Keeping it Together: Welcome to the new version of Staying Apart, Together

Things are changing all over the world, including in this newsletter. 

I'm so happy to announce that Staying Apart, Together has officially become Keeping it Together. Understanding that we are hopefully on our way out of the pandemic, we at USA TODAY have been talking a lot about the future of this newsletter. As I mentioned in a previous issue, we want to keep this community alive beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

To that end we've changed the name to better reflect our long-term mission to help you all with your mental health and wellness needs no matter what is going on in the world. Keeping it Together will still be written by myself and my wonderful colleague Sara Moniuszko. It will still have mental health tips, personal stories, funny anecdotes, links to good reads and pictures of your adorable pets. Plus some TV stories because I love talking with all of you about what we're watching. 

We are simply looking toward a future where COVID-19 won't be the subject of every issue. And that's a wonderful future to get excited about. Know someone who'd enjoy this newsletter? This would be a good edition to send to them. They can sign up here.

The best TV of the year (so far)

It's not quite halfway through the year, but there has been so much good TV so far this year that I couldn't help but write about my favorites. Here are a few I loved that are worth checking out for yourself. 

"Girls5Eva" (Peacock): The first great original series to come out of NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, “Girls5Eva” is a sweetly funny sitcom created by Meredith Scardino and executive-produced by the “30 Rock” team of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. “Girls” is about a has-been 1990s girl pop group – played by Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps and Paula Pell – that tries to make it again in middle age. 

"Mare of Easttown" (HBO): The dark series, which stars Kate Winslet as a local Pennsylvania detective battling personal demons while investigating the murder of a young girl and the disappearance of two others, is far more than your basic prestige cop show. More compelling than the central mystery is Mare’s family life, including her struggle with trauma after the death of her son by suicide.

"For All Mankind" (Apple TV+): Apple’s alternate history of the space race, which posits what might have happened if the Soviet Union had beaten the U.S. to the moon and the competition for the final frontier never ended, was a smart, appealing series in its first season. In this year’s second season, however, it rocketed ahead to a possible spot on a list of TV’s all-time great dramas. That’s thanks to a sprawling, effortlessly talented cast led by Joel Kinnaman, a plausible alternate reality, superb writing and riveting action set pieces. 

See my full list of the 10 best shows so far here. 

Good news out of 2020

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

A lot of things were worse during the pandemic, but surprising research has discovered that deaths by suicide fell 9% at the height of the pandemic shutdown compared with previous years. 

"It's an intriguing pattern. You've got a rise in risk factors like stress, anxiety and depression but a decrease in suicide deaths," said Thomas Joiner, a professor of psychology at Florida State University and an expert on suicide. 

He believes the expanded availability of mental health services via telehealth, such as counseling calls by phone or computer, may have been part of the reason. 

"Access went up and telehealth was a better platform than many of us anticipated," he said.  

In addition, major employers and organizations were keenly aware of workers' mental health during the pandemic, he said.

Suicide rates could remain stable if some of the root causes of suicide are addressed after the pandemic, including a lack of access to mental health services, an erosion of social support and economic insecurity.

"If we focus on some of these things, we might be able to stabilize the suicide death rate," Foreman said. 

Read the full story here. 

Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.

Today's reads

• Now that many of us are able to shed our masks, lipstick is making a big comeback. My colleagues looked into the cool new two-toned lipstick trend. (Although I'm so rusty with makeup, I'm not sure I'm ready for a new technique!) 
• More excellent vaccine news: The Moderna vaccine has been found to be 100% effective in kids 12-15 in a clinical trial. 
• Need a project? LEGO's new world map set has 11,000 pieces! I'd get it for my husband but he'd finish it in like three days considering his LEGO track record. 
• Our Travel team wrote a list of the best beaches to find seashells by the seashore. (Say that 10 times fast!) 

Today's pet

Meet a kitty who just found his furever home. 

"Meet Riley! He came to join our pet gang this past week," says owner Jenna Orelski. "And he loves to be comfy!"

I can relate, Riley. 

Don't forget you can see a compilation of the newsletter pets so far in our gallery here!

That's all for this week. Thank you much for joining me on the incredible journey this newsletter has gone on over the past year. I am so excited about where we'll go in the future. As always you can email us with questions, comments, pet pictures and anything else. 

All my very best,

Kelly Lawler