NewsBreak Original

A young man’s attempt at putting his emotions on paper, has turned in to an inspiring collection of poetry, entitled, A Misguided Thought. Jaelyn D. Jordan is a 22-year old author and poet who resides in Orlando, FL. His first book, A Misguided Thought was published in May 2021, by Austin Macauley Publishers. To celebrate the first anniversary of it's release, Jaelyn hopes to inspire others by sharing his story.

I quit drinking six years ago after decades of alcohol abuse that left me sick, emotionally distraught, and seriously depressed. As a former nurse, I also have a professional understanding of addiction. So when I quit, it lit a fire in me to research more about alcohol addiction and how it affects people physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I'm in no way a relationship expert. I'm not really an expert in anything, not even writing, which is the thing I studied only because it was the thing that felt most intuitive and correct. But if you asked me most grammar questions, I probably don't know the answer. I know what a noun is, but I don't know what a dangling participle is, and I don't much care. I learned how words work by reading a lot and by writing a lot and so, my expertise here was born of nothing more than exposure and practice.

Coming towards the end of May and, conversely, the end of mental health month, the PA Department of Human Services has issued the following press release to act as a reminder to those in need of mental help to have a list of mental health services available to them:

Nya is a critical missing teen who suffers from mental health issues.This missing person poster is from the Facebook page of the Black and Missing Foundation. The family of Nya Jingles is desperately seeking answers for their missing 14-year-old who was last reported getting dropped off by an Uber in the 3300 block of Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach on May 5, 2022.

(Denver, Colo.) Mental Health Center of Denver has a new name and a new service for people needing emergency counseling. The organization has rebranded as WellPower and is offering free online therapy sessions called TherapyDirect.

A Promise Ranch patient hugs one of the horses.Promise Ranch Therapies and Recreation. (Castle Rock, Colo.)Promise Ranch Therapies and Recreation uses equine therapy to help people with disabilities, mental health concerns, veterans and anyone seeking to benefit from animal-assisted treatment.

Some dread aging; some look forward to it. The concept, from a mental health perspective, is nothing less than complex. Though I am a former mental health professional with training in Psychology, and I will share some personal experience, I am not a doctor and I will offer no medical advice or diagnosis herein. Please contact a currently practicing medical or mental health professional foranypotential issue related to this article that requires attention. Sources for this article includeCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov), American Psychological Association, Taylor & Francis, and Wikipedia.org.

I was a Freshman in high school when my parents first gave me cell phone, a small silver pay-by-the-minute flip phone that I was to use to call them after basketball practice, or in case of emergency.

"You live a very happy life," said one of my coworkers, as he looked at the pictures I’d recently hung in my office. There was Chase and I on New Year’s Eve, Chase smiling widely and me planting a giant kiss on his freshly shaven cheek. There was me with a group of friends in Chicago at a Fitz and the Tantrums concert, me with college teammates, my parents, Chub-Chub, Chase again, my in-laws, me and my best friend TayLORE. I was smiling in each photo, because that’s what you do when you know your picture is about to be taken. Nobody frowns as their aunt says, “Say cheese!” Nobody scowls for the Christmas card photo, nobody cries as they hug their fiancé on New Year’s, even if that’s what they feel like doing.

Carrots are an American produce staple. We dip them in ranch. We pair them with celery and hummus. We add them to soups and curl them all fancy like on top of salads. We feed our elderly mushy steamed carrots to compensate for their lack of teeth.

I was in graduate school when I first worked up the courage to go see a therapist. I was studying hard for my masters, cramming my entire two-year program into one. Holding the status of "Super Senior," I was coming back from my hip surgery, training at a high level, and becoming increasingly frustrated by the way my body was healing (or not healing) from the surgery.

I am 9 years old, sitting in my fourth-grade spelling class. Despite my advanced reading ability, I am a sub-par speller, and studying at a third-grade level. In preparation for an upcoming test, the teacher has positioned the students in a circle, and we’re going around the room spelling words she assigns us out loud. When my turn comes, the teacher says, “chubby.” “Chubby” I say, “c-h-u-b-b-y.” As soon as I finish spelling the word, a boy next to me whispers audibly, “Yeah you are!” My heart feels too big, my face too hot. No one has every bullied me before. The same boy taunts me for the rest of the school year, and for the first time, I wonder what it means to be fat.

Many eating disorders, mine included, begin with an obsession with health or nutrition. In recent years, a condition known as orthorexia, has become widely recognized in the medical community. People with orthorexia often adhere to strict food rules, cut out entire food groups, eat within certain time windows, or become increasingly obsessed with the idea of “clean” foods. It’s worth mentioning that “clean” foods are not real—they are a fallacy and this fact is widely agreed upon by registered dietitians, doctors, and health experts.

There were the "bad" foods that I considered "off-limits." Candies, cakes, donuts, cookies, ice cream, white bread, sugared cereals, crackers, juice, soda, smoothies, granola bars, pretzels, brownies, waffles, pancakes, anything rich or carby or satiating. Denying myself these foods was easy for a while; dieting provided intense feelings of power and elation. But I'm going to beat the proverbial dead horse and reiterate what so many of us have already heard: diets don't work.

It is no small secret that eating disorders plague the athletic world: the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), states that over one-third of female athletes exhibit disordered behaviors that put them "at-risk" for anorexia nervosa. Though most athletes with eating disorders are female, male athletes are also at risk—especially those competing in sports that often over-emphasize athlete’s diet, appearance, size, and weight, such as wrestling, bodybuilding, dancing, skating, crew, and running.

A lot of people read my blog and send me questions about eating disorders: how can someone tell if their child has one? What are the signs? Is it a genetic issue or caused by environmental pressures? What does social media have to do with everything? Can eating disorders be resolved on their own or do they require specific treatment? This last question gets me. It could be possible to recover without help, but I've never heard of it, and I certainly didn't experience it. I had the support of an outpatient program as well as years of therapy and intimate work with a dietitian. Today, I'm going to do my best to disseminate the different types of treatments and help you understand what to expect.

Is it possible? Yes. Is it helpful? Not always. After being diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa, I was told to stop exercising. I wasn't happy about that, because I was addicted to exercise. Being a Division 1 athlete was serious business, and for five years straight, I worked out like it was my job because it sort of was. I'd been running a lot and slowly starving myself for years prior to my diagnosis. I pushed myself through workouts only to go home and sleep for hours. I bonked countless times in the middle of runs. My gastrointestinal system was so messed up that at one point, I couldn't run more than a couple miles without having to stop to use the bathroom. My athletic performance wasn't anywhere near good, but I was so indoctrinated into my eating disorder that losing weight mattered more to me than running fast. I needed to keep moving so I could avoid any unwanted weight, or so I thought.

I never considered myself to be a delicate flower until so many people in my life put me in that box. “You’re so sensitive,” is something I’ve been hearing all my life since I was a child.

Taking Care of Your Mental Health is More Important Now than Ever BeforeShayda Windle. A decade ago, mental health was not something discussed within the workplace primarily due to the stigma attached to it. However, this has changed in recent years, and mental health is now an open topic of conversation among businesses of all sizes around the world. Whether you are a small business owner or a Fortune 500 company, business leaders are prioritizing the discussion around mental health. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, we thought it would be beneficial to share a few tips we have learned the past few years about taking care of our own mental health and finding that balance that entrepreneurs so desperately need.