Patrick Kennedy, former Rhode Island congressman and son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, delivered the keynote address at “Healthy Brain: Healthy Europe,” a conference devoted to brain health and research, held in Dublin at the end of May. Since publicly acknowledging his struggles with addiction, depression and bipolar disorder in 2006, Kennedy has become a strong advocate … [Read more...] about Patrick Kennedy Addresses Brain Research in Dublin
Mental Health
Finding the Other: The Metamorphosis and Compassion
Molly McCloskey, the author of Circles Around the Sun, shares how one profound reading experience led her to better understand her older brother who suffers from schizophrenia. I can still recall, in the way one recalls the most powerful reading experiences of one’s life, lying on the bed in my studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, and reading “The Metamorphosis” for the first … [Read more...] about Finding the Other: The Metamorphosis and Compassion
Hunger and its Children
Schizophrenia and other diseases associated with starvation. The outward physical consequences of famine and severe malnutrition have been long known. They are the same everywhere. In his recent history of the Irish Famine, The Graves Are Walking, John Kelly describes them this way: “In the later stages of starvation, the eyelids inflame, the angular lines around the mouth … [Read more...] about Hunger and its Children
When They Want to End It
Suicide in Ireland, particularly among male teens, is on the rise. Sharon Ní Chonchúir reports. Few teenagers make a mark on Irish society in the way 16-year-old Tralee native Donal Walsh did. Having battled cancer on three separate occasions, Donal finally succumbed to the disease in May. But before he died, he spread a serious message. He spoke out urging people, especially … [Read more...] about When They Want to End It
Knowing When to Help
If you suspect something, do something. April Drew writes from personal experience. It was a little after 8 p.m. on a cold and dark Sunday evening. It was the first Sunday of 2009. Christmas was just over and the January blues were setting in all around the world. I was sipping tea at my desk in our Bronx apartment and working on the computer when I heard my phone barely … [Read more...] about Knowing When to Help