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Mental Health and the Internet
Why the screen often beats the couch
Web-based technologies are revolutionizing mental-health treatment and care, André Picard reports. Patients can feel more empowered – and time-pressed doctors get a little help of their own
Students and Mental Health
'Mad' and proud of it
Offering peer support and challenging social stigmas about mental illness, the Mad Student Society adds a touch of politics to the mix
Earlier discussion
Can we win the fight against mental illness?
Removing the stigma will help those suffering from mental health issues
Sexual-Identity Disorder
"It was a modern coming-out"
After her sex change, Michelle Blanc says she 'desperately needed to talk to other people like me."
Breaking Through
‘I've gone through a metamorphosis'
Stability is the key to managing mental illness, experts suggest. André Picard looks at a Montreal project that puts housing first, providing troubled homeless people a stable home of their own
Latest In Breaking Through
Resources
A class that teaches hope
A course for people with ‘very serious mental health and addiction problems' aims to give them the skills to live a ‘near-to-normal' life
Treatment
In praise of 'electroshock'
The treatment is regularly administered – and still hugely controversial. But patients with severe depression swear by ECT
Antidepressants: A primer
Patients often try several medications before they find one that works for them.
Helping the survivors heal
Families ‘need to find a healthy way to grieve'
Women's Mental Health
When motherhood isn't a joy
More than 10 per cent of new mothers suffer postpartum depression, but most try to hide the problem. André Picard talks to women who eventually got help – without medication
Should pregnant women take antidepressants?
New research suggests the answer is no
Why women are twice as likely as men to be depressed
Between puberty and menopause, depression is predominantly a woman's illness, with rates two times higher – or more – than men.
Getting help for postpartum depression
Dr. Valerie Whiffen took your questions on women's mental health
Creativity and Mental Health
How Robert Munsch grabbed a lifeline
The popular author says getting treatment for bipolar disorder helped his creativity
Laughter is the best medicine
Mental health expert David Granirer on using comedy for education and therapy
Mental health in the movies
Mental illness and electroconvulsive therapy in popular culture
Seniors
How life began at 70
Seniors, even those with long-standing mental illnesses, can get better and thrive. “We need to reach out and help, not just abandon people to mental illness because they're older”
Powerful stigma prevents seniors from seeking help
Older adults are under-diagnosed and under-treated for mental health problems
Ending stigma and challenging myths
Life transitions such as retirement, loss of a partner and chronic medical conditions can increase a person's risk.
Mental Health and the Workplace
Mental-health groups look to emulate breast-cancer fundraising
Raising money is often a struggle
Children and Teens
The top seven youth disorders
About one in five children and adolescents suffers from a mental, emotional or behavioural disorder that is severe enough to seriously affect the young person's daily functioning at home, school or within the community.
Talking about mental health
Should you be concerned about your teen?
Who's at risk
As early as the first year of life, there are indications that some children have more risks than others to develop high levels of depression and anxiety
No one-size-fits-all solution
Diagnosed at age 10, David Klein finally found a cure in in the wilderness
Homelessness and Mental Health
Contentious, but experts say it works
For some substance abusers, abstinence is unrealistic so it is best to try to reduce the harm caused by substance abuse rather than focus on stopping the substance abuse outright
Home for a rest
Scenes from the Chambreclerc shelter in Montreal
By the numbers
Homeless people have become a fixture on the streets of urban centres in Canada, but they are just the visible tip of the iceberg of a major social problem.
From Our Archives
'We must never give up'
Psychiatrist David Goldbloom talks about the stigma surrounding mental illness and some essential first steps in changing things for the better
Mental Health and the Workplace
When the office gives back
Most people hide their condition at work, but André Picard meets two people who chose a better path
Therapy
Did you hear the one about comedians and mental illness?
For Big Daddy Tazz, laughter and lithium are the best medicine
Breaking Through: Therapy
Comfort in the silver screen
TIFF's Reel Comfort program eases the burden of patients struggling with mental illness
Anti-Psychiatry Movement
For this activist, the only good treatment is no treatment
“I was not a ‘mental patient' but a political prisoner of psychiatry,” says Don Weitz
Children and Adolescents
The fine art of recovery
Many believe mental-health problems are life-long afflictions. Experts disagree, and student Bronwyn Loucks' remarkable rebound proves their point
Seniors and Mental Health
Recovery is possible
“I believe it. I see it. I live it,” says Karen Liberman. “People, no matter how sick they are, can fully, fully recover at any age and have full, rich, productive lives.”
Valerie Pringle
Getting help early makes all the difference
Sean Miller
Recovered from a four-year depression after receiving an experimental procedure
Wayne Cho
Is running across Canada to raise awareness about anxiety and depression
Ivor Concellos
Began to hear voices at age 13, and received the help he needed for schizophrenia.
