All posts filed under: mental health

Laughter Looks Good on You

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Originally posted on This, That and the Other Thang:
I love my laugh. It’s probably one of my favorite things about me. (I know, in a society that values modesty above all other things, that’s not exactly something that you’re supposed to say. You’re not supposed to have favorite things about yourself; other people can have favorite things about you and give you compliments and you take them graciously, but you never admit that you agree. Well, I think that’s kind of silly, because if you love something about yourself, you should own it. But I digress.) Someone once told me that my laugh is the kind of thing people know they’ve earned, that makes them feel good about themselves, because they feel like they were genuinely funny enough to earn such a reaction. It’s a loud laugh, obnoxious at times and certainly the direct opposite of sexy (boy, I’m really selling this thing, aren’t I?) because I’ve never been able to learn how to make it quieter and I’ve never bothered to try. I’ll giggle…

Why Minority Mental Health Is Important

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Originally posted on Freud & Fashion:
As a psychiatrist who is also in therapy, I remember feeling misunderstood when it came to my culture as a filipino-american, but meant a lot to me to have my therapist express a genuine interest in understanding my culture and asking me for details regarding my experience.  Oftentimes I believe clinicians don’t prioritize someone’s identity (ethnicity, culture, religion, sexuality) when it comes to health, especially mental health, yet these factors play a significant role in someone’s values and way of life. July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and although today might be the last day, having knowledge of the disparities and struggles that several minorities experience is important if we’re going to eliminate stigma surrounding mental illness.  I consider myself as someone who prioritizes cultural competency, yet reading statistics and information regarding certain minorities surprised me and I was happy that this month existed and motivated me to read more about it.  Which is the reason why I’m sharing some of the following information with you here on my blog, in…

How Mental Illness Became a Light Instead of Darkness

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Originally posted on Freud & Fashion:
Although yesterday marked the end of this year’s Mental Health Month, the discussion and efforts to raise awareness in order to break the stigma must remain a daily conversation.  So, I’m keeping the momentum going by featuring Brandon Ha, an amazing friend who also happens to be a kick ass mental health advocate and the creative director behind Break Yo Stigma, a social media campaign focused on breaking the shameful stigma of mental illness.  I first came across Brandon’s @breakyostigma Instagram page over a year ago when I was brainstorming ways to positively use social media for sharing my views on psychiatry.  The posts on @breakyostigma were bold, articulate, and uncensored when it came to the fallacies of our mental health system, and served as my inspiration to be more vocal about my own views via social media.  Therefore, I’m proud and excited to feature Brandon as a guest blogger as he discusses how his bipolar diagnosis ignited a drive to change the public’s views towards mental illness. _________________________ We all knew that one person in…