The Goodnewspaper The 2024 Mental Health Edition

EDITOR’S NOTE: This issue includes stories about difficult topics such as suicide, trauma, and mental illness. We believe these stories will help you feel hopeful about these topics, but if reading this issue might be difficult for you — please take care of yourself. To read a different issue of the Goodnewspaper, log into your account at goodgoodgood.co and revisit some of our past issues centered around other topics. You can also find a list of mental health resources, call centers, and more at ggg.news/articles/mental-health-resources. Please do not hesitate to seek help. Your story matters. Hope is real. And good news is ahead. When I was in high school, I began having debilitating panic attacks. They were so bad that I couldn’t go to school, and when I finally made…

A lifesaving addition to San Francisco’s biggest landmark is now complete. The Bridge Rail Foundation — a nonprofit devoted to ending suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge — estimates that about 1,800 people have lost their life to suicide since the bridge was built in 1937. Historically, an average of 30 people have jumped off the bridge every year. In 2023, as the net neared completion, that number dropped to five. "We're hoping it gets to zero and stays at zero, but we'll see," said Bridge Rail co-founder Paul Muller in an interview with The San Francisco Standard. Concerned Californians have been calling for a suicide net since the early 2000s, but it was years before the proposal took shape. Even after construction began on the three-and-a-half miles of horizontal…

In 2023, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and 15 other universities came together to orchestrate the world’s largest-ever citizen science project on happiness. With over 85,000 participants — and counting! — the Big JOY Project encourages users to take seven minutes out of their day to complete “micro-acts” of joy. Micro-acts include making lists, watching videos, and doing activities outside of the house. The project allows users to track their progress by taking small surveys about their mental health and happiness over the course of a week. “The reason we have embarked upon the Big JOY project is to give each person the knowledge and techniques they can use in their own right to strengthen their journey toward greater happiness in life,” Emiliana Simon-Thomas, the science director of the Greater Good Science…

In May 2023, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a bill into law that will provide the state’s 911 operators with unlimited access to mental health services. This bill gives dispatchers the same benefits as police officers and firefighters and allows them to use services without the fear of running out of sessions or having to pay for more support out of pocket. “To say the least, our 911 dispatchers have the grave responsibility of keeping our neighbors and communities safe,” Gov. Hobbs said in a press release. “During those phone calls, they can experience extremely traumatic situations that they take home with them.” Although dispatchers are not physically present during a traumatic incident, researchers have reported the development of PTSD symptoms due to various peritraumatic responses and traumatic situations, according…

GOOD Be proactive and offer specific ways you could help, such as running errands, shopping for groceries, babysitting, cooking, scheduling appointments, or taking something off their plate. BETTER Read “Reaching Out after Suicide: What’s Helpful and What’s Not” by Linda H. Kilburn and “Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing after Loss” by Michael F. Myers and Carla Fine to better understand their experiences. BEST Grief has no time limit. No matter how many weeks or years have passed, continue checking in with them and reminding them that you are there for them, even if it's just to talk, go for a walk, or simply sit together. WHAT'S THIS? THIS IS THE GOOD BAR. We believe in celebrating good and then joining in to make a difference. The Good Bar is…

About 70% of people don’t see a therapist after an emergency mental health hospitalization, according to the Colorado Sun. Colorado’s Follow-Up Project aims to change that. Here’s how it works: The Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners, which services the state’s crisis hotlines and the nationwide 988 hotline, has a team of 25 people dedicated to the Follow-Up Project. After a patient has been discharged from a hospital, they’ll get a call from one of these team members within 24 hours — and a few more over the course of the next month. They can ask questions, learn about finding the right therapist, and more. This is based on the “caring contacts” model, which has shown that people are less likely to die by suicide when they have someone checking in on…