Clinical psychologist Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., founder and director of the Children’s and Adult Center for OCD and Anxiety, is one of the nation’s leading experts on anxiety disorder. She is also my personal coach on trying to tame my overactive amygdala, the almond-shaped structure inside your brain whose day job is to yell “Run for […]
The late thirties and early forties can be the most stressful time of a person’s life if they are caring for their parents while raising children of their own. A few of my friends have become the primary or second caregiver to their parents, accompanying them on doctor’s visits, then rushing home to help with […]
I loved these bits of advice from Beliefnet’s Renita Williams. Click here to see the original gallery. We all have experienced hurt and pain in our lives. Sometimes we are exposed to experiences so painful that they leave marks that are difficult to heal-especially if we feel somone has wronged us or harmed us. 1. […]
It’s a hard time to be a woman these days. We bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and feel unappreciated wherever we go, much less the sexy w-o-m-a-n in the Enjoli ad. According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, women report higher levels of stress at work than […]
I’ve posted this prayer by Thomas Merton before, but it has brought me such comfort in the last few weeks that I wanted to share it all with you again. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain […]
From my archives … Aside from my own psychiatrist, Dr. Smith, there are few doctors that can explain a confusing and complex condition like Bipolar Disorder with such clarity as the medical director of NAMI, Dr. Ken Duckworth. Three years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing him when I was the Patient Advocate for […]
The average patient with bipolar disorder takes approximately 10 years to get a proper diagnosis. About 56 percent are first diagnosed with unipolar depression. I imagine the stats for depression and other diagnoses aren’t pretty either. Working with a good doctor can save you 15 years of pain and misery. Trust me, I know. I […]
My friend, Priscilla, just lost her best friend (okay, after her husband, Jimmy). On her blog, she writes: Our beloved golden retriever died this morning, peacefully, after spending a wonderful week by our side on Martha’s Vineyard, at the beach, where she ran into the ocean, and in the woods, where she took a long […]
Some sobering statistics: Depression has a much greater impact on marital life than rheumatoid arthritis or cardiac disease. Ninety percent of marriages where one person is bipolar ends in divorce. Person diagnosed with bipolar disorder have three times the rate of divorce as the general public, which is about 50 percent. This is all to […]
When you feel like strangling the guy in front of you at Target, read these “7 Quick Ways to Calm Down,” or as the Huffington Post renamed them, “7 Quick Ways to Avoid a Meltdown,” I laughed at the art that went with it because, well, I sort of looked like that yesterday. I needed a reminder of […]
This invitation is from Ted Zeff, Ph.D.: I’m excited to let you know of a new book that I am writing which will help you thrive as an HSP entitled The Empowered Highly Sensitive Person: Stories of HSPs Successfully Coping in a Non-HSP World. I would like to offer you the opportunity to share your […]
The day I returned from inpatient therapy, my Lab-Chow mix cuddled up to me on the bed as I cried. She looked into my defeated gaze and licked my tears. I was astounded that this creature was capable of the empathy that I so craved in my closest friends and relatives. It was like she […]
Depression and bipolar disorder are family diseases. Everyone sharing a kitchen and a bathroom is affected. In fact, in his book “Understanding Depression,” J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D., writes that “depression … has a much greater impact on marital life than rheumatoid arthritis or cardiac illness. One study found that only severe forms of cancer […]
Dan Fields, freelance health writer and former editor in chief of Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self-Healing newsletter, recently sent me a link to his piece for a cool new online publication called “The Good Men Project Magazine.” I was especially intrigued by his exploration of midlife suicide and why the rate is highest among any age […]
I had been on the drug Zyprexa (olanzapine) for four weeks and had already gained 15 pounds which, you know, didn’t help my depression. After going to a wedding and catching a side view of myself, I called my doctor and told him that my name was now Violet Beauregarde, you know, the gum chewer […]
For some inspiration today, I thought I’d post Derek Walcott’s classic poem, “Love After Love.” It has become a powerful text for me in my recovery. The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other’s welcome, and […]
