The cost of staying silent on mental health

When his self-employment worries escalated, a writer found it hard to ask for help

Earlier this year, I admitted myself to psychiatric hospital. I went in voluntarily, only to watch nurses search through my possessions to remove anything I could harm myself with: razor, pills, iPhone cable. I was put on watch, and for days I was not allowed outside unaccompanied.

I shared a ward with people in financial services, law, advertising, the drinks industry, commercial aviation, the military, and more. Men and women diagnosed with depression, anxiety, bulimia, anorexia, self-harming, personality disorders, and chronic addiction to drink, drugs and gambling.  more

Mental illness, Addiction and Digital Infidelity

Fifty years ago, I was six years old.  My family, like many families of the day, subscribed to Life magazine.  On the cover of the magazine for the week of September 16, 1966 was a picture of Sophia Loren.  The Hollywood starlet was portrayed wearing a black see-through lacy dress that covered all the necessary parts, and covered all the necessary standards for 1966.  But the picture left an image upon my brain that I can easily recall to this day.

Fifty years later, digital pornographic images are now easily accessible.  The Internet has made it possible for thousands of images and videos to be accessed within seconds.  The Internet has made it available for instant digital infidelity to occur.  Such images and encounters can easily be accessed on any smartphone, tablet, and computer.  more