My son was 16 when he took his own life. His name is Michael Alfred. After my loss, I did not believe there could be healing. I ate and ate and ate. I gained 65 lbs. I saw no future. But slowly – very slowly, after counseling, therapy, and research with support groups – I came to realize this was my new life and I had to either embrace this or not. In the beginning, I sat on the couch and ate. I did not believe that there were other [...]
This post is also available in English below. Nuestra cultura es nuestra fuerza El mes de la Herencia Hispana en los Estados Unidos se celebra desde el 15 de septiembre hasta el 15 de octubre. Aunque nosotros los latinos no limitamos nuestras celebraciones a días especiales, aprovechamos cada oportunidad que tenemos para celebrar. Siento orgullo poder celebrar nuestra cultura, nuestros éxitos y nuestra historia con toda la comunidad latina y con la comunidad de Filadelfia en general. Tenemos mucho para celebrar. En el poema, “La [...]
I’ll never forget the day I received the call from my parents informing me that one of my sister’s friends passed away from an overdose. I was heartbroken; my sister was devastated. It was 2002, and the first time overdose touched my life personally. What I didn’t know then was that I was going to continue to hear similar stories for the next 20 years, only more often and each one just as tragic. Back then, everyone knew that heroin was “bad” but there was very little information about the danger of [...]
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect anyone at any age. Millions of Americans get PTSD every year. Many war veterans have had PTSD, but did you know women tend to get PTSD more often than men? No matter the cause, PTSD can be treated. You can feel better. What is PTSD? Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a real illness. You can get PTSD after living through or seeing a dangerous event, such as war, a hurricane, a violent event, or a bad accident. PTSD makes you feel stressed [...]
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