chat tomorrow: mental health and addiction

tomorrow night at 6pm PST I will be hosting the weekly #mhsm chat on twitter. #mhsm stands for mental health and social media. #mhsm was started by amy kiel, an ardent mental health activist.

the topic of the chat will be mental health and addiction. #mhsm typically uses between 5 and 8 questions to stimulate conversation. here are a few i’ve come up with – any more suggestions?

  • where do you see the connection between mental health and addiction?
  • how do you define addiction?
  • how do you see the two are different? are they?
  • some say that addiction is a form of self medication for mental health issues. what are your thoughts on this?
  • what are your thoughts on addiction to prescription medication?
  • the term “recovery” is used in mental health as well as in addiction circles. do you see a similarity between the meaning in both contexts? is it different?
  • what is your experience with treatment specifically aimed at concurrent disorders?
  • do mental health and addiction stigmatize each other? is it “better” or “worse” to have one or the other?

please let me know what you would like to discuss in the chat – whether the questions above or anything else!

to join us in the chat, sign in or sign up with twitter and then go to http://tweetchat.com/room/mhsm.

to show you what you can expect in such a chat, here is an excerpt from last week:

12:59 am mhsmchat: welcome to tonight’s chat!

1:01 am mhsmchat: tonight we will discuss our passion for #mentalhealth issues.

1:02 am mhsmchat: can join in the chat here: http://tweetchat.com/room/mhsm =)

1:04 am mhsmchat: q1: how did you get involved with #mentalhealth activism, professional roles, or discussing #mentalhealth topics? what drives you?

1:05 am icantican: q1 my interest started as a curiosity when i was a teenager and a bigger mess than i am now and my mother had schizophrenia.

1:05 am partimefabulous: @mhsmchat after dealing with my own challenges with #depression, i decided to try and understand it better by creating a truthful film

1:06 am namimass: @mhsmchat i’m involved because i care about mental health. i’m a family member with a sibling with mental health issues.

1:07 am partimefabulous: #mentalhealth issues are so poorly represented in today’s media and entertainment. it’s time that the stigma is unveiled.

1:07 am perthtones: @icantican helped mum study 4 psych nurse exams at 14 advocated 4 decades, then hit by ptsd 10 yrs ago. now an even beter advocate 😉

1:08 am icantican: vulnerability of the human mind, resilence, and adversity due to mental illness or causing it is interesting to me.

1:09 am mhsmchat: i became involved because of my own personal mental health issues predominantly.

1:10 am voiceinrecovery: q1 advocacy was a natural progression in my recovery from ed & alcohol abuse. felt i had a story 2 share 2 help others feel less alone

1:10 am perthtones: totally agreed on #stigma – the biggest barrier to proper treatment, media coverage & positive community awareness

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