Laura's note:
This call for submissions of stories about mental health by the editors of YES! Magazine has the ACEs Connection Network (ACN) community's name written all over it.
OK, not literally. But you know what I mean.
There are so many knowledgable, passionate people posting and commenting on this site about their experiences and efforts related to preventing and healing childhood trauma and understanding the roots of it, not to mention a lot of talented writers. I bet the stories of ACN members' expertise on mental health viewed through the lens of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) alone could fill YES! Magazine's mental health issue. Heck, they could pack it until it bursts at the spine. If they do a print version, that is. Even a story about--dare I say it--ACN would not be inappropriate, given the editors' descriptions of the types of stories they're seeking.
Visit the link below the following excerpt to read the full submission call. Deadline to submit story pitches and leads is May 1. If you submit and your submission is accepted, please share here on ACEs Connection. Even if your submission is not accepted, by all means post it here anyway!
Happy writing, and good luck!
Nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population will experience a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetimes. Anxiety, depression, and addiction are on the rise. Mental illness has long been stigmatized as a failure of the individual, and those with mental illness have been perceived as dangerous and unable to function in society. Meanwhile, the happiness and self-care movements have become overly defined by an individualistic capitalist culture. Hyper-focus on happiness does not allow room for a full range of emotions.
In our fall issue, YES! Magazine will look at mental health on a continuum that includes, on one end, contentment, connectedness, and resilience; at the other end, debilitating long-term mental illness needing constant care; in between are all manner of disorders, including situational stress, addiction, trauma, depression. Everyone passes in and out of these various mental health states throughout their lives. We can find our common humanity in these universal experiences.
Culture, economics, and politics play a significant role in mental health, and many communities suffer worse outcomes because they’re Black, or poor, or disabled, or elderly. They experience more violence, poverty, addiction, isolation—and receive less health care.
We’d like to know what communities are doing to address the systemic social issues that impact mental health. What are they doing to build resilience? And how can they respond compassionately to rising addiction, depression, and anxiety? How are they getting appropriate health care to the people who need it?
[To read the rest of this call for submissions by the editors of YES! Magazine, click here.]
Illustration: Chris Madden/Getty Images
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