Tags: by Phillis Benson | Aug 31, 2015 |
October 18, 2015 Every race has a cause. No race has EVERY cause…until NOW. The Cause + Event Race Series is unlike any other race series of its kind. The runner (or walker) chooses their favorite registered 501(c)3 nonprofit and their cause will receive at least half of the racer’s registration. Join ASHA International’s HOPEBRINGERS team and help us raise funds to promote mental health awareness, and bring hope and healing to people’s lives. Date: Octobber 18, 2015 What: 5k walk/5k & 10k run Where: Bethany Village, Portland, OR Time: 7:30-8:30 am Cost: $35 includes bib and chip timing plus $15 donation to the cause of your choice. And a Free Kids Fun Run – Tot Trot and 1K To register, please click here Click To Register Under Team Registration, please click on Join an Existing Team Please click on join ASHA International’s HopeBringers and complete the registration form. Thanks! To learn about 2015 Cause and Event please click below Click To Learn More About the Cause & Event Please register today and invite your friends, family, and colleagues to join us. Thank you! If you have any questions, please email Gayathri Ramprasad at [email protected] or call 971 340 7190. We look forward to seeing you at the...
Tags: by Phillis Benson | Jul 11, 2015 |
On a beautiful sun-kissed evening in June, my dear friend Michele gathered a group of friends in her beautiful garden for an evening of friendship and conversation – about mental health. As the hummingbirds fluttered from bloom to bloom, we savored blueberry scones, topped with fresh raspberries and cream, grateful to be alive and in each other’s company. One of the women’s friends had lost her nephew to suicide a couple of days earlier and she couldn’t make sense of why a bright young man who had graduated from college two days before, had chosen to take his life. How can any of us make sense of a loss like that? Yet, we wondered how powerful it would be for family and friends to gather together and talk about mental health issues as a normal part of the human experience, and to help and support each other in our collective quest for health and well being. Perhaps then people struggling with depression-like the young man would no longer feel hopeless and isolated. Perhaps he would have found comfort and strength in knowing that he was not alone in his pain. As the young comedian and activist Kevin Breel said in his heartwarming TED talk: “We need to stop the ignorance about mental health issues, stop the intolerance, stop the stigma, and stop the silence, and we need to take away the taboos, take a look at the truth, and start talking because the only way we’re going to beat a problem that people are battling alone is by standing strong together. I agree with Kevin. We are #StrongerTogether. If you are struggling with a mental...
Tags: by Phillis Benson | Nov 11, 2014 |
A couple of weeks ago, a cold snap blanketed my garden with ice. I had just planted some pansies in my planters and was sad to see them shriveled up and gray. I did not think they would survive. But, much to my surprise, as soon as the temperature crept beyond freezing, the pansies sprung from their winter slumber to bloom again. Every time I see the pansies, I am filled with gratitude for reminding me that inherent in each of us is the resilience to survive and thrive. As we gather with our friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, I invite you to take a few minutes to offer gratitude for the many blessings in your life. Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don’t. To learn how to cultivate the healing power of gratitude, please click here… Want to be happy? Be grateful. The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. An inspiring lesson in slowing down, looking where you’re going, and above all, being grateful. Wishing you wellness, Gayathri Ramprasad, MBA, CPS Founder & President, ASHA International...
Tags: by Phillis Benson | Oct 6, 2014 |
For more than a decade of my life, I had struggled with debilitating anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Like millions of people around the world, I longed to discover a magic pill to cure my ills and promise me nirvana. But, despite taking many medications, ongoing psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECTs), hospitalizations and failed suicide attempts, wellness had remained a distant dream. The anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants worsened my symptoms and made me more agitated, depressed and suicidal. And I was utterly confused about why the medications that were supposed to alleviate my symptoms exacerbated them instead. Staring out of the fifth-floor hospital window one day after yet another failed suicide attempt, I promised to take charge of my life and create a life of wellness. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I just wanted to be well. Most of all, I wanted to be able to take my little girl to school, play with her in the park, and tuck her to bed at night with her favorite story. Somewhere deep in my soul, I was convinced that the medications were making me sicker instead of helping me heal. So, despite my fears and those of my family, I decided to listen to my inner wisdom and wean myself off all medications under the supervision of my psychiatrist and explore holistic pathways to health and wellness. Eventually, I learned that wellness does not come encapsulated in a pill; rather, it encompasses the way I live. And, in order to live in a state of complete wellness, I must integrate and ensure health in all dimensions...
Tags: by Phillis Benson | Jun 11, 2014 |
I had the honor of meeting Dr. James Gordon; a Harvard educated psychiatrist, and a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma. He is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine and served as Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. Dr. Gordon has devoted over 40 years to the exploration and practice of mind-body medicine. In his book, Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression, Dr. Gordon states that depression is not an endpoint, a disease over which we have no control. It is a sign that our lives are out of balance, that we are stuck. It’s a wake-up call and the start of a journey that can help us become whole and happy, one that can change and transform our lives. My journey through depression is a testament to Dr. Gordon’s wisdom. I find it fascinating that me, a woman with no clinical expertise, and Dr. Gordon, a Harvard trained psychiatrist and world-renowned expert in mind-body medicine have both arrived at the same realization that holistic practices such as breathwork, meditation, nutrition, exercise/movement, nurturing relationships, sleep and social support are very effective in promoting mental health and wellness. Self-care is the best care! Holistic Approaches to Mental Wellness: An interview with Gayathri Ramprasad Around the world, people with psychiatric illness and their families dearly want solutions to alleviate their symptoms and to help them resume high-quality lives. Medications can help most mental illness sufferers, but not all, and usually not completely. At the International Mental Health Research Organization (IMHRO), we work...
