Tag: christmas

Cast Aside No One

97
When I first presented my cards to the woman at Newport Hospital's front desk, I was greeted with a smile, but when I told her to whom I wanted them sent, her smile quickly faded. She sighed and asked me to consider handing out my cards to "the other patients" instead, as if the patients in the psychiatric unit didn't matter at all.

Merry, Beautiful, Unique: YOU

15
You and me, we are different. We live in the world of magic, where angels appear, where voices scare but also reveal, where visions show us the other, real, parallel world. God blesses only very few of us with such an ability. And that’s why you have to fight for this right.

This Is Why Your Mental Health Can Get Worse Around Christmas

2
In this piece for HuffPost UK, Sophie Gallagher highlights some of the common factors that harm people's mental health during the holiday season, including financial stress, loneliness,...

Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Psychiatric Primer of Character and Redemption

26
Scrooge’s character was forged from his own emotional pain. Indeed, we can change the course of our lives through facing and mourning that pain. Want, deprivation and cruelty create the evils of the world. Mourning and trust, in the context of love, are its antidotes. 

Strange Gifts and the Search for Santa Claus

5
It used to be that the times when Santa Claus would show up were times when I was worrying about whether or not I had the right kind of medicine. I know when I see him that he is the medicine, and that he is showing me how to live.

“Helping Others Dampens the Effects of Everyday Stress”

1
"The holiday season can be a very stressful time, so think about giving directions, asking someone if they need help, or holding that elevator...