Healthy Minds returns Sundays at 9:30 a.m. beginning October 4
Encores Tuesdays at 11:30 p.m. beginning October 6
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, one in five people have a diagnosable mental disorder. This Sunday, October 4 at 9:30 a.m., WLIW21’s award-winning original series Healthy Minds returns in honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week. The series aims to remove the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help for disorders that can affect anyone, at any age. Interviews with families living with — and overcoming — mental illness offer relatable perspectives on mental health conditions that are often misunderstood, including autism (10/4 & 11), chemical dependency, post—traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. In some episodes, the inclusion of a
Jane Pauley and Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
Hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, CEO and medical director of Holliswood Hospital in Queens and chair of the section on psychiatry at the New York Academy of Medicine, Healthy Minds makes its national debut this October (check local listings). “Everyone is touched by psychiatric conditions, either themselves or a loved one,” Dr. Borenstein explains. “Our goal is to share cutting-edge information from experts along with personal experiences from people who have overcome psychiatric conditions. Now, more than ever, it is important to reduce stigma and encourage people who have a psychiatric condition not to suffer in silence but to seek help. I want people to know that with help, there is hope.”
All 16 episodes and resources for all topics covered are available at wliw.org/healthyminds.
Please spread the word and let us know your thoughts on this important series by leaving a comment below or on the Healthy Minds site.
While I appreciate you coverage of mental “illness,” I want to make it clear that these are not “illnesses.” They are only illnesses because people who think like this do not have minds that allow them to fit in pre-defined social systems. People with these “illnesses” are the ones who create great literature, art, architecture, and the y are the ones who were shamans and became saints. If the social system is ill, then those who do not think like the system prescribes will be deemed “ill.” Of course, that is the Freudian model: if you don’t fit the norm, then you are ill.
If I am missing a limb, I am not “ill.” If I am a sociopath CEO or politician, I am not “ill.” But, people who have racing minds and incredible amounts of creativity and alternative thoughts are “ill.” It is time we stop calling different mindsets “ill” or “disordered.” If some people cannot fit into a certain social structure, then maybe the structure is ill, not the people. Maybe the social structure should create places for these people to thrive, rather than just drugging or hospitalizing them.