Goodnewspaper: The 2023 Mental Health Edition

Welcome to the Goodnewspaper.

You are now a part of a global community that celebrates the people, ideas, and movements that are changing the world for the better.

It’s when times are hardest that it’s most important that we shine a light on good news. Not “feel-good” news. Hope — real hope — no matter how messy it may be.

There’s a lot of good in the world that needs to be celebrated. And we need to be a part of it.

NOTE: This issue of the newspaper includes stories about difficult topics such as suicide, trauma, and mental illness. We believe these stories will help you feel hopeful about these topics, but if you’re struggling with your mental health, or the mental health of a loved one that might make reading this issue difficult for you — please take care of yourself.

To read a different issue of the Goodnewspaper, log into your account at goodgoodgood.co and revisit some of our past issues.

You can also find a list of mental health resources at ggg.news/articles/mental-health-resources. Please do not hesitate to seek help. Your story matters. Hope is real. And good news is ahead.

LET'S KEEP CLINGING TO HOPE.

When I was little, I carried around a smiley face toy I got from a quarter machine in a grocery store. It had a smooth plastic body with the classic yellow smiling sphere, as well as arms and legs with white-gloved hands and little white sneakers. Upon numerous present-day Google searches, I still don’t know what these toys are actually called, but I named mine Smiley Guy, and for all intents and purposes, he was my first emotional support figure.

Cute anecdotes aside, the real metaphor is: I have clutched at an enduring token of hope for as long as I can remember.

Despite this, I have still found myself at the perils of panic attacks, debilitated by depressive episodes — and now, like many other “chatty and overachieving” women in my age group — diagnosed with ADHD (and continuously investigating my neurodivergent brain in even greater capacity). Mental health has been at the forefront of my identity since I could understand what mental health is, and every day I toe the fine line of not letting these facets of my experience define me and simultaneously embracing that they make me who I am.

This issue of the Goodnewspaper is a love letter to everyone who experiences that complex reality. We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health, but so many of us face these elements of our humanity in

completely unique, sometimes dysregulated, or overwhelming ways. We care so much about the world around us, the world within us, and the world that could be, and we deserve the tools, narratives, and practices we need to best enjoy this messy, marvelous, multifaceted existence.

This paper includes stories about all kinds of people, organizations, and initiatives that help us reframe mental health and help one another heal. Whether it’s examining the future of crisis and community care, using art museums to help treat anxiety, our guide to DIY self-care kits, or my personal career-highlight interview with Gemma Styles about mental health in the digital age, we hope this issue of the paper makes you feel seen, supported, and energized to keep going.

There are lots of things that provide hope every day; from the love of a pet, to the breeze in the trees, but my wish is that this newspaper can serve as a physical manifestation of the belief in a brighter tomorrow — that it can serve as one of the Smiley Guys we all cling to with the persistent belief that there is always more good to behold.

Healing and hoping alongside you all,

— KAMRIN BAKER, @ KAMSTAGRAMS Managing Editor, Goodnewspaper

WHO MAKES THE GOODNEWSPAPER ?

Editor-in-Chief

Branden Harvey - @brandenharvey

Managing Editor

Kamrin Baker - @kamstagrams

Junior Editor

Amanda R. Martinez - @amandarmartinez

Art Director

Johnathan Huang - @jhuangstudio

Director of Community & Creative

Megan Burns - @meganburnsyou

Communications Manager

Margaux Madamba - @msdm.x

TikTok Content Creator

Jessica Irvin - @jessicairvin

Centerfold Poster Artist

Kyndra Bailey - @kynyoubelieveit

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Emotions Matter Makes A Difference For Folks Affected By Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition characterized by difficulties regulating emotions. Someone with BPD might experience intense and extended emotions that can lead to impulsivity, poor self-image, relationship challenges, and dangerous behaviors like self-injury. However, those living with the condition and the people who love them want the world to know: those big emotions matter.

Emotions Matter is a nonprofit that was created by a network of families and individuals impacted by BPD who have united around a shared vision to improve social connection, awareness, and healthcare systems for those living with the condition.

The organization was established in 2015 when three women connected at an awareness walk and bonded over their shared experiences with family members who live with BPD. Since then, Emotions Matter has established services including a peer-to-peer online support group, educational materials, treatment resources, loss support groups, a non-judgmental network of clinicians, and political advocacy efforts to improve BPD research, treatment, and access to care.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that 1.4% of the adult U.S. population experiences BPD. In 2021, Emotions Matter served an estimated 1,700 people through person-centered and stigma-free programs.

“The most helpful people in my recovery have been people like those in this group who have been supportive and empowered me to keep believing in myself and not feel ashamed for what diagnosis I carry,” a testimony from a woman named Chelsea reads on the Emotions Matter website. “There is always hope. There is always love and acceptance to be given. Make sure to look for it.”

Learn more: emotionsmatterbpd.org

Experts Points To Psychological First Aid Training As A Way To Boost Care Workers’ Wellbeing

When the World Health Organization introduced Psychological First Aid (PFA) over a decade ago, it was the first globally recommended training for people like healthcare workers to provide psychological care in the immediate aftermath of an emergency event.

Now, researchers have identified it as a tool to help care workers and first responders themselves.

In June 2020, the UK government introduced free access to digital PFA training to support frontline workers, especially those working in care homes and retirement facilities. This led to a study by scientists from Northumbria University and the University of Highlands and Islands, which indicated that those who had taken the PFA training were better equipped to overcome stress and improve relationships with others.

Dr. Mariyana Schoultz, the project lead from Northumbria University, shared that the study suggests that PFA has the potential to minimize the risks of PTSD and other ongoing psychological conditions in healthcare workers, though more research is required.

“Findings suggest that PFA training has the potential to strengthen resilience for staff in health and social care, promote anti-stigma messages, and normalize health-seeking behavior,” Schoultz told Science Daily. “We, therefore, recommend that consideration be given to funding an integrated program of research and development to further develop, implement and evaluate a co-produced iteration of PFA for the use in the UK care sector and beyond.”

How To Be Intersectional In Your Mental Health Advocacy

GOOD

Many people experience mental health conditions as a result of systemic oppression. Check out “The Side Effects of Living” by Jhilmil Breckenridge and Namarita Kathait to read about diverse lived experiences.

Meet The Transgender Nutrition Therapist Helping People Of All Genders Heal From Eating Disorders

Registered dietician Vaughn Darst knows what it’s like to experience dysphoria in his body. His own experience as a trans person informs his knowledge of the unique challenges transgender folks encounter when seeking peace with their bodies, nutrition, and gender identities.

According to Penn Medicine, transgender teens face a greater risk of eating disorders compared to their cisgender peers, and they face additional hurdles to diagnosis and treatment due to stigma and discrimination. Darst also shared in his 2019 TEDxUSC talk, among gender-nonconforming youth who have an eating disorder, three out of four will also deal with self-harm or thoughts of suicide.

“The problem is that the world is shaped by gender and fatphobia and transphobia. I am not the problem,” Darst says in their TEDx Talk. “Those of us who discover this secret can exit the cycle of self-harm to an incredible place of strength and resilience. I am one example of this. I use my strength in service of my community.”

Through affirming care and body liberation, Darst started his nutrition therapy practice, All Gender Nutrition Their work is based on intuitive eating and weight-neutral frameworks, working collaboratively with clients and their treatment teams to prioritize individualized healing (all without ever encouraging anyone to lose weight).

“I believe that existing as a transgender person is a radial and revolutionary act, compounded by the effort to resist shrinking ourselves,” Darst writes on their website. “We all deserve community and emotional support to strive to live our most authentic lives in our bodies.”

Learn more: allgendernutrition.com.

BETTER

Redistribute your wealth to: We R Native (wernative.org), Trans Lifeline (translifeline.org), Asian Mental Health Project (asianmentalhealthproject.com), or The Loveland Foundation (thelovelandfoundation.org).

Studies Show That Being Around Birds Is Linked To Lasting Mental Health Benefits

Scientists at King’s College London are giving a whole new meaning to “bird brain.”

New research has found that seeing or hearing birds is associated with an improvement in mental wellbeing that can last up to eight hours, according to Science Daily.

The study took place over the course of about three years, as 1,292 participants used a smartphone app to chart their mental wellbeing alongside their reports of seeing or hearing birds. The app asked participants three times a day if they could see or hear birds, followed by questions about their mental wellbeing. Researchers also collected data about the participants’ existing mental health conditions.

This led researchers to find that birds had an impact on mental health improvements for both “healthy” folks and those with preexisting conditions like depression. While many of us likely already enjoy the beauty of nature — whether it’s babbling brooks, chirpy songbirds, or a vibrant sunset — this research bolsters those feel-good sensations with tangible science.

Lead author Ryan Hammoud, a research assistant at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London said: “We have, for the first time, shown the direct link between seeing or hearing birds and positive mood. We hope this evidence can demonstrate the importance of protecting and providing environments to encourage birds, not only for biodiversity but for our mental health.”

How To Support Mental Health Research

Harvard Researchers Have Discovered A Major Breakthrough In Detecting Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a heritable mood disorder that impacts about 2.8% of Americans. There are four categorized types of bipolar disorder, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, each pointing to various patterns of depression, mania, and other unstable moods.

The main treatment for the condition is lithium, though it doesn’t help all patients and comes with significant side effects. However, a genetic study led by scientists at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has revealed new key genetic insights that could help detect, diagnose, and treat bipolar disorder.

The international study, which included 14,000 participants with bipolar disorder, and 14,000 control participants, pinpoints a gene called AKAP-11 as a strong risk factor for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. These findings not only help researchers understand the molecular makeup of the disorder but also provide insights into the efficacy of lithium therapies, thanks to data on the interactions between AKAP-11 and lithium proteins. The results have already kicked off new studies.

“This work is exciting because it’s the first time we’ve had a gene with large-effect mutations for bipolar disorder,” Steven Hyman, the director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute said. “Ideally, we’d like to find risk variants across the whole genome, which will give us the very best chance of coming up with treatments for everyone.”

WHAT'S THIS? THIS IS THE GOOD BAR.

We believe in celebrating good and then joining in to make a difference. The Good Bar is full of advice from the Good Good Good community on how to take action. Start small and work your way up.

This Organization Aims To Create A World Where Men Make Mental Health A Priority

Canadian nonprofit HeadsUpGuys started from a simple survey in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. On the survey, men indicated they were having suicidal thoughts, yet failed to mention these thoughts to the doctor they were about to see. This was the catalyst for HeadsUpGuys, an anonymous online resource specifically designed for men living with depression.

Launched in 2015 as a program of the University of British Columbia, HeadsUpGuys is now a global resource to support men as they recover from depression and reduce their risk of suicide, as well as improve mental health literacy and decrease stigma among men.

In this time, over 500,000 “self checks” have been completed on the organization’s website, and dozens of campaigns —including public art and celebrity PSAs —have reached those looking for relief from depression.

HeadsUpGuys is also home to countless resources, informational literature, and tools for friends and family who want to uplift their loved ones. The site reaches 3 million users from around the globe.

“The stigma around men’s mental health is an undeniable one, and there are so many toxic pressures on men to present a certain way no matter how they’re doing,” HeadsUpGuys user Brendan Barlow shares. “Find someone you trust who you can talk to… Let yourself feel how you’re feeling and let yourself be vulnerable. Reach out and hold on.”

Learn more: headsupguys.org

BETTER

If you like learning about the science of our brains, check out the podcast “The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos” — which is based on the most popular course in Yale University history.

Donate to organizations funding mental health research. Some suggestions include OneMind (onemind.org), MQ Mental Health (mqmentalhealth.org), and Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org).

BEST

If you’re eligible and able, enroll in a clinical trial or research study to help advance mental health care, resources, and treatment for all. Visit nimh.nih.gov/health/trials to find a study and learn more.

A Small Business Owner Created A Program To Give Her Mental Health Journals To People For Free This Virtual Reality Leader Is Using Tech To Help Seniors Cope With Isolation & Depression

Kyndra Bailey is a small business owner slinging handprinted apparel, stationery, stickers, and more under the brand Kyn You Believe It.

In 2022, Bailey introduced her line of mental health journals, designed to be an “all-in-one resource for caring for your mind.” The journals feature daily mood trackers and prompts, coloring pages, contact information for one’s support system, and an emergency resource page.

Bailey knew that purchasing a journal would be inaccessible to some, so she started the Write In The Feels program. Anyone who is interested in a journal but cannot afford one is invited to fill out a request form on a no-questions-asked basis. The sales from Bailey’s shop fund these donations, but customers can also independently donate to get journals in the hands of anyone who needs one. Teachers and therapists are also encouraged to download free fliers to help spread the word to folks in need.

So far, Bailey has donated over 300 journals, either to folks that have requested one, or to local organizations in her community. She is also working on applying for nonprofit status for Write In The Feels.

“I hope the journals can be a stepping stone in beginning to get the mental health care that everyone deserves, or be a continuation of that care in instances where people may no longer have access for one reason or another,” Bailey said. “While the journals aren’t a replacement for mental health care, I do believe they can be an important component. Having the space to identify things like self-care habits, feelings, and the source of those feelings is something everyone deserves.”

Learn more: writeinthefeels.com

GOOD

Follow art therapist Amelia Hutchison on Instagram or TikTok for tips and tutorials to integrate art into your therapy and healing practices. Check her out at @art_therapy_irl on both platforms!

In 2017, two years before she graduated college, Carleigh Berryman had an idea to revolutionize mental wellness for seniors — virtual reality that makes “aging more engaging.”

She started her company Viva Vita, and prior to the pandemic, brought her VR kits to senior living communities, memory care centers, adult day health centers, and hospices. Once COVID-19 came into play, Berryman had to adjust the program to be conducted while social distancing.

Now, Viva Vita distributes VR kits for senior care facilities and homes, as well as guided tours that caregivers can easily conduct without the help of a facilitator.

“These older generations are not always paid the attention they deserve or given that respect or that care they really need. And I think it’s our responsibility, regardless of our age, to take care of those people,” Berryman said on the TODAY Show. “I feel like I have 100 grandparents.”

Viva Vita works with small, independent teams across the globe to film 360-degree content of beautiful locations that pair with VR tech. Seniors can tour the Eiffel Tower, visit with kangaroos in Australia, or enjoy a calm waterfall.

The impact of VR for seniors includes enhanced cognitive stimulation, engaging physical activity, immersive reminiscence therapy, a heightened quality of life, and even improved medical outcomes.

“Carleigh, in her very gentle way, is such a visionary to want to do something where others can benefit,” Thyme Cave, the director of the Iona Washington Home Center, a facility that uses Viva Vita, said. “I’m just grateful to be a part of this movement.”

Psychiatrists In Brussels Can Now Prescribe Free Museum Visits To Help Treat Anxiety

Inspired by existing projects in Canada that issue prescriptions to fine art museums and national parks (park prescriptions are a thing in the U.S, too!), one of the largest hospitals in Brussels has implemented museum therapies for people suffering from depression, stress, or anxiety.

The project is currently running a pilot program for six months, partnering with the city’s history museum, a center for contemporary art, and the fashion and lace museum. Participants can also explore the sewer museum, which allows them to stroll 10 meters underground along the banks of the Senne River.

Doctors stress that these museum prescriptions are not a replacement for other treatments but are a voluntary addition to medication, psychotherapy, and other forms of relaxation. Delphine Houba, a Brussels deputy mayor in charge of culture, told The Guardian that she hopes this gives doctors “a new tool in the healing process.”

The World Health Organization published a review in 2019 that concluded the arts could help people experiencing mental health conditions, urging greater collaboration between culture and public health professionals.

This pilot program is the first of its kind in Europe and aims to do just that. If successful, the arts and culture prescriptions could be expanded to include other museums and cinemas, as well as more hospitals and groups of patients, including those recovering from brain injuries.

“Anything could have therapeutic value if it helps people get a good feeling and get in touch with themselves,” Dr. Johan Newell, a psychiatrist at Brugmann University Hospital, told The Guardian. “Our society is so, so busy, so full of stress and stimuli. A museum prescription gives people an opportunity to settle down for a moment.”

BETTER

Donate to Write In The Feels to help someone in need access a mental health journal. Visit writeinthefeels.com to donate directly, buy your own journal, or download fliers to advertise the program.

BEST

Take care of yourself so you have the capacity to help make a difference. Visit a museum, (many have free admission days!), spend time in nature, or begin a journaling practice of your own.

This Service Provides Nonjudgemental Emotional Care To Support Folks After Getting Abortions

There’s no room for debate: People deserve unconditional bodily autonomy to decide if and when they get to have children. However, sometimes those decisions are complicated and come with a lot of big feelings.

Exhale Pro-Voice is an organization and service that was created in 2000 to support the emotional health and wellbeing of people after their abortions. Founded by people who have had abortions, Exhale Pro-Voice provides — and trains others to provide — nonjudgmental support that welcomes a full range of emotions and respects all belief systems.

Whether users receive support through a direct textline, join a support group, access a myriad of resources (including connections to other similar organizations), or simply help change the culture in how people discuss abortion care and emotional wellbeing, Exhale Pro-Voice is doing the work.

“Our Pro-Voice approach centers each individual’s unique context, family, culture, and abortion experiences,” the website reads. “We follow your lead, hold nuance for you, and support you in tending to your wellbeing in a way that feels best for you. Through this Pro-Voice, abortion-positive approach, we have supported thousands of people.”

Learn more: exhaleprovoice.org

My Affirmation Project Has Brought Healing And Compassion To Over 60 Million People

When artist Nicole Leth lost her father to suicide, her healing took the form of spray-painting words of affirmation anonymously in her small Iowa town. This was the inception of My Affirmation Project, a public art mission that has since reached 60 million people since 2019.

Leth now does this by sending monthly anonymous postcards to 80,000 people for free, and installing messages of hope as public art in the form of roadside billboards, airplane banners, urban wheat-pasted posters, stickers, yard signs, handmade quilts, murals, and more. The best part? All of this has been funded entirely by small donors and sponsors who believe in her mission.

“It became a way for me to alchemize trauma and practice creating beauty out of the hard parts of life,” Leth writes on her website. “It became a way for me to write the words that I needed to hear to help me heal and share them in anonymous and public ways in hopes that they would help other humans heal, too.”

Learn more (and sign up for the free postcard service!): myaffirmationproject.com

Unique Ways To Help Others With Their Mental Health

Donate to Support For The Psyche to help folks who can’t afford therapy access care. You can donate funds or buy a t-shirt to help! To support others or share the opportunitiy with someone in need, visit supportforthepsyche.com

The Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance Is Creating A Movement For Systemic Change

Schizophrenia is a spectrum of neuro-psychiatric brain diseases that cause people to interpret reality abnormally, potentially resulting in hallucinations, delusions, or extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily life. However, the personal impact of the disease is not the only challenge; stigma is still a very real and ongoing threat to care and social belonging.

It is estimated that 40% of people living with schizophrenia do not have access to treatment, and 6% face homelessness. Moreover, those with the condition require lifelong treatment, and early intervention is key to preventing serious complications.

Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) is a nonprofit dedicated to systems transformation, peer-topeer support, and public education to change the narrative around schizophrenia and psychosis.

S&PAA does this work through a number of campaigns. One element in changing the systems that criminalize and dehumanize folks with schizophrenia is by restructuring disease-classification codes. Along with this large-scale advoacy, S&PAA provides support groups (and has since the 1980s) that meet throughout the globe and help those with schizophrenia and their loved ones find ongoing support. Additionally, the organization’s website includes a number of toolkits for diagnosed clients and caregivers alike. It also aims to address barriers to treatment and care in medical, criminal justice, and employment systems.

“People with schizophrenia have been carved out of the medical system — because schizophrenia isn’t viewed as a medical condition. We treat the symptoms, the disease. It is systemic negligence,” S&PAA’s website reads. “People with schizophrenia have the right to effective medicines, social support and housing, and recognition that they are people who want to live and thrive.”

BETTER

Tell your story to help others know they’re not alone. Read and share through The National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org/share-your-story) and The Solidarity Stories (thesolidaritystories.com).

BEST

Become

Treat Yourself To More Than A Bubble Bath:

Self-Care Resources For A Healthy Mind & Body

While some of us might think of self-care as a good retail therapy session or bubble bath, there are additional layers to caring for yourself that we often overlook: like, supporting our mental, emotional, and physical selves. (We call this proactive self-care.)

The good news is that this kind of care is readily available at our fingertips. Whether you’re working on keeping yourself hydrated, focused, or a little less anxious, we’ve compiled a few resources offering compassionate, simple reminders that caring for yourself doesn’t have to be complicated.

“Meditative Story”

by Rohan Gunatillake combines immersive storytelling with science-backed benefits of mindfulness practice embedded into the storylines — along with breathtaking originally composed music.

“The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos” — a Yale professor who studies the science of happiness — takes you through the latest scientific research and shares stories that will change the way you think about your mental health.

“A Slight Change of Plans” is a podcast hosted by Dr. Maya Shankar that blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are, as well as who we become, in the face of a big change.

Meet your newest selfcare bestie: Finch: Self Care Widget Pet . Finch is a self-care pet app (you think of it as a modern-day Tamagotchi pet that lives on your phone) that helps you feel prepared and positive. The goal is simple, take care of your pet by taking care of yourself.

Insight Timer is a free app that offers a variety of guided meditations (over 130,000), helping people address their sleeping patterns, anxiety, and stress. Each session is peer-reviewed and offers live events like yoga, mood tracking, private mentoring, and workshops.

Whole: Self-Care Habit Builder, by The Happiness Broadcast, is a free science-based self-care app designed to help people build and maintain healthy habits. Some notable features include breathing exercises, hydration checks, sleep sounds, meditation, and more.

Well, of course, we have to include our free daily email, The Goodnewsletter ! Our team of good news journalists collect and share the top good news stories of the day — plus a few bonus goodies — all to leave you feeling more hopeful about the world. goodgoodgood.co

GGirls’ Night In is a weekly newsletter by women, for women. From pop culture to self-care, to mental health and (you guessed it) tips on having a great night in, this newsletter is the coziest dose of comfort for you and your inbox!

girlsnightin.co

If you have ADHD (or love someone with ADHD), Extra Focus is a straightforward ADHD-friendly newsletter that offers ideas and strategies on time management, energy, and motivation. extrafocus.io

While coping with the death of a close friend to suicide, Maggie Rose Macar began to notice the barriers that existed for people like herself who were seeking affordable mental health services.

“I had such difficulty coping with the loss of my friend that I almost didn’t recognize myself,” Macar shared with Medium. “Surrounded by stigma, I must have secretly contacted 50–60 therapists through extensive online searching with only one to respond.” Although this professional typically charged $150 per session, he went on to offer $10 sessions — simultaneously providing Macar with the space to cope and ignite her passion for addressing a very real gap in the mental health system.

This passion soon motivated her to create a nonprofit to help normalize asking for support and offer young people the opportunity to access affordable mental health services.

Due to the extremely high demand of people seeking accessible mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic, Macar's organization soon transitioned into the founding of zant., a mental health app connecting people (mainly college students) with highly-skilled specialists offering support in areas such as trauma, recovery, stress and burnout, eating disorders, and more. The young CEO is not only creating systems for those who are traditionally excluded from receiving mental health services, but doing it in the heavily male-dominated tech industry. Macar hopes to leverage technology as a suicide prevention tool — making sure that there are no roadblocks for those who need help.

Alegra Kastens (@obsessivelyeverafter) is a licensed marriage and family therapist, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) advocate, content creator, and founder of Center for OCD, Anxiety and ED . She specializes in treating OCD, anxiety, body-focused repetitive behaviors, body dysmorphic disorder, and eating disorders.

As someone who lives with OCD, Kastens's work to provide treatment, education, and advocacy is deeply personal.

“There are misconceptions about many illnesses, but OCD seems to be one of the most misunderstood of them all,” she shared with Made of Millions.

Beyond the important work and support she provides to her clients, Kastens serves an online community of over 95 thousand followers by posting reliable research-based OCD and anxiety content.

She also offers online workshops aimed at providing helpful resources and insight for people overcoming the shame and guilt typically associated with mental health disorders.

“I understand firsthand the relentlessness of the disorder and how painfully it holds one’s life captive,” she shared. “I also understand that relief and recovery are real with a large dose of evidence-based treatment and an equally large dose of willingness.”

Kasten is actively using her voice, platform, and expertise as a tool to create a much-needed space for the OCD community. Through her informative posts (and fun memes), her followers have found a reliable and approachable creator willing to meet them exactly where they're at.

Lorenzo Lewis spent most of his childhood and teen years at his aunt’s barbershop, where he soaked up the playful banter, laughter, and hushed conversations between barbers and their clients. Lewis’s intimate connection with barbershops later resurfaced in his late 20s when he worked as a juvenile case worker.

Many of the kids he worked with were Black students suffering from trauma, depression, and other mental illnesses. “Since African American boys and men had little access to therapy, why not bring therapy to them,” Lewis thought.

The solution: The Confess Project of America , a national organization training barbers and stylists to become mental health advocates. The organization is the largest nonprofit committed to building a safe space for Black boys, men, and their families to address their mental health — creating awareness and breaking stigmas within the Black community.

Since its founding in 2016, The Confess Project of America has supported over 1,900 barbers who have then gone on to reach over 2.2 million people a year, according to its website.

Barbers receive formal training around active listening, validation, stigma reduction, and communication and are also taught to recognize subtle personality changes (like withdrawal or noticeable changes in grooming).

“Barbershops are an institution in African American communities and known for social change agents as far back as the Civil Rights era,” Lewis shared in an interview with Today.

Maggie Rose Macar Alegra Kastens

The Barbers of The Confess Project of America

The Potent Potential Of The Relationship Between Mental Health And Social Justice

“It can be overwhelming to witness/experience/take in all of the injustices of the moment; the good news is that they’re all connected. So if your little corner of the work involves pulling at one of the threads, you’re helping to unravel the whole damn cloth.”

This is a quote from writer and educator Ursula WolfeRocca, and while it illustrates the interconnectedness of all social movements, it also perfectly illustrates the thread that runs through mental health and activism.

An individual’s lived experience is almost always interdependent on the entire culture, community, and systems that raise them. The oppressive systems at work in our current zeitgeist depend on the poor mental health of its people, and it’s up to us all to confront these truths.

We can confirm this phenomenon in infinite social justice statistics, but one major public health model that best illustrates the relationship between mental health and social injustice is the minority stress model. This model helps us better understand the lived experiences of people in historically and intentionally oppressed

communities, suggesting that increased incidents of stress due to prejudice and discrimination lead to greater negative mental health outcomes.

It’s also important to remember that people with different cultural upbringings might see increased stigma in their own families or communities, leaving them with very little support to ask for help or lean into vulnerability. Poor mental health is often upheld by layers of generational and systemic trauma.

With all of that in mind, we’re left to wonder: If mental health is so clearly connected to our social identities, why do mental health challenges feel so isolating? And how do we best pull at the thread to cultivate the relationship between mental health and social justice into one of hope and symbiosis; not one of continuous harm?

Activism is mental healthcare and mental healthcare is activism. By creating better lives for people through policy and social transformation, we improve their mental health. And by protecting our mental health, we are better equipped to fight injustice.

The Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA) aims to more deeply explore the link between personal and societal transformation. Based in New York, the organization is a coalition of mental health workers, clinicians, psychiatrists, advocates, artists, survivors, and current and prior users of mental health services who dare to create a new paradigm in mental health.

By working to shift policy and practice, IDHA hopes to account for the complexity of personal, social, and collective traumas, open up the narrow definition of “normal,” and look to regenerative and transformative practices to help us heal in more ways than one. IDHA offers training courses, memberships, resource libraries, cross-movement organizing, and community events to anyone deeply interested and connected to transformative mental health.

Learn more: idha-nyc.org

Of course, that’s easier said than done, but when we take the small steps to acknowledge the interdependence of these experiences, we invite a greater awareness into both the social justice and mental health spaces.

Think about some examples where you’ve seen this in your own community or in the news. For example, after the horrific mass shooting in the predominantly Hispanic city of Uvalde, Texas, helpers worked to prioritize long-term mental health support for the community. In LGBTQ+ affirming spaces, loving adults are trained with suicide prevention curriculums. And among the ongoing ripple effects of the Black Lives Matter movement, coalitions of Black therapists have rallied together to change the landscape of their field.

Systems-wide change is necessary to build a sustainable and inclusive future, but as Wolfe-Rocca writes, pulling at the threads one by one does help change these systems. Below, check out a few resources and ideas for creating a more interdependent and intersectional culture of wellness.

Whether you actively engage in programs like IDHA’s, educate yourself about (and reject) oppressive systems that continue to cause trauma, or simply continue on your own mental health journey by unraveling your own threads, there is power in the connective nature of healing. This work might look like:

Actively advocating for policies that make people’s lives better (such as increased wages, affordable housing, stronger social nets, or funding for culturally significant arts programs)

Investing in and strengthening a wide variety of treatment modalities in the mental health field (like regenerative and holistic practices that embrace and understand the intersections of culture)

Prioritizing the mentorship and growth of diverse therapists and practitioners — and helping folks of all backgrounds find the right therapists to affirm and guide their experiences

This Artist Confronts Her OCD And Scrupulosity Through Creation

Camilla Stark is an artist, designer, and member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). She also lives with scrupulosity, a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that includes religious or moral obsessions, causing individuals to experience immense guilt and fear that their thoughts and behaviors might violate a religious or moral doctrine. This condition is also common across various religions and among people who don’t practice religion.

Stark developed scrupulosity in high school, causing her to experience illness and anxiety, which she believed was because she did something wrong and needed to repent her sins. She shares with the Salt Lake Tribune that she stopped listening to music or reading books for fear of doing something wrong or offensive to her religion.

But now, she uses art as a way to process and heal.

Stark is a co-founder of an art collective called The ARCH-HIVE, which explores the complexities of Utah, Mormonism, and the American West, aiming to create

a space for those who don’t quite “feel at home in either orthodoxy or secularism.”

In December 2022, ARCH-HIVE hosted an exhibit in Provo, Utah, where over 25 artists created works that depict their stories as LDS members with OCD. Though, over 70 people responded to the collective’s call for artists.

“For so long I thought I was the only one,” Stark tells the Salt Lake Tribune.

She certainly isn’t. Pieces on display at the exhibition included photographs depicting the compulsion to sing hymns as a way to quiet intrusive thoughts, and a collage using pages from the Mormon Doctrine. One of Stark’s most popular works is an ink drawing of a skull that reads, “well then, I’ll go to hell.” Folks have even gotten the design tattooed.

Stark is still a member of the church, though she shares the complex nature of her relationship with religion on her Instagram and in her work, creating space for others’

These Organizations Are Making Somatic Therapy Accessible For All

We have all experienced the intrinsic connection between our bodies and minds. Whether our heart rates skyrocket in fear, our stomachs twist with stress, or our hands stim in delight, we know that our feelings and how our body feels are dependent on one another. As most trauma scholars will tell you: the body knows what we’ve been through.

One tool to heal from trauma, oppression, and mental health conditions is the practice of somatic therapy. Soma means “the living body,” and somatics is the practice of being in communication with the body; using psychotherapy and physical therapy for holistic

healing. This can happen through breathwork, meditation, visualization, massage, dance, eye movement and tapping exercises, and lots of other mind-body practices. Whether it’s being used to help abuse survivors, or to introduce stress reduction to social justice leaders, somatic therapy calls upon ancient lineages and traditions like those in East Asian philosophies (though these methods didn’t have a fancy name until the 1970s). Because of its longstanding roots, many practitioners have created the resources to make somatic therapy more accessible to a broad and diverse audience in modern day.

THE EMBODY LAB

theembodylab.com

unique spirituality and embracing healing. Stark’s muses include life and death, light and dark, and love and fear.

“I want everyone to know what real OCD looks like so that when they or a loved one suddenly feel trapped by terrifying, demanding thoughts, they might know what’s wrong and seek help,” Stark told the Salt Lake Tribune. “Our art show will be a success if it helps even one person get treatment for OCD.”

GENERATIVE SOMATICS

generativesomatics.org

The Embody Lab is a hub for somatics education, social justice, and embodied movement. Folks can use the lab to find a therapist or access therapeutic workshops and events hosted by licensed practitioners and psychotherapists. Participants can access these resources for $20-26 per month — which makes them a more affordable alternative to traditional therapy options in the U.S.

THE RESILIENCE TOOLKIT

theresiliencetoolkit.co

The Resilience Toolkit is a learning platform that helps people reduce stress and regulate their nervous systems so they can envision, create, and implement positive change. By using somatic exercises, the Toolkit helps participants by offering a menu of quick and effective stress-reduction tools, all created through an intersectional framework.

Generative Somatics is a network of social justice-minded people that believe somatic healing can be used as a tool for social transformation. By using somatics for leadership training and healing from the impacts of trauma and oppression, the organization is committed to creating affordable and accessible programs that specifically help social justice leaders and people impacted by oppressive systems find healing.

ERGOS INSTITUTE OF SOMATIC EDUCATION

somaticexperiencing.com

The Ergos Institute was created by Dr. Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. for folks to access a myriad of resources to help heal trauma. The Institute’s website includes a database of practitioners, free experiential exercises, a digital learning library, and more. The Institute also funds community health projects to bring somatic tools to those in need of support for no cost.

In Conversation With : Navigating Mental Health & Community Online

Gemma Styles is a writer, podcaster, and mental health advocate who uses her platform to help an audience of over 9 million learn about various social issues and use that knowledge to do good.

Her podcast “Good Influence with Gemma Styles” explores topics like feminism, climate action, housing insecurity, and more; all following a through-line of mental health, activism, and self-care in the digital age.

Gemma is a good influence herself, sharing authentic stories about living with ADHD (and all the fun mental health experiences that come with it) on her blog, pod, and

Kamrin Baker, Good Good Good: I’m so excited to have you today. We really admire you and all the work you do.

Gemma Styles: That’s so nice. I appreciate you having me. Thank you.

KB: Let’s jump right in! I’m curious how your platform online has helped you personally navigate your own mental health journey.

GS: There have been instances, especially several years ago now, where I would start talking about mental health and would have a really positive response from people. I do think it’s much easier now to think of people who talk about mental health, and it’s easier to talk about now, I would say.

I’m very aware that I say that as somebody whose mental health background is mainly in depression and anxiety. I know that’s not necessarily the case for other mental health conditions.

KB: That definitely makes sense. It also leads into my next question. You’ve talked a lot more in the last year about your diagnosis with ADHD. I’m also a late-in-life diagnosed ADHD person.

GS: Congratulations!

KB: Thank you, thank you. Can you tell me a little bit more about your experience as a woman with ADHD who

Instagram. Combining style (ha-ha) and action, she also has her own line of glasses — Gemma Styles Eyewear — some of which donate back to mental health research through her work as an ambassador with MQ Mental Health

I am truly delighted to have had the opportunity to chat with Gemma about her work in the mental health world, connect about being women with ADHD, and revel in the beauty of doing good together.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For the full version of this conversation, please visit ggg.news/articles/gemma-styles-interview

was diagnosed later in life?

GS: One of the reasons it’s so affirming to get a neurodivergent diagnosis is because — especially as someone who’s diagnosed later in life — you have spent so many years just feeling quietly like there’s something wrong with you and looking at everyone existing and working and maintaining relationships and doing all of these things — and finding it really difficult and not understanding why.

It’s both funny and kind of frustrating now that I think back to conversations that I’ve had with a general practitioner and a therapist — I think I was on medication at the time — saying ‘I feel better, but I don’t feel like I think I’m supposed to feel like.’

So even just in that respect, I think there is something massively affirming about just having a diagnosis and kind of being able to understand yourself a little bit better.

Even just in the way that I speak to myself — and it’s still really frustrating, don’t get me wrong — but it’s a lot easier to beat myself up a little bit less. It’s not that I’m a useless, terrible, lazy human being. Actually, there is a reason why I find these things difficult. And even though that’s annoying, at least I know what it is now.

KB: Having the words to describe it is so empowering. Part of my ADHD experience was seeing content online that

explained all these symptoms that prompted me to ask more questions. I think people are quick to maybe call it a trend right now when it’s often that we just have more information. How can we be more thoughtful about talking about mental health online?

GS: I mean, people can talk about ADHD being a trend, but I was diagnosed at the age of 31 and the symptoms and everything are things that I’ve been dealing with for the past 20 years. It was there. And I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of other people, too.

Equally, I think if you look at it statistically, there is an upward trend in the data of how many people are affected by mental health conditions. We don’t need to dismiss out of hand why we see mental health conditions becoming more prevalent, but you do have to maintain quite a level of nuance when you have these conversations.

KB: Yeah, we have to understand culturally and socially why people are experiencing these things. That being said, can you talk about why community is important to mental health?

GS: I think something that a lot of different people with different mental health conditions have in common is that it can just be really rubbish, and tiring, and boring, and lonely trying to deal with mental illness.

As much as there’s something to be said for tips and things, like ‘try this and try that, and like, oh, make a nice cup of tea and hang eucalyptus in your shower and do all of these, like, cute, Instagram-y things,’ there’s a space for that, but equally, a lot of it, it’s just not cute at all.

Sometimes you just feel so much better for hearing somebody mirror your experience and knowing that you’re not alone in it, even when you are alone in it in that present moment.

KB: Yeah, it reduces shame. It turns a lonely experience into a human experience, and I think that’s what’s so validating about it. Mental health is also very much at the intersection of a lot of activism and social justice work. How have you found that to be true?

GS: I think the reason why mental health seems to come into everything is because we — rightly more so in recent years — have been a little bit more kind of person-focused when we look at activism. I’m well aware that there are activists who have come decades before, but I think the kind of new niche of social media activists who grow a platform by talking about all these issues, they’ll talk more about burnout and climate anxiety and, you know, getting really bogged down and overwhelmed by the work that they do. It’s showing up and doing this incredible and really important

work, but also then having the bravery to open up and say, ‘this is really hard.’

I know people are looking up to me thinking like, ‘oh, well, they know what they’re doing and they’ve got all the answers.’ But actually, this is really hard for me, as well.

And I’m just one person in this space. All of the people who are doing this work are also dealing with their own mental health.

I can’t end up doing an episode of the podcast without talking to someone about mental health as part of it, no matter what the topic is. Whoever you’re talking to about a particular topic is also a person who’s trying to deal with that topic.

I think that helps us connect to each other a bit more,

hopefully makes these areas of activism and work feel a bit more accessible to people.

As much as we can put people on pedestals and look at the incredible work they’re doing, it does make them feel a bit unreal and a bit ethereal. Talking about mental health as part of these conversations makes you realize that they are just people and you’re also a person, which means you can also get involved and you can also be of use in all of these arenas.

KB: Aside from your podcast, what are some other projects you’re working on that uplift this work?

GS: I’m continuing to work with MQ Mental Health Research, which is a charity I’m an ambassador with. What I like to do as part of that is use my platform to inform people of the mental health research landscape and make people aware of how they can get involved. Whether that is through fundraising, or even working with studies by just filling out an online questionnaire.

You and I have been talking about ADHD and we’re both women who weren’t diagnosed as children, and that was possibly a reality for us because, as women, the data doesn’t reflect us as much. The further you cross into different intersections, the further people away are from the data set. So, for lots of different conditions and lots of different people, the more data we can have is only going to be a good thing because it will hopefully stop us from slipping through the net in the future.

KB: What is giving you hope these days?

GS: People. There are just so many lovely people who really care, and that genuine kindness and caring does make me feel really inspired in the face of a lot of the opposite going on in the world.

There’s that old saying, like ‘look for the helpers,’ and that genuinely does make me feel quite hopeful.

Three Ways To Make Mental Health Crisis Intervention More Equitable And Effective

In the summer of 2022, the U.S. rolled out its first-ever three-digit mental health hotline: 988. Designed to be the 911 of mental health emergencies, this new initiative came with pros and cons. Along with a positive investment in mental health crisis teams across the country and a much more memorable and accessible hotline number, 988 also adds to the complexity of treating mental health emergencies, concerningly still putting people in the hands of law enforcement and other first responders who are not equipped with comprehensive mental health training — ultimately causing more harm.

This leads to ineffective treatments (people experiencing reality-altering situations likely will not respond well to being detained), unnecessary incarceration or hospitalization, compounded trauma, and in some cases, police violence that could even lead to death.

Although the hotline can be a helpful tool in a potentially life-threatening situation, it’s vital to understand the nuance of mental health crisis intervention. The Psychiatric Survivors Movement is a social justice movement that centers the experiences of those who have survived abuse and subjugation in psychiatric care, welcoming alternatives to our current mental health system that center human rights in crisis intervention.

Mental health advocates who operate with equity and intersectionality in mind must work to create procedures that prioritize self-determination, harm reduction, dignity, and liberation — and leaders at the helm of the Psychiatric Survivors Movement have been cultivating these practices for decades. Here are a handful of ways (not all!) to begin reframing how we practice crisis care in America.

Peer Support Counseling

Grassroots organization Project LETS works outside of state-sanctioned systems to provide peer-based support to those experiencing mental health crises. The organization trains volunteer Peer Mental Health Advocates (PMHAs) to provide free long-term support to those who need it. With skills in trauma-informed care, suicide prevention, cultural dynamics, disability justice, crisis management, coping skills, and more, PMHAs help to create personalized safety plans, assist with medications and appointments, offer resources to make informed and independent choices, provide support in navigating the healthcare system, and more.

“We are here to hold people, be present with them, and hear them. We do not judge, cage, coerce, force, or challenge people’s autonomy and self-determination as human beings,” the Project LETS website reads. “Many power dynamics that exist in the traditional therapeutic model and mental health system are reduced.”

How can you help? Volunteer as a peer advocate, find resources, and check out a map of community crisis response groups at projectlets.org

Non-Violent Emergency Hotlines

While some states and cities are already implementing non-violent or non-crime-related emergency services (yay!), community groups across the country lead the way for alternative emergency response methods. In Minneapolis, the Revolutionary Emergency Partners have created a trusted hotline to aid in crises like mental health support, noise complaints, conflict de-escalation, neighbor complaints, and more.

CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) is also a long-standing alternative hotline. Created by the countercultural movement in the 1960s in Eugene, Oregon, CAHOOTS worked with mainstream organizations to better serve people in crisis and has inspired countless programs in other cities to this day. How can you help? Work with your local elected officials to encourage your city to invest in and implement a community hotline outside of the police and fire departments.

Peer Respite Centers (Alternative Treatment Homes)

When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they might need a break from their current reality. Historically, this looks like inpatient psychiatric care or hospitalization. While these options can be a good fit for some, folks deserve an option that may not include intense medical therapies. Enter: peer respite centers.

These respite centers (AKA alternative treatment homes) are community spaces operated by peer support specialists with similar lived experiences. They are voluntary, non-medical spaces where people can take a temporary self-driven break, knowing they will have support from an array of wellness tools, activities, and resources.

Peer Support Space (PSS) in Central Florida is one example of a soon-to-open respite center, offering folks up to seven days of free overnight respite per month.“A respite is a reminder that there is help outside of the realm of handcuffs and grippy socks; metal mirrors and plastic sporks,” the PSS website reads. “A respite means to get the love, care, and support that one’s soul needs to heal, instead of stripping them further of their sense of self.” How can you help? Donate or send supplies to a respite center or alternative treatment home. Visit peersupportspace.org to learn more.

Using A Tough Times Guide To Create A Culture Of Care In Your Inner Circle How To Make Your Own Self-Care Kit

Sometimes, when someone we love needs support, we don’t realize it until it’s nearly impossible for them to reach out and ask for help. Sometimes, asking for help becomes a challenging task in itself because the people closest to us don’t know what we need. Sometimes — like the past couple of years — it seems as if everyone needs help, and it’s hard to know how much we have to give each other.

A recurring theme in Anne Helen Peteron’s Substack blog Culture Study is how to cultivate community and care for one another. She sums up why it’s so hard to ask for help: Our society makes it difficult to develop real networks of care.

Whether through inadequate housing, social safety nets, or otherwise, many of us have been taught that individualism is at the heart of identity, and lots of us have internalized trauma (errr, masculinity) that makes seeking support even more difficult.

But Peterson also explores one straightforward way we can communicate our care needs: A Tough Times Guide. A Tough Times Guide is essentially a user manual on how your people can best support you. Peterson, with the help of her readers, created a Google form that folks can adapt to their liking to create a guide of their own.

“A form might seem clinical, but I find that it allows people to answer honestly in a way they might not if, say, you were asking them these questions in person,” Peterson writes. “It also helps us move away from the dead-end

of ‘let me know if there’s anything I can do,’ which, for various cultural and inter-personal reasons, most often results in no one asking or doing anything.”

All of us wish we had our very own magical Mary Poppins bag to summon any item we might need at a moment’s notice. Since that goes a bit above and beyond what most of us are capable of, we’ve got the next best thing: A self-care kit.

Self-care kits are pre-curated collections of items you can turn to during a difficult mental health period. These are typically items that help you feel grounded, relaxed, and relieved — but these kits can be anything that fits your unique needs. While they are obviously not a substitute for other methods of mental health support, self-care kits take the guesswork

out of situations that can be hard to read (uh, a dissociative panic attack, anyone?) and give you tools to cope with difficult experiences with very little thinking and planning on your part.

And isn’t that the hardest part of taking care of yourself? Planning and executing the smallest tasks that seem way too complicated? This is a way for Current You to take care of Future You with all the tools you might need.

Although each person’s self-care kit will be totally unique to the person creating it, here are some examples of what you can include in yours to get you started.

The form includes prompts like how people best like to communicate, what kinds of foods make them feel loved and nourished, stuff that would be really helpful (even though they’d probably never ask for it), and affirmations and reminders that are really valuable to them.

Folks can use these prompts to create their own forms and send them to a partner, friend group, or family; or they can be an inspiration to just create an individual guide to distribute to loved ones. It might feel a little formal at first, but at the end of the day, a Tough Times Guide is a great tool to mitigate those barriers to care in your inner circle.

As Peterson writes: “Is this form going to create an instant and miraculous community of care? Of course not. But it is going to make the work of creating it just a little bit easier.”

Learn more: annehelen.substack.com/p/a-shortcut-for-caring-for-others

1 Your meds, if you take any 2 Fidget toys or sensory items 3 Tissues 4 Headphones (and a grounding playlist, guided meditation, or podcast you can turn to) 5 Journal, notebook, or art supplies 6 Some travel-size hygiene supplies that make you feel good (throw a fun sheet mask in there for good measure!) 7 Candy that helps you reset your nervous system (sour candies and ginger chews are great for this) 8 A few bags of calming tea (or a couple of packets of hot cocoa) 9 A sachet of dried lavender 10 Affirmation cards 11 Meditation beads or a meditation pillow 12 Photos of happy memories, locations, or loved ones (or your dog) 13 A notepad to write a gratitude list 14 A “menu” of self-care information including contact info for your support system, a list of grounding activities, or ideas for things to do depending on your energy level 15 Cozy socks or slippers (or even a whole comfy outfit) 16 A collection of encouraging notes from loved ones

I am grateful for…

I will accept…

I will celebrate …

One of the most accessible daily mental health interventions we have at our disposal is journaling (ugh, we know you’ve probably heard that one too many times!). But while we might not feel like we have the time, motivation, or energy to put pen to paper, study after study shows that this practice (even for just two minutes) can have a

lasting impact on our well-being.

Inspired by bestselling author Neil Pasricha’s “Two Minute Mornings: A Journal to Win Your Day Every Day,” we hope this page serves as a way for you to take two minutes (seriously, only two minutes) out of your day to connect with yourself and the world around you.

I am grateful for…

I will learn from…

I will create…

I am grateful for…

I am grateful for…

I am grateful for…

I will trust…

I will forgive…

I will care for…

I will savor…

I will advocate for…

I will notice…

I am grateful for….

I will love …

I will honor…

I am grateful for….

I will make peace with…

I will seek…