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February 25th. Anti-Bullying Day in Canada has been coined "Pink Shirt Day". Throughout many communities in Canada yesterday people saw pink! From the Starbucks Barista to the bank teller, the country took a stand against bullying. Mostly, the emphasis on bullying and its effects was directed toward the bullying that takes place in schoolyards. [More]

In the last year, the chilling actions of ISIS and Boko Haram have shocked many. Americans have questioned their barbaric practices and lack of regard for women. It is hard to imagine something like that happening in America. As stories of survivors are released, hearts sink when they hear of women and children being forced into marriage and raped by militants (Those, 2014). But what if these same injustices were happening in the United States? Perhaps they are. [More]

It may be that the effects of food allergies are greater on parents than on the children who suffer from them. Parents feel they must be on guard every minute to protect their children from possibly fatal reactions to foods, substances human beings need to survive. This constant vigilance wears down the strongest parent. This can lead to significant stress. Stressed parents may respond in ways that cause stress on their children. [More]

One does not have to argue strongly that depression is a major health concern throughout the United States, as 15 percent of Americans at one point during their lives suffered a depressive episode. Moreover, 80% or 17.1 million have experienced at least one major depressive episode during the past year. [More]

Long thought to be a psychological disorder that occurred only in adults, depression now is diagnosed frequently in children under 10 years of age. As recently as 40 years ago, physicians doubted the existence of depression in children (Son & Kirchner, 2000). Now one study reported in American Family Physician (ibid) suggested 2% of children under the age of puberty can be diagnosed with some form of depression. [More]

Pain usually is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong and needs to be handled. Not only a physical experience, pain also has a significant emotional component. And the two, pain and emotions, sometimes work together in a negative way to make each one more noticeable. Pain is something everyone experiences at some time in their lives. And some people live daily with pain from chronic conditions or some other physical health problem. [More]

The possibility of developing significant chronic physical illness in adulthood increases in the presence of childhood trauma and its lasting effects. Genetic changes that come with childhood trauma lead to adults being more susceptible to stress and more likely to react negatively to stressful situations. This makes continuing stress greater than an adult’s ability to deal with it more possible. [More]

Sleep shouldn’t be a luxury that we only grant ourselves on Saturday mornings. It’s a necessity if we want to have a healthy mind and body. Sleep gives us a chance to recharge, heal, and process our experiences. Lack of enough good quality sleep not only makes us grumpy, but it can also negatively impact our memory, our mood, and our overall health and well-being. [More]

As our understanding of the biological and genetic factors that contribute to the development of these disorders, it becomes easier to see these behavioral health disorders as real diseases—like diabetes or heart disease, which can also run in families. But, how might our relatively recent increased understanding of genetics and biology impact how people with mental illness are perceived and treated in our society? Will this understanding help to decrease stigma, or will it further fuel stigma for people living with behavioral health disorders? [More]

The New Year is just around the corner, which means that it is important for us to take a look at what is going on in our lives and see how we want to change it in the future. It can be really hard to determine exactly what you want to do, especially if you've failed at New Year's resolutions before, but I'm telling you, it's one of the best things that you can do for yourself. Even if you don't make these grandiose goals, you can make sure that you are able to move forward in your life. In today's article, we're going to explore some mental health goals you can make and see why they're important for you to make. [More]