I have been providing mental health services to men, women and families since 1968. Like many mental health providers, my desire to help others began in my family. When I was five, my middle-aged father overdosed on sleeping pills. He had become increasingly depressed at not being able to make a living while doing what he loved to do to support his family.
Although he didn’t die, our lives were never the same. He was committed to Camarillo State Psychiatric Hospital, north of where we lived in Los Angeles. The treatment available back then was much worse than it is today. He didn’t get better. His mental health deteriorated, but doctors told our family he just needed more “treatment.”
I grew up wondering what happened to my father, when it would happen to me, and what I could do to prevent other families from suffering the way we had. I graduated from college and got into medical school in 1965. I thought I wanted to be a psychiatrist. On a conscious level, I wanted to help others like my father. On a deeper level, I was afraid that I would become mentally ill and end up locked up like my dad. I thought that if I could fully educate myself about mental health, I could prevent mental illness from coming into my life.
Medical school at the time felt too narrow to deal with all the interconnected physical, mental, emotional, relational, social, and spiritual issues that I knew someone with a mental illness had to deal with. I soon moved from the UC San Francisco School of Medicine to the UC Berkeley School of Social Work where a wider range of problems were addressed and I joined a program that taught a more diverse arsenal of interventions.
Like most new graduates with a professional degree, I began working in a variety of healthcare settings. I started working in the psychiatric hospital where I had done my most recent field placement, later spent several years working in various settings helping people recover from various addictions.
For the past forty years I have worked in the emerging field of Gender-Specific Medicine, specializing in helping men and their families. After publishing my first book Inside Out: Becoming My Own Man in 1983, I started MenAlive. I offer a variety of resources to help men and their families live fully, love deeply, and make a positive difference in the world.
In weekly articles I share what I have learned from my professional practice over the past fifty plus years. I’m also open about what I’ve learned from dealing with my mental health issues. I call myself a “two hat”. A hat is what I wear when working with clients who come to me for help. The other hat is the one I wear when I get help with my own mental health challenges.
I wrote about my mental health journey in several of my books, including Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places: Overcoming Romance And Sex Addictions, Stress Relief For Men, and The Irritable Man Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Root Causes of Depression and Aggression.
I also write a weekly newsletter where I share articles that may help others. In one, “Being Bipolar: Living in a World of Fire and Ice,” I describe my own healing journey with mental illness.
“Most people don’t know I’m bipolar”
I say in the article.
“After years of loving kindness from my wife, treatment with a caring and skilled therapist, and medication to help keep me balanced, my illness is in remission.”
As I have learned over the years, both as a mental health service provider and as a person seeking information and help to deal with my own issues, finding good resources and help is not easy.
Let’s face it, we live in crazy times where everyone seems angry, anxious, stressed and depressed and things are getting worse. In 2018 the American Psychological Association surveyed a thousand adults in the US about the sources and levels of their stress. The APA found that 39% of Americans reported being more anxious than they were in 2017, and an equal percentage (39%) had the same level of anxiety as the year before. That’s almost 80% of the population experiencing anxiety.
What worries people the most? The APA survey reported that:
- 68% are concerned about health and safety.
- 67% cited finances as a source of stress.
- 56% were stressed about our political system and elections.
The APA also found that 63% of Americans felt the nation’s future was a major source of stress. 59% chose the framework that “the United States is at its lowest point in recorded history.”
It is clear that with statistics like these, we can no longer think of “mental illness” as simply a problem of individuals. We are facing a problem of whole systems collapsing and we need to develop new systems to fix it. My colleague, Margaret J. Wheatley, author of the book, Who Do We Choose To Be? Facing reality, claiming leadership says,
“Our task is to create Islands of Reason, both internally and within our sphere of influence, where reason reigns supreme, where people can remember and practice the best human qualities of generosity, caring, creativity and community” .
WebShrink: Bringing mental health seekers and mental health providers together
I first learned about Web shrink when I received an email from Dr. Edward Bilotti. start,
“Dear Jed, we need your help.”
As you know from reading this far, I want to help others. Dr Bilotti went on to say:
“When it comes to mental health, the internet can be a crowded and confusing place for those looking for answers. People need a place where they can find the right information and help. They need a safe place where the important work we do as mental health professionals is honored and issues are presented respectfully.
“That’s why I founded Webshrink. The name might be a little unusual, but the theme couldn’t be more serious. Webshrink’s mission is to:
- Be the go-to place for racers and their loved ones as well as professionals like you.
- Provide accurate, reliable information that is easy to understand, fact-checked and never based on psychology.
- Promote hope and positivity by giving a voice to those who want to share their stories.
- Make it easy and safe for customers and professionals to connect and communicate online.”
When I finished reading Dr. Bilotti knew I had to learn more. I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in doing an interview for my blog. Agreed too you can watch the entire interview here.
After talking to him personally, I knew he is real. He is a man on a mission and the mission is near and dear to my heart and soul. If you are a healthcare provider, you will find that Dr. Bilotti is a kindred spirit dedicated to helping other healthcare providers just like you. If you’re a health care seeker and want to get the latest, most accurate information that can help you make good health decisions, you’ll also find a caring community at Webshrink. If you’re a two-hater like me, you’ll find plenty to interest and excite you.
As a healthcare provider I was interested in some of the things that Webshrink plans to offer us. Dr. Bilotti explained some new things planned for later this year:
- HIPAA compliant telehealth platform designed for mental health.
- A complete searchable drug database.
- Secure, private messaging between therapists and clients.
- More resources and clinical tools for therapists.
I decided to join and I hope you will consider joining too. Here are the main reasons I think Webshrink is a community worth joining:
- I believe in the mission to create a community of mental health seekers and providers.
- I believe in the man behind the mission, Dr. Ed. Bilotti.
- The cost is extremely reasonable: $4/month, $40/year, $100/lifetime (and you get a free month to try it out. Can’t beat it).
- In addition, Dr. Bilotti offers all providers a $25 gift certificate on Amazon if you register by March 30, 2024. (He told me he wants to encourage people to buy one of my books, but you can spend it however you want.)
If you would like to receive more information and consider joining this remarkable movement, you can learn about registering your practice here.
And if you want to see what a listing looks like, you can see mine at https://tinyurl.com/WebshrinkDrJed.
Also, if you enjoyed this article and would like to receive a free e-copy of my latest book Long live Men! The Moonshot Mission to Heal Men, Close the Lifespan Gap and Bring Hope to Humanity, send an email to: Jed@MenAlive.com and put “Webshrink Book Offer” in the subject line. I am 17 years oldu book and some say, it is my best.
