CAUSES & SOCIAL ISSUES


Depression & Mental Illness | Gay Rights & Religious Tolerance | Obesity & Weight Loss


Depression & Mental Illness*

Having suffered from clinical depression for all of my adult life, I have experienced much more than the disease itself: I have suffered from the intellectual, emotional and social discriminations that go with it. In hopes of helping anyone else who might be suffering from the same things, I have posted these links to some of the best sites on the Net for information and support.

OASIS-D: On-line Advice, Support and Information Service for Depression (link currently inactive)

I list this page first because of its personal meaning to me. After the suicide of an on-line acquaintance, I started up a mailing list as a support system for people suffering from depression. The idea was not only to provide a place for discussion and sympathetic ears, but also to provide information on resources and low-cost treatment for those in need. But after about 6 months, my own battle with depression infringed on my ability to maintain the list and I was unable to bring many of my ideas into being. However, I was able to pass control of the list on to Shivawn Timm, who has gone on to create the web page of resources that I so desperately wanted. Shivawn has done a wonderful job with the list and the new page and I invite you to take a look at it. In particular is the magnificent job she has done on the Helpful Resources page, which is chock full of links and comments about many of the Mental Health sites on the Internet.

Andrew's Depression Page: An excellent site that has won numerous Net Awards. Andrew has filled his site with helpful links, articles about all kinds of depression-related issues, suicide, children & depression, treatment & medication, and much, much more. Uses frames, but a non-frames version is available.

Dr. Ivan's Depression Central: One of the Internet's first and foremost authorities on depression. I discovered him on alt.support.depression in mid-1995 and had some helpful correspondence with him. His site contains a wide-range of information and resources about depression and its variants. There a special page devoted to the writings of people suffering from depressive disorders. Definitely worth a look.

Internet Mental Health: An on-line mental health encyclopedia, designed by Phillip W. Long, MD. With descriptions, American and European, of disorders, medications, diagnoses and treatments. A bit technical, but very informative.  This is a non-frames site, with a frames site available.

Mental Help Net: Contains information on disorders & treatments, professional resources, reading materials (including very up-to-date articles), and managed care. Over 7,500 references and 9,000 professional members. Somewhat technical, but very friendly. Sponsored by CMHC Systems, an MIS company.

Psych Central: Dr. John Grohol's Mental Health Page. Dr. John is another ardent fan of on-line support for mental health issues. His site features mailing list and newsgroup info, a resources page with a ton of links, timely articles, book reviews and chat info. Dr. Grovel hosts weekly on-line chats on i-chat and WBS.

Transformations: A Forum of Self-Help and Discovery. Information, art, poetry, chats and an on-line e-zine devoted to recovery from abuse, mental and physical illness, drug and alcohol addiction, bad relationships, et al. The staff at Transformations holds numerous on-line chats throughout the week on ChatCity IRC client. This site has won many awards, including some from Mental Health Net, The Hope Forum, and was named a "Safe Site" by WHoA (Women Halting On-line Abuse).


Depression & Mental Illness | Gay Rights & Religious Tolerance | Obesity & Weight Loss


Gay Rights & Religious Tolerance*

As the brother of a gay man and the friend of many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, I have seen the pain and anguish caused by persecution, both social and religious. I find it intolerable that hateful things can be spewed by "loving" Christians, or by radio talk show hosts, or by politicians seeking to curry favor with the Religious Right. Here are some links to places that I think you'll find interesting. Some are informative articles, others are links to places that express love and caring for the person you are.

For The Bible Tells Me So...: A commentary on what the Bible really says about homosexuality. By the Shenandoah Valley Gay and Lesbian Association.

Metropolitan Community Church: A church of the Lesbian and Gay Community -- Open to All People. Founded in 1968 as a denomination where homosexual Christians could freely worship, the MCC has over 300 congregations around the world today.

Sin & the Sodomites: The Truth About Sodom & Gomorrah. Deacon Maccubbin refutes the fundamentalist concept that the cities were destroyed because of the homosexual behaviour of their citizens.

Unitarian Universalist Association: Affirming the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person. The USA is one of the foremost religious denominations that recognizes, affirms and supports the rights of gay people everywhere. They are outspoken on the issue and have even stood toe-to-toe with the Boy Scouts of America over their anti-gay practices. The USA is an institution that finds meaning in all faiths of the world, not just Christianity, and believes that "religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves."

United Church of Christ: A Gay-Friendly Church. The first Main-line denomination to openly ordain Lesbian and Gay clergy and one that stands for rights and justice.

What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?: Quotes from a pamphlet published by the American Baptists Concerned of Massachusetts about what the Bible says about homosexuality.

Whosoever: An On-line Magazine for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community. A look at the world through the eyes of LGBT Christians. FAQ's, discussion of current issues, book recommendations, editorials, letters, prayer requests, verses and links.

www.GodLovesfags.com: A counter-site to Fred Phelps' infamous www.GodHatesFags.com site. This site keeps track of Fred's little cult and their protest schedule, in addition to providing valuable links and regularly-updated news stories.


Depression & Mental Illness | Gay Rights & Religious Tolerance | Obesity & Weight Loss


Obesity & Weight Loss*

Ah, obesity. The topic of many a bad movie, thoughtless stand-up routine or simply a reason to be fired. But to those of us who have experienced this disease know that it's not a laughing matter. I hope these links will be useful to you in either understanding this disease in others or in dealing with it in yourself.

American Obesity Association: Educating the public about obesity and its role in causing illness and unnecessary deaths, as well as ending social, economic and legal discrimination against those who suffer from obesity.

Association for Morbid Obesity Support: For those considering WLS (weight loss surgery), these folks provide quite a lot of information: from physician listings to detailed explanations of the types of surgery, member profiles to a helpful chat room. The people who frequent this site made it much easier for me to decide on surgery when the time came to make a decision about surgery for myself.

Michael D. Myers, MD: Objective medical information on obesity, weight control, eating disorders and other related medical conditions.

ObesityHelp.com: An excellent on-line source for the public, as well as physicians, educational institutions and the media.

Weight Watchers: One of the best programs around. If you're just beginning to contemplate losing weight, these non-judgmental people are a good place to start.


Depression & Mental Illness | Gay Rights & Religious Tolerance | Obesity & Weight Loss