Category: Mental Health Guide

Youth & Suicide

Youth, Suicide and How You Can Help    everyone has been affected by suicide, and while it is a tragedy that certainly needs to be addressed, Greg Adams, licensed clinical social worker and program coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Bereavement at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, wants to be certain the topic is addressed […]

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LGBTQ Community

Supporting the LGBTQ Community  with mental health conditions often face stigma. This negativity can be compounded for those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community. Fear of “coming out” and being discriminated against due to sexual orientation and gender identities can impair mental health. Angie Bowen, a counselor with the Bowen […]

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Bullying: Harmful ‘Rite of Passage’

 every person has experienced bullying, whether you’ve been bullied or were the bully. While many consider bullying “one of those things that every kid goes through,” the effects of bullying are certainly not to be minimized. Bullying is defined by stopbullying.gov, a website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, as “unwanted, […]

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Depression & Grief

Depression Is Not a Weakness in Character    of Americans — almost 19 million, or 10 percent of our population, according to 2012 statistics — suffer from depression. An estimated 11 percent of adolescents, 30 percent of college students, 14 percent of new moms and 10 percent of adults 65 and older have been affected […]

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Veterans’ Issues

Service Comes with High Cost    nation’s veterans make great sacrifices to ensure our freedoms, often serving in combat and doing so diligently and bravely. Military service is not without its consequences, among them are issues with mental wellbeing. According to a 2014 study*, nearly 1 in 4 active duty members showed signs of a […]

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Eating Disorders

Recognizing an Eating Disorder By Rebecca F. Ward, LCSW, MSW & Angela E. Thomas    my profession, there are few diagnoses that have a mortality risk. Eating disorders are one of them. Eating disorders affect up to 30 million people of all ages and genders in the United States. Theses disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and […]

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Addiction: There’s Always Hope

Recovery is possible. “An addiction is a maladaptive overindulgence in behavior — in process or in substance — that has become self destructive.” This definition was supplied by Kristin Agar, a licensed clinical social worker as well as a certified intervention professional and certified Arise Interventionist. She has practiced since 1978 and is one of […]

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Mental Illness Stigma

The stigma of having a mental illness has improved over the years.   illness affects 1 in 5 Americans, a fact that may surprise you. You may hear that a friend, neighbor or family member is ill, but it likely will be discussed in hushed tones as if this kind of illness could have been […]

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Markey Ford: Twelve Steps to One Great Comeback

Life Anew Photography by Brandon Markin / shot on location at Little Rock Violin Shop   Ford’s toolbox is a big, three-tiered red metal box from Sears, and one of her tools is a wooden-handled hammer inscribed with the words “This too shall pass.” It’s not a real toolbox — it’s more of a visual […]

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Steve Blackwood: Sounding the Alarm

Preventing the unthinkable. Photography by Brandon Markin   Blackwood and Bruce Trimble serve as co-chairs of the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Council, formed last year by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to provide “a comprehensive and coordinated approach to prevent suicide across all age and demographic groups” in Arkansas and “to ensure that suicide prevention becomes a shared […]

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Tommy Smith: Life in Sobriety

Tommy Smith is celebrating five years of sobriety. Photography by Brandon Markin   day after completing his morning radio co-host duties, Tommy Smith would swing through his preferred liquor store and spend the rest of the day escaping with his “friend” Jack Daniels. His routine changed in May 2011 when he was arrested for DWI. […]

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