LibGuides: Coping with the Hard Things: Media

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Coping with Stress (29:54) A certain amount of stress can actually enhance performance and productivity. However, continually high levels of stress have been linked to all of the leading causes of death in America, including heart disease, cancer, and lung ailments. This program analyzes the role of stress in day-to-day life and in overall physical and mental health. Sources of stress are identified, and techniques for managing stress are suggested. Information on how to improve personal communication—a powerful safety valve—is also provided.
HBO: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (40:17) Today, more soldiers are lost to suicide than on the battlefield. After serving their country overseas, many military veterans in their darkest moments turn to the unique services of the Veterans Crisis Line to help with traumas like post-traumatic stress, depression, homelessness and drug dependence. This 40-minute documentary is an intimate look at the vital work of several responders who provide life-saving intervention and desperately needed referrals through the 24-hour Veterans Crisis Line, which provides support and hope to active and retired service members. Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent (Wartorn: 1861-2010, Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq), and produced by Dana Perry (Boy Interrupted), the film focuses on the intense, and at times chilling, calls received by the crisis line and the dedicated work of the responders and rescue coordinators+E14 who help distraught veterans find reasons to live. An HBO Production. An HBO Production.
HBO: Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh (01:14:27) Comic and actor Gary Gulman stars in a 75-minute HBO comedy special, featuring Gulman speaking about mental health issues in a way that is both entertaining and poignant, mixed with short documentary interludes that provide insight into the comedian’s own mental health journey. In the special, Gulman also offers his hilarious observations on a number of other topics, including: his admiration for Millennial attitudes toward bullying, masculinity and sports; his love for basketball and why he tried to avoid playing football in high school; menacing TV news theme songs; and how his mother’s voice is always in his head. Filmed at the Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh is directed by Michael Bonfiglio. An HBO Production.
HBO: One Nation Under Stress (01:09:00) From acclaimed directors/producers Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson (HBO’s I Am Evidence, Class Divide) comes an enlightening HBO documentary that explores the causes and effects of chronic stress from scientific, economic and sociological perspectives. In investigating the recent three-year decline in U.S. life expectancy for the first time in a hundred years, neurosurgeon and Emmy®-award winning CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta travels across the country, interviewing experts from a wide range of fields who share their insights on why we are experiencing so much stress, its effect on Americans, and its consequences for the health of the nation. Along the way, Gupta also speaks candidly with Americans struggling with stress-related ailments and loved ones lost to “deaths of despair,” particularly in communities facing economic and social instability. Shedding light on the origins and nature of stress, including its biological and social roots, as well as various treatments and strategies being developed to help cope with it, One Nation Under Stress is a timely and vital film that encourages us all to focus on the mental and emotional well-being of the nation, a process that involves education, enlightenment and empathy.
Maintaining Mental Health Full Video (28:24) Like physical health, mental health needs to be actively nurtured—particularly as the tempo and complexity of modern living continues to increase. This program focuses on the subject of mental health at the personal level, offering suggestions on how to nourish—and, when necessary, reestablish—a sense of well-being. Maintaining Mental Health also discusses the crucial role community groups play in providing resources that encourage mental health maintenance.
PBS: Facing Our Fears (01:54:27) What is the evolutionary advantage of negative emotions? And how can these emotions best be managed in daily life? This program investigates the strong feelings commonly regarded as obstacles to happiness—anger, fear, anxiety, and despair—to explain why they sometimes overwhelm the rational part of the brain. Among the cases profiled are a woman whose out-of-control temper jeopardizes her relationships; a teen struggling to overcome clinical depression; a college student whose fear of flying limits her life; and veterans seeking an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.