By Homa Khaleeli — 2016
At 25, Harnaam Kaur holds the world record as the youngest woman to have a full beard. For years, she was bullied. Now she’s an Instagram star.
Read on www.theguardian.com
CLEAR ALL
The ongoing dialogue I have with my own perspective and emotions is the biggest job I’ve ever undertaken. Exploring this internal give-and-take forces me to grow in surprising ways.
I live in a culture that’s only too eager to court my vanity.
1
Knowing that all people who undergo treatment for cancer will face some sort of changes to their bodies and self-perception is both normalizing and challenging.
Look more closely and you’ll see.
2
Normal bereavement and major depression share many of the same symptoms. And because of those similarities, psychiatrists have historically carved out what is known as a "bereavement exclusion." Its purpose was to reduce the likelihood that normal grief would be diagnosed as clinical depression.
I believe that social workers need to focus on that which we are trained to do: extend civic love and compassion to the client, staring where he or she is. We are not wed to the medical model; social work is ecological, psychosocial, and systems oriented.
Demand from patients seeking help for their mental illnesses has led to underground use in a way that parallels black markets in the AIDS pandemic. This underground use has been most perilous for people of color, who face greater stigma and legal risks due to the War on Drugs.
A recent study found that even a single positive psychedelic experience may ease mental health symptoms associated with racial trauma experienced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).
Racism is increasingly recognized as a factor that plays a role in mental health as well as disparities in mental health care. This can be particularly true among many of the most marginalized groups, including Indigenous communities.