January, 2015
The Gaze of a Stranger—How Feeling Connected Can Ground, by Shelley Bishop
As I sit in the frigid south central Pennsylvania winter feeling the desire to hibernate, I’m reminding myself that it will benefit me greatly to push myself out the door and into the single digit temperatures. Why? Because all that effort will result in my being with people, and [...]Read more
My First Time, by Elisha Coffey
I tell the handsome young man in the elevator, “It’s called Alternatives and it’s for people living with mental health conditions.” He replies, “Oh, are you a chaperone?”. My heart freezes, this is one more time that I can slide under the radar. I breath deeply, and respond, “Oh [...]Read more
Beware the Buzz, by Shelley Bishop
Here at the ITE/MH Campaign, we search for and review a lot of articles and information in pursuit of finding “the Evidence” of individuals, organizations, and communities that support recovery. Recently, I’ve found myself becoming sensitive to the use of “recovery” and [...]Read more
Recovery Story: From the Unknown to Recovery, by Dave
My name is Dave. I was born in 1959, and I come from an average home. I was fine until Valentine’s Week of 1989. Then my world turned inside out and I plunged into the unknown world of Mental Health. I was diagnosed with Paranoid Psychotic Schizophrenia and my life was over. [...]Read more
Stephen Durant, Inspiring Belief in Others
How do you go from believing that your life, your being, is controlled by unspeakable childhood trauma, to being a person in recovery and an inspirer of belief to others that they too can change their lives? ITE/MH Ambassador Stephen Durant, of Erie, Pennsylvania, points to the [...]Read more
Belief…the Placebo Effect
I’m the Evidence….for how Belief Inspires The ITE poem opens with Belief. For so many people, recovery from mental illness begins with—and is strongly supported by —the belief that things will get better. Or, that despite ongoing symptoms, one’s life can have meaning and purpose. [...]Read more