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Mental Health Summit Will Focus on Mitigating and Managing Self-Harm

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The Alverno College graduate program in Community Psychology is hosting a mental health summit focused on mitigating and managing self-harm. Participants will learn from a panel of Milwaukee-based experts, take a deep look into issues ranging from non-suicidal to suicidal self-harm, and understand how these issues impact various populations in our community.

 

Dr. Laura Riggle, a clinical psychologist and former chief psychologist for the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, will be the keynote speaker. She has provided clinical services in the acute and long-term inpatient units, partial hospitalization program, outpatient clinic, and center for developmental disabilities. She also co-developed one of the first Dialectical Behavior Therapy Day Treatment programs where she specialized in risk assessment and management.

 

In addition to the opening session and keynote, the summit includes breakout sessions and a resource fair. The objectives for the day include:

  • Exploring the issues of non-suicidal and suicidal self-harm
  • Fostering cross-cultural connections among Milwaukee-area mental health practitioners, students and community leaders
  • Providing opportunities for mental health and health care providers, as well as school personnel, to interact around this important community issue

 

The summit, which will take place on September 21 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., is free and open to mental health practitioners, community leaders and students. For more information or to register, visit alverno.edu/summit.

 

About Alverno College

Founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis, Alverno College promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Undergraduate programs for women are offered in more than 60 areas of study, and graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology, school psychology, music therapy and business are open to women and men.

 

A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, ranks among the top schools in the Midwest for its commitment to undergraduate teaching and innovation by U.S. News & World Report. For the past two years, The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education named Alverno the country’s most inspiring college.

 

Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.

 

Police Officers Swarm Johnson’s Park

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Domestic violence is something that has become far too common in today’s relationships. I have seen this happen to friends or all ages, as well as family members. The majority of reported victims are females and in my experience, it has always gone on longer then first reported. Mental health continues to be at the forefront, as these conversations are rooted in the brokenness of people. Although it less reported, women are sometimes the aggressor as a result of the hurt in past experiences. I dated womanthat said in quote “I am about that domestic violence life,” and in more than one situation create a scenario in her head where I was cheating, and as a result attack me with weapons most of the time. The hurt is real and so are the victims, we can not celebrate the survivors of these situations enough.

On Saturday May 18ththe district 3 police department hosted survivors of domestic violence cookout in Johnson’s park. Captain Norman (pictured with Officer Jones) has been a strong advocate in the community since taking the role as captain of the district 3 in 2018. There were officers playing games like bean bag toss, while interacting with residents and survivors alike. With all the attention on police involved killings and speed chases, the timing is crucial for community relationships to be mended.

“I never expected to be in front of these many officers without being arrested,” this was said by one man while he enjoyed a barbeques hotdog.

 

It was smiles all around as guest enjoyed free food and resources from various organizations. I look forward to covering and helping to plan their next event.

by Joshua Thomas

The Battle Within

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The greatest gift we are blessed with every day that we wake up is the gift of choice. We have the ability to choose to have a great day and the ability to have a bad one. We have the choice to eat healthy and the choice to contain fatty or unhealthy foods. When we get into relationships, we choose the person we commit to. Even the people we hang around are there by choice.

But just because we have that choice, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to choose. As humans, we make mistakes all the time. There are times where we make bad decisions. The issue comes when we neglect the fact that we have a choice. The moment we unconsciously decide that we are going to give up our power, we then choose to be miserable.

Misery happens by default. It happens when you do not have drive. It happens when you give up on wanting more for yourself.    Settling is one of the biggest forms of misery because you dedicate yourself to something, knowing that it doesn’t meet the standard that you mentally created. Therefore, you agree to things without satisfaction. As a result, typically, you become angry more easily. You become tired more often. It feels as if you lack energy on the daily. You begin to do things with vague intentions and you neglect self-love, ultimately creating a multitude of issues in many areas of your life.

Not only is misery a lifestyle, it’s a form of thinking. You work jobs for money instead of working to gain skills in a field that interest you. You spend more money on yourself than time. When you’re miserable you barely set goals. You’re okay with being content, rather than being happy. It’s “normal” to trade how you feel for how others will feel. Giving up always seems like the better route when it comes to challenges and self-control is non-existent.

Often times when you’re miserable instead of keeping people around you that build you up, you choose to spend time with those that make you feel good. You stay in toxic relationships only to avoid loneliness. Even if you argue and fight with your mate every day, you stay around. You spend time with people only to fill a void or to support a habit. The people around you don’t have much of a purpose. They laugh at your dreams and tell you what they don’t believe you can accomplish. They allow you to make bad decisions because it doesn’t affect them.

When you have a miserable mindset, you make many decisions solely based off emotions. If you don’t want to do something, you won’t. It’s always about how you feel. Because of that, you often start things without finishing them. You continuously say that you want things that you aren’t willing to work for. You create excuses all the time. Blaming everyone else for everything that happens in your life seems like the best thing to do. There is no accountability. Until you realize that you are tired of being miserable, you will continue to be.

In other words, misery drives happiness. Once you get to the point of not wanting to live life the way you’re used to, you change. It is about making the choice to change your mindset. Instead of allowing life to push you around, you learn to take control. You plan your days and write out your goals. You spend time with yourself to get to know you better. When you wake up you have a routine that you abide by daily.

The conscious mind is the only way to create happiness. It’s not just an emotion. It’s not just a mood. Creating happiness has a lot to do with knowing who you are. If you don’t know what makes you happy, you can’t create happiness. You won’t know unless you take the time out to get to know you.

Happy people don’t work just for the money. When you’re happy, you work in a field that interest you and work diligently to gain new skills. What you want out of life matters more than your current situation.  Therefore, often times you sacrifice the things you love for a better cause. But in order to do this you have to have a great deal of self-discipline.

Happiness can be very challenging but, no matter what, you have to push yourself. Unlike misery, you don’t make decisions based off how you feel. You make decisions based off what needs to happen. You don’t put yourself down, accepting any and everything. You set standards. You understand that not everyone is worth your time nor does everyone deserve it.

When you’re happy you surround yourself with good people. You make sure that you have a circle full of people that genuinely love you. You ensure that the people you spend your time with truly respect you and encourage you to be great. You value your time because you know that you only live once.

Choosing to be miserable or choosing to be happy is up to you. You have to make the decision whether you are satisfied with where you are now or whether you want change. Both lifestyles form the direction of your future. Misery is hard but it’s also convenient. Happiness is challenging but a lot less stressful. Through either lifestyle, you learn. Sometimes it’s through experience. Other times through wisdom and research. An optimistic mindset will go a lot further than a pessimist does.

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Study: Physician burnout, depression can lead to major medical errors

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Article courtesy of ABC News via “The Rundown”
Does your doctor’s mental health and well-being affect the care you receive? A new study says yes — burnout, fatigue and depression may affect major medical errors.

Medical errors contribute to an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 deaths per year, according to the Institute of Medicine. Burnout — defined as emotional exhaustion or depersonalization — occurs in more than half of doctors, according to the study.

Researchers surveyed physicians across the country to understand the relationship between burnout and major medical errors in their careers.

Their findings, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, suggest burnout, by itself, plays a large role in errors. Other independent factors affecting errors include the perceived safety of the workplace, physician fatigue and physician mental health.

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine anonymously surveyed more than 6,600 physicians in active practice. They were asked to fill out standardized questionnaires looking at their levels of burnout, well-being, fatigue and symptoms of depression. In addition, the doctors were asked to grade the safety of their workplace and comment on any major medical errors they may have made.

Designer Kate Spade’s death renews conversation about mental health awareness

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(Los Angeles Times)
The death of Kate Spade has renewed discussions of mental health awareness, with celebrities mourning the fashion designer’s death with missives about depression and suicide prevention.

Spade, whose colorful handbags, bold prints and cheerful sayings once dominated American fashion, was found dead on Tuesday in her New York apartment in an apparent suicide, according to the Associated Press.

The late designer was no longer involved with the Kate Spade label, but the brand, which is now owned by Coach’s parent company Tapestry, confirmed her death on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, saying that the “visionary founder of our brand has passed” and honored “all the beauty she brought into this world.”

Though no official reports said that Spade suffered from mental illness, Twitter users quickly jumped in the fray to says that depression “does not discriminate” and is a “life-threatening illness, just like heart disease, cancer, or sepsis.”

“There should be no stigma about mental health-only treatment, awareness, and compassion,” tweetedsurgeon and columnist Eugene Gu.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and on average just under 45,000 Americans die by suicide.