Mental Health Activists

"Is Dorothea Dix throwing off her womanly nature and appearance in the course she is pursuing? In finding duties abroad, has any "refined man felt that something of beauty has gone forth from her"? To use the contemptuous word applied in the lecture alluded to, is she becoming "mannish"? Is she compromising her womanly dignity in going forth to seek to better the condition of the insane and afflicted? Is not a beautiful mind and a retiring modesty still conspicuous in her?"

"The clarion note of “Kentucky, old Kentucky” ! rings through the land. She claims eminence in the political station amidst her Star-crowned Sisters ; she exults in the far told history of her military renown: but there is a moral eminence far transcending political distinctions ; and a more glorious renown than is sounded from the trumpet of victorious battles:— bid her to a place in the firmament of heaven ; there enthroned by her holy deeds of charity and love, inscribe her name on that scroll of history borne by angels — and sealed by arch-angels for the archives of eternity!"

"The dread of severe measures, in the treatment of the insane in hospitals is passing away from the minds of all who seek information concerning them. In these the rule of right, and the law of kindness are known to prevail. Severity and harsh measures of coersion are long since abandoned. Gentleness and persuasion unite with a mild decision, to control the way ward and the perverse, and to quiet the raving maniac."

"Are there not many who will read this page, who, like myself, can recall the lone husband and father wearing out a woful life in the dreary block house, almost within the shadow of his own roof; « without clothes, for if he was furnished, he would rend them in pieces ; without bed, for if that was supplied, it would be destroyed; without bathing or shaving, till he resembles the beasts of the forest; without fire, for with it he would burn the building; in a cheerless block-house, for if a less solid structure, he would break through it! Are there none who remember the dull victim of melancholy delusions, harrassed by unreflecting neighbors, hurrying away to find refuge from their thoughtless persecutions, beneath the waters of the nigh flowing river? Are there none who recollection the son and brother, swinging his clanking chain within a slight and comfortless cabin, clamoring and hooting at the passersby, vociferous, dangerous, and destitute of all appropriate care ; dangerous when at large, and wretched under the weary bondage of his chains? Will none have heard of the delirious epileptic girl, whose troublesome habits and mischievous propensities bring upon her the cutting lash, and who, driven by this merciless discipline, to wilder freaks, and more frequent paroxysms, is an object of deepest pity. These scenes, these hapless conditions of the insane are terrible, but these, and others not dissimilar, are not unusually the result, so much of barbarious dispositions on the part of kindred, (the last case excepted,) as the consequence of ignorance upon the right treatment demanded for the insane, and a failure to realize the great sufferings which ill-directed management create and aggravate. Let all, and each, through out our country, learn the benefits of hospital treatment, and unite to secure these benefits to all the insane, of whatever rank or condition."

"All experience shows that insanity seasonably treated is as certainly curable as a cold or a fever. Recovery is the rule; permanent disease the exception."

"In Kentucky alone, of all the States I have traversed, it has not been my painful experience to find the insane poor, filling the cells of poor- houses, or the dungeons of the jails."

"Of all the calamities to which ‘humanity is subject, none is so dreadful as insanity. Pinching want, hideous deformity, acute disease, mutilation, deafness, blindness; all these are distressing in their effects alike upon the sufferer and those with whom he is connected"

"I approach you with confidence as the advocate of those who, alas, cannot plead their own cause — of those in whom the light of the understanding is darkened, and who are crushed under the weight of an overwhelming malady"

"Prisons are not constructed in view of being converted into county hospitals, and almshouses are not founded as receptacles for the insane. And yet, in the face of justice and common sense, wardens are by law compelled to receive, and the masters of almshouses not to refuse, insane and idiotic subjects in all stages of mental disease and privation."

"Familiarity with suffering, it is said, blunts the sensibilities, and where neglect once finds a footing other injuries are multiplied."

"I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience."

"The condition of human beings, reduced to the extremest states of degradation and misery, cannot be exhibited in softened language, or adorn a polished page."

"I personally fall somewhere in the middle. Bullying, however severe, is not an excuse for physical retaliation or violence, much less mass murder. But I do believe Dylan was bullied, and that along with many other factors, and perhaps in combination with them, bullying probably did play some role in what he did."

"The connection between bullying and violence toward others is more complicated, although again there's a correlation. Bullied kids often become bullies themselves, which appears to be what happened with Dylan and Eric. Larkin cites a student who claims they terrorized her brother, a student with special needs, so badly he was afraid to come to school. Researchers call students who both bully and suffer bullying "bully-victims," and find that these bully-victims are at the greatest psychological risk. "Their numbers, compared to those never involved in bullying, tell the story: 14 times the risk of panic disorder, 5 times the risk of depressive disorders, and 10 times the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior."

"Dylan's struggles may have been hidden from us, but they were not uncommon ones. A 2011 study by the Centers for Disease Control found that 20 percent of high school students nationwide reported they had been bullied on school property in the thirty days before the survey; an even higher percentage reported they'd been bullied on social media. Anti-bullying advocates suggest the number may be closer to 30 percent. A tremendous amount of research has been done on the effects of peer harassment, and there is unquestionably a correlation between bullying and brain health disorders that stretches all the way into adulthood. A Duke University study found that, compared with kids who weren't bullied, those who were had four times the prevalence of agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, and panic disorder as adults. The bullies themselves had four times the risk of developing antisocial personality disorder. There is also a strong association between bullying and depression and suicide. Both being a victim and bullying others is related to high risks of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Researchers at Yale found that victims of bullying were two to nine times more likely to report suicidal thoughts than other children."

"About five years after the massacre, I spoke with a Columbine High School counselor. He told me that, after an earlier, publicized bullying incident, the high school had implemented closer supervision of the student body, including teachers in the hallways between classes, and in the cafeteria at lunch. But we agreed it's impossible to control what two thousand students are doing on a campus- or to know what those kids are doing to one another in the Dairy Queen parking lot. Despite the administration's claim that steps were taken to stem conflict among students, their efforts fell short. For many people, Columbine High School was a hostile and frightening place even if you were one of the most popular kids, and Dylan and his friends were not. One of our neighbors told us her grown son's reaction to the tragedy, a refrain we heard many times: "I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner.""

""What I hear the most is that people need understanding. … They want to know their stories were valid, their opinions mattered, and that is what gave me purpose.”"

""Don’t wait till you have a mental breakdown before you seek help. … If you’re wondering whether or not you should seek help for something, that’s exactly the right time to seek help.”"

""The best way for us to protect our mental space is to understand it, and know that mental health is not abstract. … When things are going on around you, within you, there are thoughts that fly through your mind and those thoughts trigger certain kind of emotions.”"

""When my condition is not seen as something that is wrong with me but as a set of qualities that my environment is yet to adapt to, people with mental-health conditions are no longer seen as a problem that needs to be fixed.”"

""If I do not speak up, one more person will have to live in shame and fear of stigma.”"

"Women with mental health conditions like myself have something to say and we are being heard. It’s empowering!."

"Intentionally make time for activities that boost your mood."

"We cannot self-care our way out of a mentally unhealthy environment."

"Choose a cause that is closest to your heart by Lesego Otlhabanye"

"Empower your mind, read and research about strategic tools that will position your brand purposively to your target audience."

"Mosadi Galase by Mmakgosi Anita Tau (16 July 2021)"

"I don’t like to call myself a disruptor, but because of the body, gender, and country I was born in, there is no other plan for me."

"If disruptor is the new synonym for defiance, then we take it, we own it, and we do with it as we please to protect this endangered species named Woman."

"We are not second class citizens. We will no longer live life in an eternal state of apology for being women."

"I am a firm believer in my intentional God and know that my life is ordered by His authority."

"As a tool for social advocacy, poetry is an art that attracts those waging wars on social ills."

"Art is the truth that enables me to live through words and create works that change lives."

"My life is a composition of God’s gifts bundled up to serve humanity."

"Recognize your value, gifts and potential before you expect the world to do that."

"I think if you do go out with someone for quite a long time you do get to know each other very, very well. You go through the good times, you go through the bad times, both personally and within a relationship as well."

"Myself, I wish her well and also wish I could whisper to her: If you really love him, honey, get him out of there, and yourself, too. Many of us don't want or need another sacrificial lamb to water the dried bones and veins of a dessicated system. Do yourself a favor and save what you can: Leave the throne to the awful next incumbent that the hereditary principle has mandated for it."

"I really hope I can make a difference, even in the smallest way. I am looking forward to helping as much as I can."

"I think, the people around home are very supportive to us and those are the people who really matter to us, our close friends and close family and I think if they feel you are doing the right thing you can only be true to yourself and you sort of have to ignore a lot of what's said, obviously take it on board, but you have to be yourself really and that's how I have stuck by it really."

"I've never seen American Idol but I am grateful to them. That show is one of Fox's biggest moneymakers, and some of that money goes to pay for shows like Prison Break. Simon Cowell's been signing my paychecks and for that I say thanks."

"Confidence is at the root of so many attractive qualities - a sense of humor, a sense of style, a willingness to be who you are no matter what anyone else might think or say."

"A great book provides escapism for me. The artistry and the creativity in a story are better than any drugs."

"Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes. However, as a gay man, I must decline. I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly. Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice."