Should the U.S. ban conversion therapy? Recently, I received an email asking me to sign a petition demanding the Federal Trade Commission ban conversion therapy, also known as "reparative therapy," "ex-gay therapy," and "sexual orientation therapy." This therapy, which has been discredited by nearly every medical, psychiatric, and psychological organization, claims to be able to turn a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) person into a heterosexual (Cure the Gay: Gay Conversion Therapy – Real or Hoax?). When you read what this therapy involves--the Southern Poverty Law Center claims it uses "violent role play, reenactment of past abuses, and exercises involving nudity and intimate touching" 1 --it's hard to see why it's allowed. But should the U.S. ban conversion therapy?

There are many things some men don't know about rape (Do Women Enjoy Being Raped? Myths About Rape). Presidential candidate Donald Trump recently accepted an endorsement from convicted rapist Mike Tyson, calling him a "tough guy" and saying he was "railroaded." This has not gone over well in Indiana, where Tyson was convicted and served three years in a youth prison before getting early release. It made me think of Mike Tyson, Donald Trump, and what men don't know about rape.

It's clear that anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) laws negatively impact mental health. Recently several states have passed laws harmful to the LGBTQ community. These laws reinforce the stigma attached to being LGBTQ and hurt people. Rooted in fear, these laws contribute to the higher rates of mental illness and suicide in the LGBTQ community. In this video, I explore these laws.

There are three things mental health professionals don't know about their clients because of stigma. Sometimes we're lucky and get a mental health professional who understands us, but many times we get a mental health professional who believes myths about mental illness or about mental health consumers. I've met many mental health professionals, and I would like for them all to understand three things: one, we're not children, two, we have an illness and not a character fault, and three, each case is unique.

How do you go about mourning a therapy pet in a healthy way? On Wednesday, my precious therapy rat Annabelle was diagnosed with pneumonia and abscessed lungs. I made the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep. Now I am mourning the loss of a therapy pet (Coping With Loss: Bereavement and Grief). The loss of a pet can be just as painful as the loss of a human. In this video, I talk about what to do to mourn the loss of a therapy pet in a healthy way.

Last week was National Crime Victims Rights Week, and while at a rally, someone gave me a pamphlet on domestic violence issues in the lesbian, gay, bisexaul, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community. While domestic violence can affect anyone and can take many forms, the unique forms of domestic violence in the LGBTQ community are rarely discussed. I will focus on three types of domestic violence issues: strict gender roles, access to safe places, and threat of "outing" without consent.

What are the mental health needs of the Native American community? At first, I was hesitant to write this because although I have Cherokee ancestry, I'm of mixed blood and not enrolled (my blood quantum is too low). But this morning on a news site, I saw that 11 members of a Canadian First Nation attempted suicide on Saturday night alone, causing the tribe to declare a state of emergency.1 

Recently I was Googling something and the phrase, "how to overdose without dying" appeared. I was surprised and concerned--how bad of a place does one have to be in to Google that, and why is it common enough to appear as a search term? This made me think of other red flag searches. When we are not aware of how bad off we are, searches like, "how to overdose without dying" can alert us to danger (Suicide Hotline Phone Numbers). Here are some phrases that should cause you to check your mental health if you find yourself or a loved one typing them--and some words of encouragement from someone who has actually Googled, "how to kill yourself" and gotten annoyed that it led to anti-suicide pages.

Do you know how to spot a sexual predator? It is a sad fact of life that some people prey sexually on others--and it's not always the weak and helpless who are victims. Strong, capable people may be targeted by a sexual predator as a "conquest," and a sexual predator preys on whoever is available. So how to spot a sexual predator? In this video, I talk about three warning signs of a sexual predator.

Can diet affect mental health? I went vegetarian for Lent this year. One thing I noticed is how much better I felt--I wasn't exhausted in the morning, I had more energy than normal, my head felt clear, and my mood was pretty much even all the time. It left me wondering "Can diet affect mental health?" And, if so, what dietary changes do we need to consider?