May 9th, 2013 has been declared Children's Mental Health Awareness Day by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). "The effort seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children's mental health and that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth."

Therapist and HealthyPlace Blogger Emily Roberts provides 5 tips to increase self-confidence in the moment.

When you have anxiety, having control can be very important to you. You either feel like you have it or you don't. And when you don't, it feels very scary so you do whatever you have to do to get it back.  Avoid, scream, clean, freeze, isolate, carry out a pattern, research, or control someone else, for example. Feeling Loss of Control Provokes Anxiety

When we talk about trauma and PTSD, we often talk about adults. Today, I'm starting a two-part series that focuses on children. How kids experience, process and integrate trauma happens very differently from adults for obvious reasons.

Last week, I shared how Aunt Flo affects my parenting of Bob. After having a challenging month, it hit me hard when I realized how much Bob was impacted by it. So, I've come up with some tips (that I use at work, but need to practice with Bob) that will help you when Aunt Flo visits or when you're just stressed out.

Warning: This specific article is graphic and may be triggering.) My bulimia was a pallet of colors. As dreamy as that could sound, this wasn’t as innocent as a coloring book, rather colors were my guide.

I recently received some bad news. My maternal grandmother's husband, who stepped in as a grandfather after mine died, was diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. This brings back bad memories for me, not only because my paternal grandfather had it and in his last days didn't know me, but also because when my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, my mother took on extra responsibilities. The problem is, she took the stress from this out on her kids and became emotionally abusive. I believe this is why I developed borderline personality disorder (BPD). So how am I to handle this?

This two-part series will explore the inner world of author and mental health advocate, Juliann Garey.  Through a series of questions and answers, Garey will shed light on the plight of those with mental health challenges in terms of stigma, medications, mania, depression, mixed states and the creative process.

Why is it so hard for me to stop using ________? This question has been asked by probably millions upon millions of people over time.  There has been research done on addiction for decades.  While there have been many advances made in the understanding of addictive disorders like drug addiction, alcoholism , and sex addiction, to name but a few, many people still struggle to quit.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of wonderful interaction with people in treatment for mental illness and those who are part of their community of recovery. I will write more about the stories, struggles and solutions I've heard in Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and (soon) Ohio, but right now I want to share the wonderful list from the BeST (Best Practices in Schizophrenia Treatment) Center at the Northeast Ohio Medical University.  I'll be meeting some families there on Thursday before I provide the keynote for NAMI Summit County's Annual Dinner, and I can't wait. Meanwhile, I found this list of tips on their website, and it's a great summary of some of the tips you can find here on HealthyPlace.com.  As Schizophrenia Awareness week approaches, families need all the tips we can get - and to know we are not alone in this fight to aid awareness and advocate. Early Detection is important in schizophrenia, and the more families and practitioners I meet, the more I am convinced that "Early education and support" matters a great deal for families, so they can become prepared to help as best they can. Otherwise, the confusion and frustration can result in families who end up just giving in to the frustration. So, in that spirit and with thanks, I share this list.