“The Yellow Wallpaper”, a short story written in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is an early literary example of how women’s mental health has been ignored or improperly treated throughout the centuries. The story depicts a young woman’s descent into madness as her pleas for help are ignored and her symptoms diminished because of her […]
In today’s episode, The Trauma & Mental Health Report's contributing writer, Nysa Syed, will be talking with Dr. Amori Mikami, who is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, a Canada Research Chair in Clinical Child Psychology, and a registered clinical psychologist. Among her research includes the Promoting Relationships […]
In the poem TODAY MY ALARM WENT OFF AT 12:30PM, Mira Gonzalez details the routine of someone struggling with depression and substance use issues. Though short in length, the poem is commanding, doing an impressive job of highlighting the distress that can arise from addiction and mental health issues. At the start of the poem, […]
Frida Kahlo, a painter known for her painful and passionate self-portraits, is celebrated for her representation of Mexican and indigenous culture as well as depictions of the female experience in her paintings. Throughout her life, she had been disabled from childhood polio and a near-fatal bus accident that led her to focus on painting during […]
With the recent ending of the North American leg of Hilary Duff’s Lucky Me Tour, it feels like an appropriate time to return to the luck…or something album for a deeper read. Of the album’s many personal moments, “The Optimist” stands out as a particularly memorable one, illustrating the lasting impact of a complicated relationship […]
“Finding Emily” is a 2026 romantic comedy film directed by Alicia MacDonald and starring Angourie Rice as Emily Raine and Spike Fearn as Owen Brampton. The film is set on a university campus located in Manchester, England. The film centers around the male protagonist Owen, a sound engineer who works at the campus bar and […]
In her song “The Visitor,” artist Sienna Spiro opens up about her fear of impermanence and being temporary in relationships through her vulnerable lyrics and powerful instrumentation. In her interview on the Zach Sang Show, Spiro shares how the term “visitor” is a perspective rather than a feeling, as she uses it to describe herself […]
What shapes our mental health? It is easy to imagine psychological distress as something that exists entirely within an individual, a chemical imbalance, a diagnosis, or a problem located inside the brain. The illustration by Nate Kitch accompanying Richard Bentall’s 2016 The Guardian article, “Mental illness is a result of misery, yet still we stigmatise […]
American singer-songwriter SZA’s song Saturn explores the desire to escape emotional pain and find a place where life feels lighter. Rather than depicting healing as a straightforward journey, the song captures the quiet exhaustion that can accompany prolonged stress, grief or emotional distress. Through reflective lyrics and dreamy sounds, Saturn resonates with anyone who has […]
Three years ago, I came across Nikita Gill’s People Aren’t Homes, and the poem’s closing lines have stuck with me ever since. Of all the metaphors in the poem, I kept finding myself returning to this very line: “People are rivers, ever changing, ever flowing.” Even now, these words continue to shape the way I […]