SUICIDES IN THE US AND MISSISSIPPI: DISTURBING TRENDS
Sudhakar Madakasira, MD, DLFAPA Suicide is a terrible human tragedy and potentially preventable. As suicide rates have steadily increased over the past few decades, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was established in 2004 to provide 24/7 suicide crisis intervention and support via a toll-free telephonic hotline. The US Surgeon General in 2012 announced a National Strategy for Prevention of Suicides (1). Suicide prevention is becoming recognized as a public health responsibility rather than that of the clinical settings (2). A previous study reported that suicide was the tenth most common cause of death in Mississippi (MS) in 1996 and the…
How Do I Help My Child with Depression?
As a parent, you want nothing but the best for your child, and it can be crushing to watch your child struggle with depression. Depression can impact every aspect of your child's life (and thus your family life), from their mood and behavior to their academic performance and social interactions. It can be difficult to know how to help, and because depression can manifest in different ways, it can also be hard to identify. But you are not alone in this! Many families face mental health challenges and there are many tools and resources available to help you. Depression in…
Types of Anxiety & Best Treatments
Anxiety is a common mental health disorder that can manifest in different ways, affecting people from various backgrounds and causing them to experience negative feelings of worry, fear, apprehension, and uncertainty. There is a wide range of causes of anxiety, including genetic predispositions, life events, and environmental stressors. Some anxiety is experienced at such a high level of severity that quality of life and ability to function are impacted, while other forms of anxiety are low-level and manageable. The most important thing to know about anxiety is that you’re not alone in experiencing anxiety. Millions across the globe face anxiety…
Smash the Stigma Was a Smashing Success!
We had a blast watching everyone play tennis and connect with each other! We can't wait to see you all again when we take Smash the Stigma to our Biloxi and Southaven locations later this year. Keep an eye out for details, and remember, together we can make a difference!
Smash the Stigma Tennis Tournament
This is will be a same partner tournament. If you do not have a partner, we will provide you a partner.The format of play will be as follows: You will be playing 2 rounds in the round robin vs same level competition (1st to 6 games, tiebreak at 5-5). Then tournament will be flighted and you are guaranteed 2 matches in the tournament. All games will be no AD scoring (girl serves to girl, guy serves to guy)We will be providing beer, soft drinks, water, snacks, etc... We will also have supper catered in for that evening. Prizes will be…
“Who’s On Your Team?”
“Team Work makes the Dreams Work” a popular saying some of you may have recognized throughout the years. Its reference has been related to people working together to achieve more than they could individually and or independently. One could say that could not be a truer statement in terms of today’s prevalence in childhood mental health disorders. You’re not alone. A team approach — with families, healthcare professionals, mental health providers, educators, and social-emotional support sources all working together — we can change lives and outcomes during these formative years in our children’s lives. In today’s society we have come…
Psychiatric Partial Hospitalization Programs: A Primer
Partial Hospitalization, sometimes referred to as “Day Hospital”, is neither an inpatient service nor a strict outpatient service, rather a mid-ground along the range of treatment intensity between the two traditional types of psychiatric services. Partial hospital programs (PHP) render acute care and intensive therapies as an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. They also provide transitional treatment between an inpatient episode and outpatient treatment in order to shorten inpatient length of stay andenhance potential for renewed productivity of the individual. They also function as a supplement to traditional outpatient treatment. Although required to be a core component of the Community Mental…
Self-Care – When taking care of yourself is the No.1 thing you can do for your child
When the responsibilities in life allow us to forget to take care of our personal needs, it’s time to do a self-care check- up. This is most commonly true for moms, who have many caregiving responsibilities, but none the less we moms certainly don't own the “letting life get in the way of taking care of ourselves” monopoly. Educators too often easily loose themselves in the mission of education, many times feeling the need to do more or work harder for their students, which can easily lead to a burn out, if self-care measures are left out. No matter if…
Returning to “Norm”
Throughout this pandemic, many of us have had to determine what normalcy is. What does “normal” really mean, anyway? Webster Dictionary defines Normalcy: “as the condition of being normal; the state of being usual, typical or expected.” One could agree that this year has been anything but normal. But in the rush to return to “normal” let’s use this time to consider what parts of normal are worth rushing back too. If we stop and think about our wish to return back to our “normal” lives, let us stop and think about what really is our goal now? One major…
