~ Marco Francis ~
My Shared Feelings – Poems
by Breaking Taboo | Mar 1, 2022 | Community Stories
Can We Prevent Mental Illness?
by Breaking Taboo | April 2, 2026 | Articles, General Mental Health, Other mental illness, Wellbeing | 0 Comments
We usually talk about mental health after someone is already struggling. After the panic attacks start. After the depression gets heavy. After things fall apart. But what if we asked the question earlier? Mental illness is common, and many conditions begin in the...
How Job-Related Stress Impacts Your Mental Health
by Breaking Taboo | March 12, 2026 | Articles, General Mental Health, Wellbeing | 0 Comments
For a long time, I treated work stress as just part of being an adult, meeting deadlines, dealing with difficult coworkers, and enduring long days. Many others around me seemed just as tired and overwhelmed, so I assumed that was simply the way things are supposed to...
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
by Breaking Taboo | February 26, 2026 | Articles, Seasonal | 0 Comments
Trigger warning: Mentions of dating violence/abuse. When one typically thinks of February, they go straight towards Valentine’s Day or Black History Month. Both events are important aspects of this specific month, offering room for remembrance and appreciation....
The Weight of Winter
by Crystal Lancaster | February 7, 2026 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
2.10.24 Birds must have flown south for the winter. Or wherever the *** it is birds go when thewind and the cold ransack the homes they had nested within the now barren branches. The trees look broken—almost. I didn’t even notice their orange and yellow leaves...
the Correlation Between Poverty and Mental Health
by Breaking Taboo | January 16, 2026 | Articles, General Mental Health | 0 Comments
With January now underway, many view it as a fresh start or a period of change. It’s a month when one begins the process of creating new resolutions or vision boards to serve as a direction for the new year. This focus on change fails to take into consideration how...
How to talk to your teenager about suicide prevention
by Breaking Taboo | September 23, 2025 | Articles, Suicide | 0 Comments
Before reading this article, I would like to provide a trigger warning when discussing the topic of suicide. The month of September is known to be a time in the year marking the end of summer to transition to the beginning of autumn. It’s a month of change...
the Stigma of Mental Health still Fills the Halls of High School
by Breaking Taboo | September 3, 2025 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
When some think of high school, they may think of it as one of the happiest times of their lives. High school can be a period of personal growth where one develops self-identity, gains independence, makes lasting friendships, etc. This period in life can shape one’s...
“Bye Bye”: Back-to-School Anxiety & How Parents Can Intervene
by Breaking Taboo | August 19, 2025 | Anxiety, Articles, General Mental Health, Wellbeing | 0 Comments
As August rolls around each year, it signifies the beginning of a new school year, promising a fresh start to learn and grow with peers. A new school year offers room to make new memories, new friendships, and an opportunity to pursue academic goals. Despite this,...
A Parent’s Guide to Impostor Syndrome
by Breaking Taboo | July 8, 2025 | Articles, General Mental Health | 0 Comments
As a parent, there is a great deal of responsibility placed on one to ensure they are the ideal role model for their children to look up to. One has to be mindful of what morals or values they want to instill into their children to emulate. This can be true when...
Scrolling Into Insecurity- Social Media’s effects on Eating Disorders
by Breaking Taboo | July 3, 2025 | General Mental Health, Other mental illness | 0 Comments
Up to 95% of adolescents, ages 13-17 years old, report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying that they use social media almost constantly [1]. Social media has become a large part of our lives, and the way it impacts the youth has become a huge...
The Weight of Winter
by Crystal Lancaster | February 7, 2026 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
2.10.24 Birds must have flown south for the winter. Or wherever the *** it is birds go when thewind and the cold ransack the homes they had nested within the now barren branches. The trees look broken—almost. I didn’t even notice their orange and yellow leaves...
the Stigma of Mental Health still Fills the Halls of High School
by Breaking Taboo | September 3, 2025 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
When some think of high school, they may think of it as one of the happiest times of their lives. High school can be a period of personal growth where one develops self-identity, gains independence, makes lasting friendships, etc. This period in life can shape one’s...
My Synesthesia Causes Me to Hear Colors and Taste Sounds
by Breaking Taboo | June 17, 2025 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
We all know what our senses are and how we use them every day, but what if you could hear colors and taste sounds? This connection between senses is called Synesthesia, and some people have this complex condition inside their minds. Synesthesia is a mental condition...
The loss of someone you don’t know: How Matthew Perry’s death affected me
by Breaking Taboo | January 26, 2024 | Community Stories | 0 Comments
I was in elementary school when I first watched an episode of Friends. I was immediately drawn to the character of Chandler. We were both awkward. We were both funny. We both had problems. He was one of my first TV crushes after Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. I became...
Why I’m Involved: An Interview with Crystal Lancaster
by Breaking Taboo | August 27, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
I am volunteering at Breaking Taboo because I am extremely passionate about the cause of mental health and working towards ending the suicide epidemic currently facing this country. I myself live with Bipolar 1 Disorder. I had my first mental breakdown when I was 16...
How to Juggle Mental Health With Life: An Interview With Danni Blackman
by Breaking Taboo | August 13, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
I was born and raised in Orange County, still currently live in Tustin. Aside from taking care of my mental health at an outpatient facility, I work with my family as an administrative assistant at their law firm and I go to school for Gender Studies and Psychology. I...
Dr. Denise Nguyen Interview: Advice and Experience from a Marriage and Family Therapist
by Breaking Taboo | August 8, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
Meet Denise Nguyen. I was born and raised in Southern California all of my life. I’m a 2nd generation Vietnamese American. My undergrad was through UCI and then received my Masters and Doctorate through Argosy University in Counseling Psychology (MA and EDDCP...
Caitlin Cawley Interview: Staying Strong Against Co-Morbid Mental Illnesses
by bt_admin | February 16, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
We had the great pleasure of speaking with Caitlin Cawley. She is someone who shows resilience and fight against many things affecting her mental health. She continues to how one can overcome co-morbid mental illnesses, such as OCD, anorexia nervosa, PTSD, depression...
Surviving Trauma, An Interview with Katie Han
by bt_admin | February 2, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
Meet Katie Han, a strong woman who is overcoming her incredible traumas every day. She suffered through childhood abuse and sexual harassment which led to her mood disorders. She shares her insights of how she has learned to love herself, heal, and cope with her...
Amy Chase’s Story of Surviving Abuse and Depression
by bt_admin | February 2, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
We enjoyed being able to talk with Amy Chase. She shares her story of emotional and physical abuse, and depression. She has been through a lot since childhood, and is living proof that you can find yourself and heal from your traumas (even at 34 years old.) I wish...
Insights on Anorexia Nervosa & Anxiety by Sierralyn Cadima
by bt_admin | January 23, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 1 Comment
We had the pleasure of talking with Sierralyn Cadima, who struggles with generalized anxiety disorder and Anorexia Nervosa. Here, she talks about the steps she has taken to overcome both and her outlook on mental health. Early 2014 when I started seeing a therapist...
How Carla-Rose Overcomes Her Depression & Anxiety
by bt_admin | January 17, 2019 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
Meet Carla-Rose Smith, a prime example of someone who has been at their lowest of lows and was still able to crawl out of the misery and gain happiness within herself again. Here, she shares her insights about her personal struggle with anxiety and depression, and...
TV’s Dr. Judy Ho on Modern Mental Health
by bt_admin | August 28, 2018 | Community Stories, Interviews | 0 Comments
We had the pleasure of chatting with clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Judy Ho, Ph.D about her career and her thoughts on modern mental health. Dr. Judy is the co-Host of Face the Truth on CBS and Tenured Associate Professor at Pepperdine University. She has a...