Mental Health America
- Alexandria, Virginia
- ·
- www.mentalhealthamerica.net
Mental Health America is the leading community-based non-profit focused on promoting mental health as a critical part of overall wellness.
"It’s a lot of inner monologues in my mind where I tell myself I’m really awkward and weird and very misunderstood."
People Are Using The Hashtag #WhatYouDontSee To Show What Depression Is Really…
People are using #WhatYouDontSee to highlight the realities of depression.
“The Anxious Hands Work” by Kaitlin Beebe and included in the exhibition “First the Pain I” is inspired by the artist’s hand tremors brought out by her anxiety disorder. This print was made from a four-layer reduction linoleum block. When the artist off registered this print she found that it captured frenetic energy she experienced. Because of how the print was registered and then cropped, it is considered a monoprint. The artist finds this fitting, in that she becomes anxious over things s...
This portrait of Gina Higgins is by artist Stephen Townes and is featured in our People & Places: A Primer exhibition. Of the bird shown in the painting, Gina comments,“Itsymbolizes that I can experience and explore new horizons and be free from old addictions and behaviors,” Gina is the Client Services Manager at the Powell Recovery Center in Baltimore and oversees women’s crisis housing and the client services staff. She is 8 years into her has been on her own personal recovery journey fr...
Jenna Kahn is a student at Towson University and a photographer. She also suffers from depression. This piece is one of two she is currently exhibiting at Area 405 in the exhibition "First the Pain II." Of her work, she comments: “The pain of depression is not only real, it is paralyzing. It lingers, it lasts, and seems to have no cause. My work shows the empty feeling depression forces upon the individuals it affects, but it also shows the potential for introspection: the thought processes ...
Shelley Amsel is a retired doctor and artist. This painting by him, entitled "Hoping for a Rescue," expresses the intense pain not only of falling helplessly (a condition all too familiar to those with mental illness and addiction), but also the utter helplessness experienced by loved ones who are powerless to intervene. To see a loved one behaving harmfully... to see a loved one suffering... and to have no control over the behaviors... to be left with only the love you carry and express and...
Phylicia Ghee not only has created a video installation for the exhibition "First the Pain II," opening this Friday, 4-6pm, at Area 405, but she also presents a performance of her powerful introspective piece, "Intrepid" at the opening. Phylicia's art in the New Day Campaign is all about passing through pain and hardship to a kind of release on the other side of the journey -- a journey those challenged by and in recovery from mental illness and addiction are likely to understand. #itsanewda...
Lydia Pettit, a recent graduate of MICA, has work included in the upcoming exhibition, "First the Pain II" at Area 405, opening November 14. Her works are from a body of paintings she calls "Our Glass Boxes," about which she writes: "For some, (depression) lives in the past, and comes back as a ghost. For some, it is ever-present, a numbing constant that can only be relieved through self-care and medication. I wanted to give each person a platform to speak on their experiences, and collabora...
This painting ("Rebekah's Duvet") is one of three by artist Lydia Pettit on view in "First the Pain II" at Area 405. Of her work, the artist writes: “A moment stuck between comfort and anxiety, the push and pull between anxiety and depression. An attempt to understand and empathize with a friend with experiences mirroring my own, and deserving their own clarity.” Eight artists have works in the exhibition, which can be viewed during the events held in conjunction with the show. Coming up on ...
This piece by Alyse Ruriani appears in the exhibition "First the Pain II" at Area 405, opening Saturday, November 14. Alyse writes: "Living with mental illness is hard; the smallest, seemingly mediocre things can feel like the world's biggest task when you're living with depression. Sometimes waking up is a feat in itself; getting out of bed is an achievement; going outside is a triumph. Living with mental illness means that sometimes the small things are what make you the most proud. Other ...
What my mental illnesses mean to me
You get a double piece today! …these two letter-sized things took me SO LONG you wouldn’t believe it, unless you happen to be in graphic design or related things, in which case you prob…
Today I Thrive - Hakeem talks about bipolar disorder
Today I Thrive - Nana talks about depression (en español)
Today I Thrive - Jimmy talks about depression
Today I Thrive - Karri talks about panic attacks
Today I Thrive - Asika talks about depression
This Is What Developing Acute Schizophrenia Feels Like
It's ok to not be ok all the time.
Mental illness is a tsunami of the mind and soul. Those who persist, despite such immense struggle, are only worthy of our admiration and respect, not ridicule. As a part of the community of those with mental illness, I would tell you that I have met no braver people than my fellow citizens, who rise to another dawn and hold back once again the darkness that seeks to devour them. Spend a moment in our minds. See as we see. You will know then that we are braver than brave.
a silent scream - depression - mental illness
This used to be my life. Years of recovery...is still work...
