Her 11th Birthday Was The First Time She Said She Didn't Want To Live. She Left On His 21st.

http://www.upworthy.com/her-11th-birthday-was-the-first-time-she-said-she-didnt-want-to-live-she-left-on-his-21st?c=reccon1

When Ethan was 11 years old, he struggled with understanding why he was unhappy. He knew something about his body wasn't quite as it should be, and his unhappiness manifested itself in suicidal thoughts and depression. As he got older, he came to realize he was struggling with the fact that his gender identity didn't match his gender and began the long transition to becoming a man. This is his story.

At 1:30, he talks about the children he'll never know. At 2:26, he gets me right in the feels.

When Ethan was 11 years old, he struggled with understanding why he was unhappy. He knew something about his body wasn't quite as it should be, and his unhappiness manifested itself in suicidal thoughts and depression. As he got older, he came to realize he was struggling with the fact that his gender identity didn't match his gender and began the long transition to becoming a man. This is his story.

At 1:30, he talks about the children he'll never know. At 2:26, he gets me right in the feels.

Here's the thing: 4.6% of the general population on average attempts suicide. For gay people, that number ranges up to 20% — over 4x higher. And for transgender people, it's 42% to 46% — about 10x higher. With numbers like these, it's pretty difficult to ignore how hard their lives get over time. And if more of us were aware and understood their struggles, we could start putting a dent in that number. Walk a mile in Ethan's shoes. If you really take a moment to see if they fit, you'll be surprised what sharing his story with others can do. It can help. Little by little, day by day, the more we talk about it, the less chance future kids will think to take their own lives.

10 Nutritional Deficiencies That Cause Depression and Mood Disorders(http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/10-nutritional-deficiences-that-cause-depression.html)

http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/10-nutritional-deficiences-that-cause-depression.html

10 Nutritional Deficiencies That Cause Depression and Mood Disorders

Depression and mood disorders are devastating health problems today. When you go to your doctor, their answer is often a prescription for one of the various popular anti-depressant drugs. Many doctors do not investigate for metabolic or nutritional deficiencies that may be the ‘real problem’ for your depression. Patients have no idea why they feel so awful or where to start looking for the answer. They expect their doctor to give them real solutions. Instead they get drugs as the easy fix. Drugs are not an easy fix because of the serious side effects that come with taking them. Doctors prescribe these drugs from information they get from the drug sales rep which often is only part-truth. The side effects and dangers of these drugs are down-played or left out altogether. Prescription drugs should only be prescribed after other medical problems have been ruled out.

Learn About 10 Nutrient Deficiencies That Cause Depression and Mood Disorder Symptoms:

If you suffer from depression or mood disorders you may be deficient in one of the nutrients below. Researchers have found that many people who suffer from depression and mood disorders are deficient in not just one nutrient but several, all contributing to the symptoms.

#1: Healthy Food Deficiency? Junk Food Diet

Is your diet filled with sugar, junk foods, sodas, or processed foods? Do you often skip meals. If you suffer from depression or mood disorders, start a food diary of the foods you eat every day. You will find answers to your health problems while doing that. Your shopping cart and refrigerator tell the story of your health. My husband works as a cashier at Walmart. People shopping for their family fill their cart with junk sugar filled cereal, chips, candy, soda, , TV dinners, and over-processed food in general. Seven-Elevens thrive on selling candy, soda, and chips to the eat-on-the-run customers. There are very few fresh vegetables or fruit on the average American’s grocery list. This is why so many Americans are obese, depressed, and suffering from diabetes. If your life is not going well, eating junk food is not going to improve your outlook.

#2: Omega-3 Fatty Acids Deficiency:

These are found in foods such as fish and Flax Seed Oil. A deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids or an imbalance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids may be one of the contributing factors to your depression. Omega 3 Fatty acids are important to brain function and your mental outlook on life. They also help people who suffer from inflammation and pain problems. Researchers have found that many patients with depression and mood disorders are deficient in Omega 3 Fatty Acids. It is important to buy fish oil that has been cold processed and tested for heavy metals and other contamination. It should state that on the label.

#3: Vitamin D Deficiency:

Important to immune function, bones, and brain health. Sunlight is the richest source for natural Vitamin D. The Journal Clinical Nutrition in Jan 21st, 2013 published the result of research that analyzed over 18000 British citizens for Vitamin D deficiencies and associated mental disorders links. They found that a deficiency of Vitamin D was present in patients with depression and panic disorders. The study results stated that people who are deficient in Vitamin D are at higher risk for developing depression later in life. Most seniors are deficient in Vitamin D. Often people working long hours in offices are deficient as well. Get out in the sun. Take a walk during your lunch break or walk your dog. Play a game with your kids outside away from computers and the television. Get out of the house and into the sunshine. Just don’t overdo it if you are sensitive to the sun. Overdoing it is not good either.

#4: B-Vitamins Deficiency:

There is much research in Neuropsychiatry that proves the link between B-Vitamin deficiencies and mood disorders including depression. Buy gel capsules instead of tablets with at least 25 mg for each of the different B- Vitamins included in the formulation.

#5: Zinc , Folate, Chromium, and Iron Deficiencies:

Patients with depression are often found deficient in many nutrients including these. Often today’s foods are sadly lacking in minerals and trace minerals.

#6: Iodine Deficiency:

Iodine is necessary for the thyroid to work properly. The thyroid, part of the endocrine system, is one of the most important glands in your body. The thyroid gland affects every function of the body including body temperature, immune function, and brain function. Iodine is found in foods such as potatoes, cranberries, Kelp, Arame, Hiziki, Kombu, and Wakame. This problem was once solved by using Iodine enriched salt. Today iodine deficiency is again becoming a problem with salt free diets. Salty chips, processed foods, and junk food do not contain iodized salt.

#7: Amino Acids Deficiency: There are 9 necessary amino acids that cannot be manufactured in your body. You must supply them to the body by eating quality food choices.

Amino acids are found in meat, eggs, fish, high quality beans, seeds and nuts. You need to eat a variety of different foods to furnish the body with all the amino acids needed to be healthy. Not all foods contain all nine amino acids. Vegetable food sources for amino acids include Moringa Oleifera leaves. Your brain uses the amino acids found in the food you eat to manufacture neurotransmitters needed for optimal brain function.

What are neurotransmitters and what do they have to do with depression?

Healthy brain function needs the proper balance of neurotransmitters. Some neurotransmitters calm the brain and others excite the brain. Their balance in the brain creates stability of emotions and thinking. Often depression and other mental disorders are caused by imbalances in neurotransmitters. Dopamine, noradrenaline, and GABA are three important neurotransmitters often deficient in depression. Orthomolecular physicians have found that treatment with amino acids including tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and methionine can correct different mood disorders like depression. The Orthomolecular doctor first takes urine and blood samples to test your amino acid levels. Then if he finds imbalances, you will be given amino acid supplements in the optimal dosage to correct the problem. Orthomolecular doctors treat the base cause for the depression or mental symptoms. If it is a nutritional imbalance such as a Omega 3 deficiency, you will be prescribed that supplement. Instead of treating with drugs, they treat the deficiencies that cause the mental symptoms with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

There are tests that prove nutrient deficiencies. The problem is often your standard medicine doctor will not give clearance for the tests, nor will your insurance pay for them. Most doctors are not schooled in nutrition and diet. They have no time to go over your eating and lifestyle habits. Saying that, a few companies and health providers exist who do have preventive health programs. The reality is a majority of people do not get quality preventive healthcare, especially those on Medicaid or Medical. You need to visit a holistic doctor who knows his nutrition. More than likely you will have to pay out-of-pocket for the tests. You can go through Life Extension Institute. After becoming a member, you can receive the tests through the mail. You take the kit to a lab to get your blood drawn. You then send the kit back by mail and receive the results by mail. They do not give you interpretation for the tests nor how to correct the problems found by testing. You can at least find out what vitamins and minerals you are deficient in. Drug-focused therapy is the main reason that so many people never get diagnosed properly. Insurance plans will pay for drugs but not nutritional supplements. That is the sad state of our health care system here. You must take control of your health and find a doctor whose goal is holistic and preventative medicine.

Surprising Alternative Treatments for Mental Disorders(http://www.bestpsychologydegrees.com/mental-disorders/)

Surprising Alternative Treatments for Mental Disorders

http://www.bestpsychologydegrees.com/mental-disorders/

How to get rid of FEAR

Fear is an emotion that strikes all human beings in different aspects. There are a lot of types of fear. Actually almost all things and situations are associated with the emotion of fear. Sometimes this emotion can affect our lives immensely. It would really depend on how you carry it or how big your fear is. There are other people who have bigger fears that they need to consult professional help to treat them. Here are some tips on how you can get rid of fear:

 

First of all, fear cannot be treated unless you confront it. What you should do is to repeat your fear to yourself and condition yourself to face it. Repeating your fear to yourself can be very repetitive and can make yourself lose interest in it eventually. You can even discover that the fear you have minimal consequences to you.

 

Keep a small journal of your fears. List down all your basic fears and add any more fear everyday for a week. Even the smallest fear you have matters. Close the journal and keep it somewhere distant for the next week. Go on with your usual daily activities for a week. After the week ends, take out your fear journal and read the list you made the week before. Cross out the fears that you have not experienced in the week. You will find out that the fears you listed have actually never happened or have not come true. With that in mind, you will eventually condition your mind that your fears have lesser effect than you have ever imagined.

 

Your attitude plays an important role in conquering your fears. If you are the type of person who is negative and sees faults in everything and everyone, you are susceptible to a lot of fears. What you can do is to change your disposition in your view of things. A positive outlook will make your own doubts and fears disappear. This will be the type of attitude that would say, “Do not worry, it will be better tomorrow.”

 

One of the things that gives out a negative perspective and summons fear is assuming things. You should give up the attitude of thinking about your future getting messed up or presuming that something negative will happen to your life. Tell yourself that those assumptions are foolish. Thinking that something bad will happen will only build up the fears you have inside your head. You can think about what can happen but just prepare yourself for the situation other than entertaining thoughts that something bad is going to happen.

 

Your confidence is what will pull you through your fears. Be confident enough to admit your fears and face them daringly. It will regain your self-confidence. Once you have faced your fears, it will be the start of a process to get rid of your fears.

 

Always remember to be strong and keep your mind conditioned as you confront your fears. Your fears should not be in the way of your daily activities or it should be become your way of life.

Four students questioned by police and cleared after bullied girl, 15, kills herself and names them in tormented suicide note saying 'thanks for all the pain'

Stop Bullying...Bullying is a sign of low self-esteem and complexed self-image- a sign of weakness as they say

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2634094/Girl-15-bullied-years-kills-leaving-suicide-note-naming-tormenters.html

• Cora Delille hanged herself in her family's Ohio home on May 10
• In a suicide note, she named four students, including two ex-boyfriends
• Friends say she endured name-calling in the halls at school and one student even said she was glad she was dead
• But police said they interviewed the students named in the note and found evidence of 'name-calling' - but nothing to warrant prosecution
• Cora, whose boyfriend had broken up with her the day before she died, also wrote about feeling unloved at home amid her parents' divorce

A 15-year-old girl who was bullied by classmates for years has killed herself after naming her tormenters in a suicide note and telling them: 'Thanks for all the pain.'

Cora Delille's body was found by a family member at their home in Pickerington, Ohio on May 10 after she hanged herself, Commander Matt Delp of Pickerington Police said.

She left an emotional note giving a 'myriad of reasons' why she took her life, including classmates calling her names and feeling abandoned by her father and stepfather, he told MailOnline.

'There were complex issues,' Delp explained. 'She wrote about her home life and feeling unloved. Her mother and stepfather - the father she had known for 14 years - were getting a divorce. Her boyfriend had broken up with her the day before. There were many reasons.'

YOUR EXAM RESULTS MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU FANCIED IT TO BE..

YOUR EXAM RESULTS MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU FANCIED IT TO BE..

I’m not telling you it is going to be easy — I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it” ~ Art Williams
The most painful thing to experience is not defeat but regret” ~ Leo Bascaglia
Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself.” ~ Christian Nestell Bovee
Tough times never last, but tough people do.” ~ Robert H. Schuller
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ~ Carl Bard
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison

Article on Aasra in Moneylife magazine, may 2014 issue

Despite the erroneous spelling of Aasra (Asra and Aasara in body copy) and origin story this is a decent enough article

http://www.moneylife.in/article/asra-helps-the-depressed-lone-and-prone-to-suicide/37365.html

Moneylife » NGO that helps the depressed, lonely, in despair, or prone to suicide

NGO that helps the depressed, lonely, in despair, or prone to suicide

• • 
  • 1 comments
• + COMMENT

QUEENCY RAICHADA | 15/05/2014 02:24 PM |   

Helping the depressed, lonely and people prone to suicides, by providing confidential care is what Aasara does 

Aasara means support or shelter in Hindi. It is also the name of a crisis-interventioncentre which works at “preventing and managingmental illness by providing voluntary, professional and essentially confidential care and support to the depressed & the suicidal.” Aasara was started in 1998 when the number of suicides was rising inexplicably. This not-for-profit organisation located at Koparkhairane (Navi Mumbai) has been acting as a pillar of support for the depressed, lonely, in despair, or prone to self-destruction.
 

Aasara believes that every life is precious and worth saving. So it helps people fight depression and destructive tendencies in multiple ways—it has a listening service and a free 24X7 phone service. It is accessible by email or even face-to-face meetings. Since Aasara is a unit of Befrienders Worldwide/Samaritans, a UK-based charity, it has access to an international network that includes Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH), LifelineInternational and the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services (IFOTES); these help in increasing Aasra’s reach and efficiency.
 

Back in the 1990s, people staying in the far away suburbs of Mumbai required to make a long-distance call, which was expensive and a deterrent for those in emotional distress. This prompted Johnson Thomas, director of Aasara and a writer to set up Aasara as a crisis intervention centre with 36 passionate volunteers.
 

Apart from helplines, Aasara conducts street plays to spread the message that suicide is an irreversible response to a reversible condition and that prevention of suicide is everybody’s responsibility. It also conducts workshops in schools, because over-burdened 

students are often under family pressure to perform, especially during exams, making 

them more susceptible to drastic actions. Aasara has joined hands with Satya Sai Baba 

 

Trust to provide emotional support to farmers and Antara NGO empowering and providing skill training to young adults. Along with the Navi Mumbai NGO Forum, it is involved in conducting seminars for women, anti-tobacco campaigns, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes and health melas in colleges. These activities have helped increase its geographical spread to reach out to many more people for its life-saving activities.
 

Over the years, it has expanded—from being available for just six to seven hours, to working round the clock. The number of calls received by the helpline has also increased 10-fold—from six or seven to around 60 to 70 a day—from India as well as abroad sometimes.
 

Mr Thomas says, “It feels great to have Aasara as the first listing when anything related to suicide is searched on the Internet. This Search engine optimisation (SEO) rating assures us that all the hard work has been worth it!” Moreover, famous TV shows and news channels, such as Crime Patrol, CNN-IBN7, NDTV and now Moneylife magazine, have reached out helping it serve the society better. Aasara was awarded the Maharashtra Ratna Gaurav Puraskar (in the NGO’s/activist category) in 2006 in recognition for its contribution to the society.
 

Like most NGOs, one of the main challenges Aasara faces is the lack of volunteers and donations. Mr Thomas says, “It is disappointing to see only 3-4 volunteers turn up for orientation sessions conducted on Sundays to attract potential volunteers. We all go through pain; some of us have people to help us and some don’t.” He feels that, as a society, we are unwilling to donate time or money. Hence, people doing genuine work struggle to make ends meet. Students and youngsters are not encouraged to volunteer, because studies are of primary importance, but our tragedy is that very few senior citizens and retirees are also willing to devote time in a consistent manner to good causes. Mr Thomas makes a strong pitch for volunteering.
 

Donations to Aasara are tax-exempt under Section 80-G.

Aasara 

104, Sunrise Arcade

Plot No. 100, Sector 16 

Koparkhairane, 

Navi Mumbai - 400709

Tel: 022-27546667

Email: aasrahelpline@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.aasra.info/index.htm