General

January 5, 2016 — Active Minds is accepting applications for the 2015-2016 term of the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) through January 10. Thinking about applying? Here are 5 reasons to join the SAC: 1. Represent your peers and engage in the national conversation about mental health. As a student-serving organization, the Active Minds national staff and Board of Directors rely […]

December 31, 2015 — Everyone has different opinions about the New Year. Some people think it is a fresh start, a new chapter, a time to reflect on life. But others may find the new year hard, like a reminder of past failures or “just another day.” As 2016 starts, it’s no doubt that we will be inundated with […]

October 12, 2015 — One month ago today, my partner Rich and I stood under a big tent during the loveliest late-summer rain storm and did a really wonderful thing:  We got married. Our wedding was beautiful and special and fun and silly — all the things we had hoped it would be during the months of planning. We stood under the alter […]

September 24, 2015 — This post is part of a Suicide Prevention Month blog series. Read the other blogs here. Please note: This piece talks about a specific experience regarding suicidal thoughts and hospitalizations. Not all experiences will be or are the same. When someone is actively suicidal, we often tell them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call […]

September 16, 2015 — This post is part of a Suicide Prevention Month blog series. Read the other blogs here. Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. According to the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (Van Orden et al., 2010), desires for suicide arise from a combination of perceived burdensomeness (i.e. “the world would be better off without me”) […]

August 17, 2015 — The transition to the shorter and busier days of fall can be a challenge. To help ease the change, we’ve put together 15 Autumn Wellness Tips to get you ready for the colder months and keep your mental (and physical!) health in check. 1) Start taking a Vitamin D supplement. We get most of our Vitamin D […]

July 7, 2015 — Sarah Berendt is currently studying social work at Lourdes University in Sylvania, OH. She is founder and president of Active Minds at Lourdes University and a member of the Student Advisory Committee. It was the second time ever that I was sitting across from a therapist; I was lost, confused, and terrified. She handed me […]

July 6, 2015 — For some people, summer means fun in the sun, outdoor barbecues, far-away vacations, no homework, and plenty of time to relax. But for many other people — especially students — summer can be an extremely stressful time of transition. At college, students have their friends, classes, extracurricular activities, and other things keeping them constantly busy. When summer […]

May 11, 2015 — May is Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month! Stacy Pershall, a member of the Active Minds Speakers Bureau who has a diagnosis of BPD, shares 5 things you should know about this oft-misunderstood disorder. Bring Stacy to your campus to speak today! 1. The disorder got its name from psychoanalyst Otto Kernberg, when Freudian therapists observed […]

February 28, 2015 — It’s Black History Month and we’re excited to bring you this list of important African and African American psychologists who have conducted critical research and contributed to the field of psychology in so many ways. 1. Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1914-2005) Contributions:  Work essential in case of Brown v. Board of Education. In the famous “Doll Study” he studied […]