Jayson Blair

I am a huge fan of Alison Malmon . She is the 26-year-old executive director of Active Minds on Campus , a support network of more than 100 college campus chapters that help individuals with mental illnesses, support their family and friends and work to generally improve mental health on college campuses. I originally met Alison when a friend was applying for a position at the growing Active Minds headquarters in Washington. Since then, we arranged to have the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance-Northern Virginia and George Mason University's Office of Disability Services , to have Alison speak on campus in February. Alison started Active Minds after her 22-year-old brother, Brian, who had schizoaffective disorder, committed suicide in March 2000 while on leave from Columbia University. Alison was a student at the University of Pennsylvania at the time. We just wrapped up lunch at Georgia Brown's in DC, and it looks like Alison has plans to create similar chapters in high scho...

Several months ago, Pete Earley, the former Washington Post reporter and author, came to speak at a Depression Bipolar Support Alliance-Northern Virginia event at the Sully District Government Center in Chantilly, Va. Pete spoke about his book "Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness." Pete's book is about his son, who had to be hospitalized several times and eventually had a run-in with the law. Pete also examined areas where the mental health and criminal justice systems collide across America. In a tragic twist, one of the Fairfax County, Va. police detectives, Vicky Armel , who helped his son when he ran into trouble was killed by a mentally ill gunman several months before the talk in the parking lot of the same building. Pete and I had a chance to speak after the meeting, and one of the topics was about the support groups. I'm happy to say that his son has joined and become an active member in of one of the groups. His insight...

Army soldiers committed suicide in 2006 at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to military reports. An increasing number of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are also returning with traumatic brain injuries, which often result in psychiatric and psychological problems. Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, the report shows. The Army has come up with materials to help friends, family members, commanders, colleagues and others to see the signs that a serviceman or servicewoman is at risk .

I often get questions about what can be done, in addition to medical therapies, to help with depression. Here are a couple of recommendations. First and foremost, regular and full sleep is perhaps the most important factor in preventing manic episodes and it has been shown to contribute to preventing depressive relapses. Another excellent tool is exercise, particularly exercise that promotes overall wellness and meditation, such as yoga. The fitness center website at McLean Hospital in Cambridge, Mass. has two good articles on the topic . In addition, adding omega-3 fatty acids -- found in fish and fish oil, as well as flax seed oil -- can be of great assistance. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has a nice piece on omega-3s.

Good news -- I'm taking my life coaching work to one of the area's fastest growing psychological and psychiatric practices, Ashburn Psychological Services , a team of psychological and psychiatric professionals in Ashburn, Va. The team is run by Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D, a well-regarded clinical psychologist, his wife, Liz, a financial wunderkind. The other clinician-contractors are: Mehul V. Mankad, M.D. , a adult and forensic psychiatrist who was the former chief resident at Duke University, is considered one of the two top area psychiatrists by members of the bipolar support groups (he blends medication management and psychotherapy in a manner that is rare these days; and his ; Susan Hamilton, PhD ., a psychologist who is well-regarded by members of the group who have been treated by her and a former mental health chief at the American Red Cross; Margaret Wong, PhD., a very funny and nice child psychologist that I had met several months before when Michael helped the D...

I don't write much these days about my own past unless it has some relevance to the work I'm doing to help people now as a life coach and through the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance-Northern Virginia . But, for those of you have e-mailed with questions about the role that bipolar disorder played in my previous life, I should say that it did not cause my problems, mania and depression just added fuel to a fire that was already burning bright. You can read more in my book "Burning Down My Masters' House: A Personal Descent into Madness that Shook The New York Times" or you can read the free, cliff-notes version at The New York Times Company's About.com website article called "Jayson Blair has Bipolar Disorder."

Went to a fascinating talk last night by Dr. Alan G. Mallinger, a psychiatrist and unit chief of the Adult Outpatient Clinic's Mood and Anxiety Disorder Unit at the National Institute of Mental Health . Dr. Mallinger presented interesting findings and discussed research into medications that help reverse brain cell atrophy caused by repeated exposure to mania and depression.