This summer, Burke hosted a training that added fifteen new instructors from the state of Texas to the Mental Health First Aid team. The new instructors represent organizations throughout the state: from Burke based in Lufkin, Spindletop Center based in Beaumont, Community Healthcore out of Longview, Helen Farabee Center out of Wichita Falls, Education Service […]
stigma
The Right Diagnosis Brings a New Start for Nacogdoches Woman
Deborah Scroggins describes the last year as a roller coaster ride of emotions. “I feel like I’ve been squeezing the handles so hard that my whole body was numb,” she said. Deborah has lived in Nacogdoches most of her life. She was working as a Certified Nurse Assistant when she began suffering from severe weakness […]
Social Media and Mental Health
Does social media cause depression? Can it make an episode of depression harder to overcome? A recent Medium article addresses this concern. The writer, Kati Krause reports deleting her Facebook app as “a panicked intervention by reason to prevent my out-of-control animal instinct from doing further harm to myself.” Alternatively, could social media help you […]
Taking Off the Mask of Mental Illness
There are many reasons people may wear masks. They may be worn to present ourselves in ways that are socially acceptable or to shield ourselves from inspection. The reasons for wearing a mask are plentiful and the results can be both helpful and harmful. Mental illness can also be a mask; it can mask who we […]
Peer Specialists Provide Real World, Lived Experience
By SHELLY LADDEN — for The Lufkin News Editor’s Note: In observance of Mental Health Month, The Lufkin News is featuring local mental health stories and services throughout May. Lufkin woman Angie Tinajero is a certified peer specialist at Burke, a mental health services provider in East Texas. And when she tells her clients “I […]
Saved from suicide
Jasper teenager Alex L. shared her brave story of depression and recovery with us for the Lufkin Daily News’ article about mental illness. As she prepares for college in the fall, she’s thankful that someone made a fateful call that saved her life. Read Alex’s full story below and in the Lufkin Daily News. And please […]