Leah Smith, Author at The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality

Blue background with white text that reads: What are SSRI's. Image of a brain with different colored dots behind it all connecting to each other

SSRI’s and Serotonin

Posted on March 3, 2025 | by Leah Smith | Leave a Comment

What are SSRI's (image of a bunch of dots in the background with a brain in the foreground)
What is Serotonin? (image of a person's head and brain with a gear shift) Serotonin is a chemical your body produces that helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite, and learning. For some people, their body does not produce enough serotonin and they need to take serotonin in pill form. These pills are referred to as an SSRI.
What is an SSRI? (image of three pills that are blue, orange, and white) SSRI's (which are a type of medicine) help by slowing down the brain from taking serotonin back too fast. This way, there's more serotonin hanging around to help you feel better
What is the Connection Between SSRI's and Serotonin? (image of a scale with a happy face on one side and a sad face on the other. In the middle is a brain with a heart in the middle of it.) The serotonin in your brain acts as tiny messengers that help you feel happy and calm. These messengers travel between nerve cells in your brain to keep the serotonin balanced. When unbalanced, SSRI's can help keep everything feeling good.
Why would I need SSRI's (image of a packet of pills) Normally, after serotonin does its job, your brain takes it back really quickly. But sometimes, your brain doesn't have enough of these messengers to keep you feeling good, which is why some people take SSRI's.
What Does an SSRI do? (Image of a happiness scale with one end having a red sad face and the other end having a green happy face.) SSRI's stop the brain from taking serotonin away too quickly. They can help with things like: feeling sad or depressed, feeling worried or anxious. SSRI's give you more happy messengers to help improve your mood and feel more balanced.

Blue background with white text: Sometimes, people feel unsure about starting SSRI's, but here's what some people have said after they began taking them:
"I Don't feel as worried all the time." - Sara, age 44
"I'm not as sad as I used to be." - Jing, age 18
"It was slow at first, but now I feel a lot better!" - Imani, age 23
"People have noticed that I'm not as stressed out." Shantavia, age 27
"I thought that if I started taking this I would suddenly feel really happy. It's not like that. It's more like over a few weeks, I no longer felt like I wanted to die and could care about the things that are important to me." - Sean, age 16
Image of a double amputee with crutches. They have curly hair, blue shirt, and orange shorts.
The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality.
www.thinkequitable.com

February is Low Vision Awareness Month

Posted on February 14, 2025 | by Leah Smith | Leave a Comment

In an effort to increase awareness to Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) , February has been designated as Low Vision Awareness Month. More than 4 million Americans have low vision (for varying reasons).

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What is Braille Literacy Month

Posted on January 18, 2025 | by Leah Smith | Leave a Comment

January is Braille Literacy Month. Check out the below infographic to learn more about the importance of Braille Literacy.

Maroon background with white text that reads: January is National Braille Literacy Month
(image of book with braille rising from it)
Interesting Facts About Braille-
What is Braille- Braille is a writing and reading system for blind people that enables them to access the same written materials as their sighted peers (image of hands touching a braille document)
Braille was first created as a written code to allow people to read military messages without lighting. Louis Braille then took this code and created what we know as Braille today. (image of Louis Braille- old white guy with beard and mustache, wearing a blue suit)
Timeline of Events:
1980: The Missouri School for the Blind became the first school in the U.S to teach Braille
1904: Helen Keller became the first deaf-blind person to earn a degree from Radcliff College
1932: The American and British Uniform Type Committees adopt Standard English Braille as a uniform type.
1963: Computers are adapted to produce Braille outputs

10% of Americans with blindness can read Braille
Braille is not a language, but a writing system
January is #raille Literacy Month
(image of this text in braille)
Celebrate!
The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality

Author: Leah Smith

SSRI’s and Serotonin

February is Low Vision Awareness Month

What is Braille Literacy Month

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