mental health
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A Year Later, How Has the Trump Presidency Personally Affected or Changed You?
I’m writing this from my hotel room in New York City, where I’ve been since Tuesday evening and will be until Friday. I’m in town to attend The Root 100 gala Thursday night, but I’m here early to meet with my agent (and possibly my editor), hang out with some friends and visit the GMG…
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Texas Mass Shooter Devin Kelley Escaped From a Mental Hospital in 2012
The gunman who killed 26 people on Saturday in Sutherland Springs, Texas, escaped from a psychiatric hospital in 2012. Such evidence may indeed feed the beast in the “gun control vs. mental-health care” debate that inevitably arrises after a mass shooting. The New York Times reports that while Devin P. Kelley was in the Air…
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It’s Complicated
Last week I watched Demi Lovato’s YouTube documentary, Simply Complicated, chronicling her well-publicized drug problem and eventual bipolar diagnosis. I remember when Demi first went public after a tabloid-filled meltdown; I was impressed by how she never hid behind the veil of “exhaustion” or tried to act as if it never happened (I’m looking at…
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The Young and the Restless Star Kristoff St. John Reportedly Threatens Suicide
One of the most famous black actors on the longest-running soap opera on TV, The Young and the Restless, has reportedly threatened suicide. Kristoff St. John, 51, was hospitalized and placed under psychiatric evaluation after allegedly threatening to kill himself with a gun, according to TMZ. A friend of the Emmy-winning actor called police and…
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Slowly in the 4th Quarter
Today was one of those “Barely get dressed” kind of days. Today was one of those “You gotta get out of the house” kind of days. Today was one of those “You can’t let the world drain you” kind of days. Today was a “Leggings off the floor, relatively clean T-shirt and closest sneakers” kinda…
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NYC’s Tough Gun Laws Stopped Me From Killing Myself
In the winter of 2013, I decided that I would purchase a gun and kill myself. I was in a very deep state of depression, with many days so debilitating that my mattress felt like a tub of quicksand pulling me deeper into a dark, bottomless free fall. That I could make it out of…
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Please Stop Assuming Stephen Paddock Must Have Been ‘Mentally Ill’
I used to be deathly afraid of being outed about my mental-health struggles. What if I got a speeding ticket and ended up on the front page of my local paper? Award-winning writer found with unknown crazy-people prescription pills in car while driving with child! I could get into a car accident or curse out…
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My Battle With Depression (and the Pills and Therapy Necessary to Defeat It): A Coming-Out Story
A recent Facebook post is the reason for this story. Someone I don’t know well posted some difficulties he’s been having. He danced around what sounded to me like depression. Without actually using the D-word, he talked about having a hard time getting out of bed, feeling sad for no reason and just wondering if…
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NYC’s First Lady Remixes ‘Reclaiming My Time’ as a Mental-Health Anthem
Arguably, the only thing better than Rep. Maxine Waters’ skewering of White House weasel and Treasury Department Secretary Steve Mnuchin was the song it inspired—a gospel spin on Waters’ infamous remarks, performed by Broadway actor Mykal Kilgore, that immediately went viral. It turns out that New York City’s first lady, Chirlane McCray, is also a…
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When Dancing Soothes the Soul
I’ve always loved to dance. I’d spend hours transfixed whenever dancers from the ballet or Soul Train were on TV. We were poor and immigrant in Stillwater, Okla., so there weren’t that many opportunities to see anything live. We also couldn’t afford dance lessons, so there were no recitals or classes for me. I would…