On the first day of my morals and ethics class, I was asked to imagine the following scenario: You’re walking home from work when you notice a runaway trolley flying down the train tracks. Just ahead of this railway car are five people tied up, incapable of moving. You then…
We’ve all felt excluded at least once or twice in our lives—I don’t care if you were the most popular person in school or if you pride yourself on being the glue that keeps your friends together. Think back to that one time you weren’t picked for a team in…
Max is 8 years old with a heavy interest in bugs and photography. He rarely makes eye contact when he talks to others—including his closest family members—and prefers to keep the conversation short…especially when something’s bothering him, like the bullies at school or a smashed lens on his camera. And…
Learning a new language is all fun and games until somebody asks you to speak it. Spanish class, 4th period, every day for three years. We started out with the basics, of course—I learned all of the colors and animals; then we moved on to elementary verbs; and then to…
My niece is practically fluent in Spanish. It started with colors and numbers, which she would impressively recite at family gatherings. But now, a few years later, she can spew out full, complex sentences in Spanish that, of course, none of us adults can understand. And the truth is, I’m…
Depression: a crippling illness characterized by fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, and a depressed state that affects 350 million people worldwide. This overwhelming statistic reminds us that any one of us could develop the condition—but not a single one of us hopes to. So we do what we can to prevent…
My dad is the hardest working person I know. At the ripe old age of 76 he spends the majority of each day on his feet—mowing the lawn, vacuuming, walking the dog, wandering up and down the aisles of the grocery store. He’s so active, in fact, that I often…
There’s rural and then there’s urban—those who relish in wide open spaces and those who prefer the city bustle. I’ve always been the former: I grew up in a very small town with acres of farmland, woodland, and waterways. And while I love the quiet, a good hike on the…
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental illness characterized by a range of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dysfunctions. Individuals who suffer with this disease often experience delusions, hallucinations, incoherence, and dysfunction in major areas of life, such as at work or in their personal relationships. And while much has been discovered about…
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by extreme mood swings and emotional highs and lows. Formerly known as manic depression, the condition can leave its victims feeling hopeless and uninterested one minute, but happy and full of energy the next. These changes in mood and emotions negatively impact one’s…
As we get older, we try to forget about and deny our age. We take off a few years on forms at the doctor’s office and when a friend asks which birthday this one is we definitely don’t tell the truth (despite their suspicious looks). But words can only go…
There is a plethora of misconceptions and myths when it comes to the topic of mental illness. For example, some people believe that disorders like depression and anxiety are dramatic diagnoses for difficult feelings like sadness or mere nerves. But this is certainly not the case—these conditions and those of…
