The History of Mental Health News

The vision to create Mental Health News came out of the real-life experience of Ira Minot who, in his late 30’s, went through a very difficult time in his life. Following several deeply personal losses in his family, Ira began to experience feelings of hopelessness and despair, a common reaction to the difficult time he was undergoing.

What should have been a transient period of mourning over these losses developed into a more serious form of depression that persisted for over ten years. For someone who had always been happy and full of life, Ira struggled with an illness he had studied about in college and could not believe how this invisible demon could literally bring him to his knees.

He sought treatment after treatment and, like many, had a disdain for the medications that were being thrown at him to get well. As the years passed, his will to go on grew weaker as the illness prevented him from pursuing his career. He watched everything he had built up for himself in his life to that point slowly being taken away.

Finally, he was brought to a famous teaching hospital where a skilled team of treatment professionals, armed with the latest therapy and medications, succeeded in breaking the chains of his depression. With the darkness of his depression lifted, Ira had a dream to do something that would help others who would travel the same difficult path that he had.

As the mythical Phoenix Bird that rose out of the ashes to be reborn and to live anew, Ira had the vision to create Mental Health News - a free quarterly publication that would be distributed into the community to provide mental health education and hope to people with mental illness and their families.

Without funding and only a desire to help others, Ira started Mental Health News on the kitchen table of his two-room apartment. The year was 1999, and Ira went out into the community and met with the leaders of the mental health community in the Metro-NY region to rally their support. Today these leaders are the Board of Directors of Mental Health News Education, Inc., and Mental Health News is an award-winning quarterly newspaper with a readership of over 160,000 people across the nation.

From the Founder and Executive Director, Ira H. Minot, LMSW

Since 1999, Mental Health News has been providing vital mental health education to the community. It is devoted to providing evidence-based information, education, advocacy, and resources to individuals and families, treatment professionals, and providers of mental health services.

Mental illness used to be thought of as a weakness in people or as something caused by bad parenting. Today, we understand that this could not be further from the truth.

Mental Illness is about all of us. It crosses all cultural and socio-economic boundaries. With advances in research and genetics, we now know that mental illness is caused by subtle anomalies in brain chemistry. Because of these recent discoveries, mental illness is more treatable today than ever before.

Having depression, bipolar illness, schizophrenia or any other form of mental illness does not mean you are weak or a bad person. Mental illness is a medical condition that can be treated just like cancer or diabetes. Many communities have a wonderful array of mental health organizations that are there to help you or your family cope with mental illness and the social, vocational, and economic complications that arise from these illnesses.

Many times these illnesses can cause us to feel hopeless and that our life is no longer worth living. Please realize that “this is the illness talking.” If you ever have these feelings, immediately notify your mental health professional or call 911 and ask to be brought to the hospital. These feelings can be addressed with the help of a professional skilled in the treatment of mental illness.

Never Give Up Hope – And Good Luck in Your Recovery !!