Can childhood bullying cause mental illness? I am the proud aunt of four nephews and one niece, all age five and under (family gatherings are very lively). The oldest, Desi, has started preschool; but, as a child with sensory processing disorder, is having a hard time. The other children are mean to him--one said he hated him in front of their mothers and the other boy's mother did nothing. Desi goes into the playhouse and cries when the other children refuse to play with him. It reminds me of my childhood and breaks my heart to see it played out with my special needs nephew. I fear the answer to the question, "Can childhood bullying cause mental illness?" will play out with him.

Research has shown the therapeutic value of animals. We've all seen service animals, but did you know that some states recognize psychiatric service animals or therapy animals? Some states, like Florida, allow psychiatric service dogs. And my state, Indiana, allows therapy animals. What legal protection they have depends on the state you're in, but it brings up the issue of the therapeutic value of animals.

Did you that vitamins can relieve some psychiatric symptoms? Recently my psychiatrist ordered some lab work because I was complaining of exhaustion, sleeping too much, and not feeling rested when I woke up. The labs revealed my iron was about half of what it should be, explaining the symptoms. When you are on your medications and in counseling and still feel symptomatic, there are vitamins that can relieve psychiatric symptoms.

There are three things Sarah Palin needs to know about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Palin showed her amazing ignorance about PTSD when she blamed President Obama for her son Track's PTSD. Palin said Track's recent domestic violence arrest was due to PTSD, and as horrible as that is, it could be true. However, Palin's "party of personal responsibility" is shifting the blame from themselves (Republicans have blocked every veterans' mental health bill and every mental health bill in general) to people who have nothing to do with it. So here are three things Sarah Palin--and every politician gutting our mental health system--needs to know about PTSD.

There are three things I wish I knew about alcoholism before entering treatment. Maybe if I'd known these three things about alcoholism sooner, I would have realized I had a problem and entered treatment sooner and spared myself a lot of pain. But I'm an alcoholic, and most of my lessons I learned the hard way. So here are three things I wish I knew about alcoholism; may you learn from my thick-headedness.

PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections) is a disease that can account for psychiatric symptoms, but there is stigma around PANDAS. Recently I received a text message from Amber Becker, one of my readers, asking about my time in the state hospital system. Her daughter McKenzie has several psychiatric and developmental disorders, has been in and out of hospitals, and written off as untreatable. The State of Indiana wants to make her a ward of the state and put her in one of the hospitals I was treated at. Her fear is that if Indiana puts McKenzie in the state hospital, she'll be constantly sedated or repeatedly put in physical restraints. But here's the plot twist--PANDAS may be the cause of her problems. But there are no PANDAS specialists in Indiana, and even if there were, they're not covered by her insurance.

There are three lessons the Bill Cosby case can teach us. Unless you've been living under a rock this past year, you've heard of the Bill Cosby rape allegations. As a sexual assault survivor, any time a high-profile rape case occurs, I want to speak out. I've watched this case with interest, and have learned three lessons the Bill Cosby case can teach us.

Having a mentally healthy perspective is important. It's a new year, and that lends itself to reflection. Whether 2015 was kind, brutal, or somewhere in between depends largely on your perspective (Putting Mental Illness In Perspective). So having a healthy perspective is important. So how do we have a mentally healthy perspective?

There are many ways to have healthy communication. My family's communication style is not even remotely what I would call healthy. For example, I mentioned I had an upset stomach on Christmas Eve, and my mother said that if that were the case I needed to go home before the festivities started. I took this to mean that I was not welcome and left shortly after gifts were opened. Hurt feelings could have been avoided by phrasing this in a healthy manner (Healthy Communication In Relationships). Here are three ways to have healthy communication.

Do you know how gut health affects mental health? We know that mental health and physical health aren't separate concepts. But still, it came as a slight surprise when my psychiatrist said that gastroenterologists call the gut "the second brain" because it has such a powerful impact on one's mental health. For example, constipation (a side effect of many psychiatric medications) can cause the body to kick into fight-flight-freeze mode, which causes racing thoughts, fear, and panic. So it is important to know how gut health affects mental health.