We should leave Steve Jobs alone
Dan Lyons, who is now retiring his “fake Steve Jobs” alter-ego and accompanying blog, urges readers to grant the ailing CEO of Apple the privacy he deserves. Lyons, writing in The Daily Beast, says...
View ArticlePositive outlook doesn’t cure disease
While there’s a long tradition in America of believing that people can triumph over illness with the proper psychological outlook, there is no basis for such views in science, says Richard P. Sloan in...
View ArticleSelf-loathing can be good for addicts
Treating addiction as an illness rather than a moral failing divests the addict of personal responsibility in curbing his compulsive behavior, says Chris Wright in TheFix. While the disease model...
View ArticleBe responsible for health behaviors
The current public concern about the Ebola virus demonstrates that we expect our government to protect us from health risks. This is a reasonable expectation; however, as citizens, we also have...
View ArticlePolice can use additional training on diversity
I am struck by the similarity of recent events and altercations between individuals with serious mental illness and police that result in death. The Albany Police Department has instituted a Crisis...
View ArticleAgencies help many end tobacco dependence
May was National Mental Health Month, established to bring awareness to the challenges faced by people living with mental illness. While the need to overcome stigma, provide adequate support, and...
View ArticleSuicide needs national attention
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and most suicides are a result of untreated mental illness. We know today that more research, advocacy, and education can help prevent these...
View ArticleMental illness at root of church slaughter in S.C.
A horrible thing happened in South Carolina. Nine innocent people were murdered in their own church while in the act of worshiping their God. But why did it happen? Can we place the blame squarely and...
View ArticleReduce, don’t add, to stigma
I am writing in response to the article, “Death spurs talk of registry,” Nov. 3. Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ recommendation to create a voluntary mental health registry to identify...
View ArticleState only moves when it is sued
The agreement reached by the state and the New York Civil Liberties Union to reduce the number of inmates sentenced to solitary confinement is a major step in bringing state policy into accord with...
View ArticleKillings stigmatize all the mentally ill
Regarding mass shootings and mental illness, as discussed in Tom Templeton’s commentary (“Assumption of mental illness in shootings growing, wrong,” Dec. 28): Why do we persist in hiding our heads in...
View ArticlePaid leave is crucial for families in New York
Medical emergencies and chronic illnesses, whether they be physical or psychiatric, are traumatic both for a patient and his or her family. No one should have to face an illness or travel the road of...
View ArticleGive dying people choice they need
Barbara Coombs Lee’s Viewpoint response to J.J. Hanson is so sad because everything she writes about terminal illness is so much more applicable to people with Huntington’s Disease (“Allow terminally...
View ArticleJudge Keefe worked as problem-solver on bench
As one who has advocated on behalf of persons with a mental illness caught up in the justice system, I developed the highest respect for Judge Thomas Keefe during his time as a criminal court judge....
View ArticleNarcissistic disorder an illness
With Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis and the press circus that predictably followed, it may be enlightening to look up the official criteria for the illness known as narcissistic personality...
View ArticleMentally ill, on their own
There is a vast difference between standing up for the rights of mentally ill people by enabling them to live independently in their communities, and merely pushing them out the door. It’s a difference...
View ArticleMentally ill need housing options
The editorial “Mentally ill, on their own,” Dec. 7, described perfectly the need for various housing options for people with serious mental illness who often need supportive services regardless of...
View ArticleAid in dying should be option for terminally ill
As a terminal cancer patient, I must address Jeffrey Kline’s recent letter, “‘Aid in dying’ rhetoric masks true motivations,” Jan. 1 First and foremost, as Kline suggests, I do not have a “duty to...
View ArticleMany of those who left adult homes are thriving
The Times Union in an editorial has wrongly claimed that New York state is “pushing [people with mental illness] out the door” of adult homes without needed services and supports (“Mentally ill, on...
View ArticleSupport housing serves critical key component
The commentary “Let mentally ill in the state live in settings they desire” (Jan. 17) unwittingly served to portray community-supported housing providers in general in an unfair and negative light. The...
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