The following excerpt is reprinted from “Angels In My Hair: The True Story of a Modern-Day Mystic” with permission by Doubleday. Since this is the season of angels and hope and miracles, I thought you’d like read it. One particular day, some months after Joe’s death, I was finding it really hard to cope. I […]
As I read through the comments posted throughout Beyond Blue and on the discussion threads at Group Beyond Blue, I realize that a lot of readers are mourning the loss of special relationships. This prayer, by Henri Nouwen, articulates this process so beautifully, and calls us to stay with our pain, because, believe it or […]
From “A Classic Christmas,” a compilation of beautiful reflections, meditations, and scripture passages. This story replaces the Saint Nicholas Legend in Russia and has been told for many years. It was the night that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In a faraway country an old woman named Baboushka sat in her snug little house by […]
Ah, the magic and wonder of the holiday season … It has even my fragile and anxious brain abandoning the logical, reasoning, and uptightness of the left side, and relying on a feast of senses–fresh evergreen, Christmas carolers, winter wonderlands, and eggnog–to fill it with the hope and joy absent the rest of the year. […]
In his classic, “The Prophet,” Kahlil Gibran writes: “Always you have been told that work is a curse … But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born.” Unfortunately Kahlil’s words don’t jibe with a new Australian study that […]
From “Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid: The Movement of Imperfection” by Gina Gallagher and Patricia Konjoian (check out their website): It’s been a banner year! We began by getting a new minivan complete with a navigation system. It’s been a lifesaver! We have the routes to all the nearest hospitals and pharmacies pre-programmed. With […]
If you don’t find the humor in this, my sincere apologies. But we need as many laughs this holiday season as is possible. CHRISTMAS DISORDERS and CAROLS 1. Schizophrenia — Do You Hear What I Hear? 2. Multiple Personality Disorder — We Three Kings Disoriented Are 3. Dementia — I Think I’ll be Home for […]
If you’ve studied the human brain as much as I have, you know exactly what is going on when you hit a patch of acute anxiety. You realize that the amygdala (fear center) of your brain has duct-taped the other, more rational parts of your head, like the prefrontal cortex, and it’s performing a Riverdance […]
It’s that time of year again!!! Ready to hear it again??? DISCLAIMER: I am no Barbara Streisand. I’ve never taken a singing lesson in my life. Not one.The inspiration for this song came two weeks before Thanksgiving when I received a call from my doctor: we had better get together a plan for lowering my […]
The weather outside might be frightful but inside it’s definitely worse. According to New York psychologist Jay Seitz, 25 percent of people experience some kind of holiday anxiety or depression. That is, one in four people sipping eggnog feel like that stale, bland, unpopular fruitcake that was re-gifted five times before it was fed to […]
George Burns once said: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” So that would explain why the holidays are so stressful. Those dear relatives who live in San Francisco suddenly are lingering in front of your refrigerator in Cincinnati, Ohio and you have to figure out a socially acceptable way […]
I have a theory regarding holiday stress: In the month of December, high levels of Cortisol (stress hormone) turn 80 percent of the American population into fruitcakes–just like the stale one delivered to your house yesterday. Because on top of adding 675 things to your to-do list, you’ve now got to deal with the strained […]
My “9 Holiday Depression Busters” are featured in a Beliefnet gallery. You can get to it by clicking here. It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year–but not if negative emotions take hold of your holidays. So let’s be honest. The holidays are packed with stress, and therefore provoke tons of depression […]
I have prayed the Memorare every day since my mom (and others) told me to go to Mary with my depression. It’s clear from the words of this prayer that Mary hears all pleas, but especially those uttered in desperation. I thought I would post it today since it is the Feast of the Immaculate […]
One of the most powerful tools in my recovery from depression has been the act of helping those who suffer the same kind of pain as I do, and those whose pain I can’t imagine, like mothers who have lost their children to illness, war, or some other thief. I wanted to explore this a […]
This reflection was from three years ago, but is still very real every Christmas. I’m starting to understand Christmas as the season where Christ comes to visit you in the most unexpected ways. If you can only quiet yourself for a few days–unplug the computer, forget your cell phone, and head to the ICU of […]
I am reprinting this post from this time last year. In the 2010 Oscar-winning historical film “The King’s Speech,” King George VI (Colin Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne and must overcome his stammer in order to speak with the authority and eloquence expected of a king. He hires Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech […]
I think about Mary often this time of year. More than usual, which is a lot. Mary loves desperate people–the ones who have already tried Jesus and, for whatever reason, didn’t get results. That’s how my mom explained it when she told me that she was going to Mary with my depression. For a […]
All the Christmas movies–from the classic “Miracle on 34th Street” to “The Year Without a Santa Claus” preach a common message: faith is about believing without seeing. In our family favorite, “Elf,” Santa’s sleigh, fueled by Christmas spirit, crashes into Central Park in New York City. In order to convince people to believe in […]
The following essay is an excerpt from a wonderful little book, “The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It,” by Dennis Merritt Jones. Fruit drops from the tree when it is ready. Staying too long, or moving too early, misses the mark. The mark is the appropriateness that […]
