Over 42,000 people in the US took their own lives in 2014, according to the CDC, and far more make attempts. It’s the leading cause of preventable deaths in those age 10-34. Media portrayals of suicide range from glamorizing it as noble and romantic to selfish and weak-willed. Rarely do I see media portrayals that […]
As superheroes go, Deadpool is not the most inclined toward heroics. He’s a foul-mouthed mercenary who started his career as a ultra-violent villain. Since his shift to being a 4th-wall breaker, he still hasn’t been portrayed as a particularly good guy — even when he’s been shown to have a good heart somewhere under that […]
This week, we lost a brilliant artist to an unexpected death. Chris Cornell’s death is hitting me harder than I might have expected. I’ve lived in Seattle my whole life. I remember coming of age in the 90s when the “Seattle Sound” was at its zenith. I jokingly tell people I still bleed flannel and […]
Canadian poet Shane Koyczan has become well-known for his heart-wrenching poems and videos — about surviving bullying, about trolls, and about the fragility of our home. “Instructions For A Bad Day” isn’t quite as well known, but it holds an important message for World Suicide Prevention Day, part of which we’ll excerpt here: If you […]
Over at Ars Technica, writer Laurence Kirkby shares the story of how a love of board games gave him a reason to go on living when he couldn’t find much else to hang onto. Twilight Imperium is infamous for length and complexity, and my brother didn’t even know the basic rules. His explanation took over […]
This week at Geek & Sundry, you can find the latest community questions tackled by our team of clinicians. This time, Bill DeMonte joins us to answer questions about helping friends through depression and dealing with suicidal thoughts. He’s a doctor of clinical psychology in the Seattle area, and a volunteer clinician with Take This. […]
http://boggletheowl.tumblr.com/post/41509206591/ive-been-getting-a-lot-of-these-lately-and-i Boggle the Owl hasn’t been active for quite some time now, but before he went silent, he made some excellent points.
We ask a lot of our digital assistants. Mine sets my alarms, takes down all my appointments, and turns my lights on and off. She doesn’t offer much help with my mental health, though. Nor can she, according to a new study. The study, recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined all major conversational agents […]
Psychiatric hospitals don’t see a lot of positive representation in the media. There’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with its indictments of authoritarianism or Girl, Interrupted with its indictment of conformity. There are dozens of horror movies and games that plumb our worse fears about institutionalization. It can be hard to escape the idea […]
By: Susan Arendt Robin Williams died yesterday at the age of 63, apparently taking his own life after dealing with long-term serious depression. This was heartbreaking news for many people, as Williams’ career was built on bringing happiness and laughter to audiences. He was Mork, he was the Genie, he was Mrs. Doubtfire, and he […]
