Tag archives: mental health
As National Mental Health Awareness Month draws to a close, Santa Barbara is finding a meaningful – and celebratory – way to keep the conversation going. The Mental Wellness Center’s inaugural Wellness Weekend, taking place May 30-31 at Alma Rosa Estate in the Santa Rita Hills, is designed not simply as a finale to the […]
Last week I overheard a teenage girl talking with some friends. No, not talking. Gossiping. It was full of vitriol and intimate details about other teens and adults as well. She was spewing information left and right. Information that could ruin lives. It was disturbing and mean and made even more so by the fact […]
Each time my husband and I watch an episode of The Great British Bake Off I am immediately inclined to whip something up. Watching these talented chefs mix, stir and whisk their masterpieces into creation never ceases to inspire me. When I bake, I feel free but challenged and I often play around with recipes […]
Barry Schoer, president and longtime driving dynamo of Sanctuary Centers, is walking me around the half-completed structure on west Anapamu. This capstone project has been a long time coming. What does “long time” mean,exactly? The A-Team (remember Mr. T?) made its splashy TV debut the same year Barry Schoer’s ideas began coalescing – a marker […]
We all carry grief – whether from personal loss, ancestral wounds or the sorrows of the world. When grief remains unexpressed, it can weigh heavily on our bodies, hearts, and spirits. Many of us express our grief in solitude – or not at all. But in community, people can create a safe and sacred space […]
The other night I was at a meeting and two different people at the table were doing the clickety click clack of their pens. You know what I am talking about. It is an unconscious habit, like whistling and passing gas, that only brings relief to those doing it, and annoyance to those around them. […]
Like millions of other acolytes, I was among the literary lovers who began reading the Harry Potter series prior to them being brought to cinematic life. In my mind, Hermione was pronounced, “Her-Mee-Oh-Ne.” Not being English (at least by birth), I had never heard the name before and only had my (lack of) wits to […]
Last week, a dear friend of mine drove her eldest child off to college. It is every parent’s dream – your child is healthy and strong enough to leave the nest, to embark on their own adventures, to experience independence and to become whoever it is they are supposed to be. It is a testament […]
Female nurses who believe God intervenes to cure ill people are less likely to experience depressive symptoms, according to findings published in Mental Health, Religion & Culture. The study, which uses interviews from nearly 4,000 American Indian and South Asian women as well as white, female nurses, asked respondents who believe in God to choose […]
Recently I was watching a clip from Chicken Shop Date which, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend for an occasional fix of content junk food. The host, Amelia Dimoldenberg, was talking with the actor Andrew Garfield about relationships – when they began to muse over the “hilarious” notion of sharing a bed with […]
A few years ago, I ran into a couple that my husband and I knew from our “pre-kid” lives in Los Angeles. They were visiting Montecito and had ridden their bikes to the lower village to have lunch together. As they walked into the restaurant, their hands found one other, instinctively entwining by their sides. […]
New York Times columnist David Brooks, citing rising mental health issues, social distrust, and loneliness, examined the moral decline in America and suggested that Christian colleges can contribute to the “re-moralization” of American life. He delivered the keynote talk, “How Christian Colleges Can Fix What Ails America,” at the 11th annual LEAD Where Your Stand […]
A few months ago, I attended a Talkcast at Jane Restaurant downtown. According to Jane Chapman, founder and co-host, “Talkcast is a podcast club” that meets at Jane on the third Wednesday each month. I had heard about these women-only events before, but whenever I went to buy a ticket, they were always sold out. […]
“Permission to move granted.” When I read that line in, I Know I Should Exercise But, the new release by Dr. Diana Hill and Katy Bowman, I was intrigued. To find out more, I went to a workshop they were hosting at Yoga Soup, where the authors put their movement where their mouths are. The […]
There was no doubt that top staff at the nonprofit YouthWell would show up at the sold-out Arlington Theatre last week to hear social psychologist Jonathan Haidt talk about The Anxious Generation, his new book that examines why, after more than a decade of stability and improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the […]
When my sister’s fifth and youngest child was about to leave for university, she and my brother-in-law made a plan. They knew that after he left, they couldn’t face their once full, noisy and vibrant home. So, they packed the car and when he took off, they took off. It turns out that this wasn’t […]
Dr. Leonie H. Mattison, Ed.D., MBA, president and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute (PGI), is inviting mental health organizations in Santa Barbara County to join a free event via Zoom on Sept. 6, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. PGI will provide a platform to connect and work together on the mental health issues in the […]
It’s been a landmark year for major anniversaries in Santa Barbara. The Granada Theatre launched its year-long Granada 100 celebration in the spring. The Summer Solstice Parade held its 50th festival on the first day of summer. And Old Spanish Days Fiesta is in the midst of its centennial celebration as this issue hits newsstands. […]
I recently had an email exchange with a man who was interested in renting our vacation home for a stay with his grown sons. His wife had died the week before and as she loved the beach, he felt it would be a wonderful way to honor her. I offered what I hoped were words […]
The year I was a therapy intern, I remember feeling a great sense of overall well-being. I knew I was being a good mom to my young children, and a loving and present partner to my husband. I was in graduate school to expand my mind, and I was being of service to low-income seniors […]
