three years old. Granted, some of his difficulties were more obvious than mine. And it was a decade later; there was more awareness. But also some of it is that my parents just weren't very responsible with me!

Something that is always just kind of told as a funny family story is the fact that in preschool, at parent teacher meetings, my parents were told that I "failed scissors." Yeah, that's cute. But it also meant something! My teachers brought up the fact that I wasn't meeting a developmental milestone; that's something to take note of! I was dyspraxic. There was a reason I couldn't use scissors until I was much older, a reason I didn't learn to tie laces until I was nine, that I couldn't do buttons or zippers, that I didn't hold pencils or forks properly and made messes when I ate, that I couldn't catch things or tell left from right until way later than my peers! And I was having sensory meltdowns multiple times a week in preschool, I would cry when garbage trucks went by because they were so loud, my first sentence was "tag hurt" about the tag in my shirt. Like, someone should have maybe noticed some of these things and gotten me checked out! If I had ever had occupational therapy it would have been honestly lifechanging for me.

And like, it's fine. I did okay without it; that's why I never got it. I did well in school, and as I got older my physical coordination problems were less important as emphasis was placed on academics instead of fine motor skills. I learned to mostly cope with my sensory issues and hide them in public. The fact that math was much harder for me than other subjects and that I had trouble with visual information was certainly never investigated, because I still did well in all of my classes, and it wasn't until I was sixteen that I found out I had also had a visual learning disability the whole time. That one I blame my parents less for, as the signs were much more subtle. But it still sucks that it took so long to figure out; when I finally was diagnosed with a learning disability the tester included all sorts of recommendations for accommodations that would have been incredibly helpful in school. Even simple things like larger fonts and less visual stimuli on worksheets would have helped a lot.

Idk, it's just frustrating sometimes, because I really think early interventions for some of this stuff would have made a really big difference in my quality of life as a kid. Especially occupational therapy for my sensory issues, because that was causing the most distress, and has continued to cause significant distress to this day. My parents didn't know anything about anything, so there was never any kind of intervention like OT or a sensory diet or anything like that, but gosh it would have been huge for me. Heck, even owning a weighted blanket would have been helpful as a kid (I have one now). I know there wasn't nearly as much awareness of things like that 20 years ago, but some of my problems were a) being pointed out by teachers and b) just generally very obvious, and a little bit of research would have gone a long way. Instead I was just written off as a sensitive kid, which like, yeah, true! But there were reasons for that! Sigh.

[pinkfey]

the marriage process is so convoluted and for what

[forgotten-daydreamer]

one day people will stop saying they have bpd just because they get "irrationally angry sometimes", but that day is not today, unfortunately for us all.

[pinkxcloudz]

when my mental illness actually does make me want to kill people and be kind of a bad person 🤯

[golden--doodler]

After thinking about how much I love my sister, I started thinking about how much I love my dad. Words can't describe how lucky I was to have such a loving, supportive, caring father like him. Specifically when it comes to LGBTQ+ matters. I'm also just kind of a daddy's girl at heart.

Now, he's the most Cisgender, Heterosexual male to ever walk this Earth. But he's also the most enormous ally of the LGBTQ+ community I've ever seen. So much so that he's practically waving a rainbow flag at any second. This man's support of the community is actually insane, and it gives me instant Serotonin just thinking about it. How many Cishet parents, especially coming from a country like Korea, who (even though they've gotten better about this over time) have a culture where being LGBTQ+ is still very taboo, would be as enthusiastic as he is about these matters? It warms my heart so much.

He actually gets so passionate and heated about it too. I remember one night at dinner (I can't remember the context of this), he actually said something along the lines of: "God, there are just so many people who say "marriage is only for men and women". Like why? That is so ridiculous."

My LGBTQ+ heart jumped a little in happiness at him being so outspoken about Homophobia.

But my favorite thing is how passionate of a Transgender ally he is. Even though neither my sister nor I are Trans (I'm Genderfluid AFAB and my older sister's Cisgender), he gets so adorably excited when talking about Trans people. I don't know what it is about Trans people, but he actually loves them so much? I remember one day, I was talking to him about nothing much in particular, and then the subject turned to video games. A long time ago, I got really into this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure video game series called Life is Strange, and he brought up a game that was similar to Life is Strange that he played. And he said something along the lines of:

"Well, if you play it, you'll see, but there's something super cool and interesting that happens when you get farther along. You actually find out that the main character is actually *gasps* a Trans Guy! Like he was born a girl but he's really a boy. Isn't that just the coolest thing, Doodler? I thought it was so cool. I really enjoyed that. You should play it."

And then another instance, he began talking about the two people who directed the Matrix movies, the ones with Keanu Reeves (The Wachowskis), because he recently watched the newer Matrix movie which I can't remember the name of. He brought the directors up because he told me:

"Oh, and they're not the brothers. People thought they were, but they're actually the sisters. They're Transgender. Isn't that great?"

My sister was there as well, and she also talked about how cool she thought that was too, especially because the Wachowskis apparently came out later in their lives than most.

I can't emphasize how incredible it is to have a father who gets so excited about other people's identities that are different than their own. He is so outspoken about how everyone should be accepted for who they are, and how everyone is beautiful for who they are. He is part of the reason that I always grew up accepting people for who they are, and why I was always so comfortable with exploring and figuring out who I was as I grew older.

And when I ended up coming out to him, I asked him gently if he was surprised. And his reaction was telling me that he only wanted me to be happy. We also hugged. That response and acceptance from him meant everything. Something tells me that he would proudly brag about me and my LGBTQ+ identity to as many people as possible if he could.

And over the summer, I was playing the South Park: Fractured But Whole video game, and I showed him my character's page, and how I'd made my character Bisexual like I am (side note, it's super cool how the game allows you to make your character LGBTQ+). And when he saw this, he laughed and gave the biggest grin. He told me he loved that I did that. And that gave me such a warm feeling inside that I could share these things with him so openly.

There are unfortunately so many people who have to hide who they are from their parents for fear of judgement or worse. But the fact that I don't have to and can be proud of who I am in front of my dad is a testament to how amazing and accepting of a parent he is. All dads should honestly take notes, at least when it comes to being supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

I think this is also why my dad reminds me so much of Bob. All of the reasons I outlined why I love my dad and how accepting he is are all reasons I love Bob as well, and why I think Bob is such a great dad. And this scene has something my dad would definitely say:

I'm going to tag @br1ghtestlight here because I know he's Trans, and I just think he'd like to read about my wholesome #1 Trans Ally dad :3

[zzombie-gutzz]

i hate flag discourse bro your family is dying and suffering every day and you're arguing over fucking color palettes? get a life and do something that will actually help the queer community i'm begging you

[lovesexplore]

QUEEF PHENOMENON

Explore this informative article to understand queefing, a natural bodily phenomenon often misunderstood. Learn why it happens and how to embrace it without embarrassment.

[35253319]

The way the genshin community characterises alhaitham is literally disgusting.

[mikiruma]

i do kind of miss working on the system comic mostly bc i want to make something abt fictives being treated as inherently lesser in a system. bc its a thing we noticed and a thing im sure people talk about but doesnt get shared much outside of system spaces

[humanrightsconnected]

Today marks World Aids Day! As we commemorate this important day, discover different ways how you can support people who are living with HIV! 

👉 http://bit.ly/3ubzN6d 

📸 by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

[neurotypical-karen]

This is the poster we have hanging up in our office. Some of the history facts are very US nationalistic, but it really is a good visual for just how important it is to prevent erosion.

I grew up on stories of the Dust Bowl.

My dad’s parents were Okies–environmental refugees, before anyone had a word for it. They left their families, the land they were renting, their animals, took their 1-year-old daughter, and drove to California. My grandpa worked in a peach packing plant. My grandma cleaned houses.

They were so lonely that after a couple years they went back to Oklahoma, with their total savings of $20. Later, they bought land. Built a house. Survived.

My mom’s dad was a kid then, and his family stayed in western Kansas. Stayed because my great-grandpa was too damn stubborn to leave, stayed when their neighbors had all left, stayed because they didn’t have enough money to leave. They slept with wet rags over their faces. My great-grandpa tied a string around his waist, tied the other end to the house, and went to check on the cows, while my great-grandma tried to make soup from a little milk and a little flour. There was so much dust swirling in the air, the soup turned to mud. She cried, begged her husband once more to let them leave, and they went to bed hungry.

My grandpa’s oldest brother was the first one in the county to leave his wheat stubble in the field instead of plowing it under after the harvest. His neighbors made fun of him. His parents scolded him for having messy fields. 70 years later, at his funeral, someone told how people from Japan came to visit the farm, to see what he was doing differently.

More than 80 years after the Dust Bowl, I stood on a mountain in Ecuador watching, horrified, as a man with a tractor plowed a steep field. He would back up the hill, set the disk in the ground at the top of the field, and drive down, breaking up the soil, dragging it downhill. Dust billowed around him.

The man next to me, a rich-for-the-area farmer, sighed happily. “Look at all that dust. Isn’t that great?”

“What? No!” I was shocked.

“Why not? That’s what a modern farm looks like.”

I thought of the old black-and-white photos, dust clouds like black walls rolling in across the prairie. That’s what a modern farm looked like, too.

The next field down, four people and four oxen–well, dairy cows used as oxen–were planting. They used plows, too, but instead of a disk pulverizing the soil, their plow was a straight piece of wood, metal from an old leaf spring bolted to the end. One team of oxen used that plow to open a furrow, the women walking behind dropped maize seeds into the soil, and the second team of oxen dragged the same kind of plow just above the first, closing the furrow and burying the seeds. They walked along the hill–side to side, furrows running along the contour of the hill. If they were raising any dust, it wasn’t enough for me to see from across the valley.

The man with the tractor probably finished in an hour or two. The whole group, people and oxen and all, probably spent the whole day planting the same size field.

As the maize grew tall, you could see the difference: In the tractored field, the top rows were yellow, spindly, trying to root in the yellow-brown clay the topsoil had once covered. Down below, in dark, rich earth, the maize was tall, green, strong.

In Mali, years later, a farmer explained to a group of visiting scientists why, despite having made erosion control bunds, his rows of maize still went up and down the slope, instead of along the contour, parallel with the bunds. “Because of the wind,” he said, like it was obvious–because it was. In the rainy season, the wind comes from the south, and when storms come it blows hard enough to send dust and dishes and clothes left on the line flying and tumbling with it.

The rows of maize have to be parallel to that wind, or they’ll blow over. So sure, you can put the scientists’ earthen ridges in to block the downhill flow of water, but your rows can’t follow that meandering contour. Your rows have to face into the wind. 

For thousands of years we’ve been coaxing, wrestling, dragging our food from the soil. If we’re careful, and lucky, we can make our peace with it. If we charge into places unknown–the high plains of Kansas and Oklahoma, the steep slopes of the Andes, the storm-swept fields of West Africa–if we plow, and plant, and harvest without thinking? Without learning from the place? Dust clouds blackening the horizon, stunted maize on worn-out soil, crops blown down in  thunderstorms–the earth is forgiving, but only so far. We have time to learn, to make mistakes, to do what is easy even when it does harm, but only so much. Beyond that, we destroy the very literal foundations of our lives.

[townpostin]

India Faces Suicide Crisis: How Collective Action and Awareness Can Save Lives

As World Suicide Prevention Day approaches, it is crucial to tackle the stigma and promote proactive strategies to address India’s rising suicide crisis. India reports over 150,000 suicides annually, with Jharkhand’s rate of 5.6 per lakh lower than the national average. Despite this, the number of suicide attempts far exceeds reported deaths. On World Suicide Prevention Day, we must shift the…