James Donaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of depression and suicidal thoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Did you know that people with mental health problems tend to die 10-20 years before the general population? According to WHO, there are 300 million people suffering from various psychiatric and mood disorders around the world. But things have been turning around. In the last few years, the world has been slowly waking up to the problems posed by mental health issues. Dialogues around problems such as depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, and bipolar disorders have also been increasing. In 2018, we lost many great people to depression. But the year also saw some amazing moments that bode well for mental health.
1 Celebrities Talking About Depression
2 “Master key” For Schizophrenia and Autism Discovered
Researchers at Emory and the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified “master keys” or risk genes that are instrumental to brain functions. When the scientists “created” mice without these risk genes or master keys MIR-37, they found that the rodents had a learning disability, repetitive behavior, memory problems, and impaired sociability. The research came out in November 2018 and was to have been published in Nature Neuroscience.
3 Global Warming and Depression
The UN Special Report on Global Warming revealed that the world has heated up by one-degree Celsius, which could be bad news for health in general. But new research from MIT and Harvard revealed that with every degree increase in global temperature, there’s a two percent increase in mental health issues.
4 Exercise Bad For Mental Health?
While some amount of physical exercise is considered good for mental health, a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry this year found that doing more than 90 minutes of exercise per day could be hurting their mental health. The same study said that those who exercised between three and five times a week had better mental health than those who exercised lesser than that.
5 A Way to Prevent Suicide
A study published in October 2018 in the American Journal of Psychiatry found a way to predict suicide attempts and prevent them by using electronic health records. The researchers were able to formulate a prediction model to prevent suicides from happening. They studied 313 demographic and clinical characteristics such as prior suicide attempts, mental health, substance abuse, etc. to create the system.
6 Date Rape Drug For Depression
Surprisingly, a date-rape drug ketamine, also known as the party-drug, has been explored as a treatment option for depression. In May of 2018, Johnson & Johnson has been trying to project ketamine for its antidepressant quality and as a potential weapon against depression. A nasal spray-version of ketamine known as esketamine would be used for the purpose.
7 Ecstasy for Anxiety and Autism
After Ketamine, another infamous drug Ecstasy or MDMA or “molly” has been shown to reduce social anxiety in autistic people. The research was published in the journal Psychopharmacology, which said that people who had crippling social anxiety became more confident in situations that made them nervous before.
8 Social Media is Contributing To Mental Illnesses
Social media addiction in today’s day and age could be worsening depression according to experts. Research published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology showed that excessive use of Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram could worsen mental health. Instagram has been considered the worst offender in fuelling inadequacy and depression.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
