Mental Health booktalk
The National Institute of Mental Health has declared May National Mental Health Awareness Month. Because everyone benefits from being mentally healthy, here are a few resources with really great information:
Teen Health and Wellness Database
This database, available through the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library website (www.buffalolib.org), provides a wealth of knowledge, articles and facts about mental health, eating disorders, diseases, drugs and alcohol and so much more. Articles are grouped by topic, which makes for easy and fast searching.
Cope, Care, Deal
www.copecaredeal.com is a website designed specifically for teens and gives teens suggestions on ways to cope with the various situations life can give. Are you or someone you know depressed or have some other mental health issue and you don't know what to do? Cope, Care, Deal talks about what to do next and how to find help.
National Institute of Mental Health
Get all the latest findings, read about recent studies and get the facts at www.nimh.nih.gov. You can get all the information about warning signs and symptoms, treatments and other statistics about many mental disorders on this website.
It's also important to know where you can go locally in case you or someone you know needs help.
In times of crisis, you can always call the Crisis Services Hotline, which serves Buffalo and Erie County and is available 24/7. Their hotline is for any crisis- including suicide, depression, homelessness, runaways, rape, domestic violence and other traumatic crises.
Crisis Services
2969 Main Street
Buffalo, New York 14214
www.crisisservices.org
716-834-3131
Another place to get more local information is through the Erie County Department of Mental Health. By reaching out to this department, you will be able to get in touch with various programs geared towards mental health as well as other services offered in Erie County.
Erie County Department of Mental Health
Philip R. Endress, LCSW, ACSW
Commissioner of Mental Health
716-858-8531 www.erie.gov/health/mentalhealth
For your reading pleasure, here is a list of fiction books that feature characters with severe mental health issues:
Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World
Troy Billings can't stop thinking of ways to kill himself. He almost does, when mysterious punk high school legend Curt McCrae saves him and they become instant friends. They form a rocking punk band and it is through the simple pleasures that Troy is seeing the world with a new lens.
Hesser, Terry Spencer Kissing Doorknobs
Everyone has heard the old phrase “step on a crack, break your mother's back.” For Tara, this saying becomes an obsessive mantra, and the foundation for her all- consuming obsessive compulsive behavior. She counts everything and has to perform her rituals just right before the rest of her day can continue.
McCormick, Patricia Cut
15-year-old Callie believes that her brother's asthma is caused by her and the only way she can relieve the guilt is by cutting her flesh with anything sharp. She is admitted to Sea Pines (the patients call it Sick Minds) where she is forced to examine herself by examining others in her close-knit group therapy sessions.
Sones, Sonya Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
In this book of short, intense poems, we get a closer look at an unnamed 13 year old girl's experiences when her sister breaks down with manic depression. Each poem tells a bit of the story in chronological order, with the narrator occasionally reminiscing about the times when her sister was well.
Trueman, Terry Inside Out
Zach has schizophrenia and is waiting for his mother to drop off his medication when the coffee shop where he is waiting gets held up at gunpoint. The more time passes, the less Zach can control the evil voices in his head- he can't control it, but he's trying his best. The clocks keep ticking and Zach must find his deepest strength to fight off his demons.
Vrettos, Adrienne Maria Skin
As seen from her younger brother Donnie's point of view, readers watch as Karen unravels and wastes away because of her anorexia. There are many close-calls which puts her dysfunctional family on alert at all times. Donnie seems invisible compared with the attention his sister gets, but begins to find his own voice through trying times.
Some recommended non-fiction books for further reading:
Vizzini, Ned Teen Angst?…Nah
Vizzini offers his take on depression, high school and everything in between in a collection of essays he wrote when he was between 15 and 18.
Kaysen, Susanna Girl, Interrupted
Kaysen's account of her time spent in the psychiatric wing of McLean Hospital, with vivid descriptions of the other patients there.
Taylor, Kate M., editor. Going Hungry: Writers on Desire, Self-Denial, and Overcoming Anorexia
A collection of many writers offer their stories of struggling with anorexia and how it affects all aspects of one's life.
Rapoport, Judith, M.D. The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing: The Experience and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Dr. Rapoport discusses many case studies of people with varying forms of OCD, including obsessive hand-washing, checking and rechecking of appliances to make sure they're off and pulling out every hair on a person's head.
Runyon, Brent The Burn Journals
At only 14 years old, Runyon douses his bathrobe in gasoline and sets himself on fire. Deeply depressed and covered in burns, this memoir follows Runyon through his recovery: both physical and mental.
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