If you had to pick one thing about depression that was the most difficult to live with, what would it be? (I know. It’s hard. There’s so many to choose from!) Here’s my choice … the inner critic that says stuff like “YOU SUCK.”To view my YouTube video click here. Originally published on Beyond Blue […]
Flow is the mental state of a person when he is completely immersed in one activity or event—a moment in which all of his energy is focused on one thing so that he is oblivious to the world around him. It is a single-mindedness that harnesses all emotions into one action to produce a kind of […]
My most popular post is the gallery, “12 Depression Busters.” But those suggestions were actually a response to Beyond Blue reader Peg’s query on how to stop smoking. They absolutely do help a person fight depression and the ongoing war against negative thoughts; however they were designed as techniques to use when getting pulled into […]
A new study published in an online supplement of the medical journal “Sleep” found that for every one-hour increase in sleep duration there was a 72 percent decrease in the likelihood of suicide risk in people with insomnia. Says primary author Linda Oliver, MA, clinical research coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania Behavioral Sleep Medicine […]
I have been having a difficult time writing the “Mindful Monday” posts lately because I’m the opposite of mindful these days. You know how the Buddhist monks talk about the swinging monkeys of the brain, and how you need to tame them? Well, my monkeys have just spotted a jungle gym inside a McDonald’s and […]
Had depression not killed my godmother–my mom’s sister–and had it not made a pretty good attempt at ending my life, I doubt I would admit to anyone that I pack my suitcase full of the old-people container of meds. It’s hard enough to list them all at the doctor’s office with a straight face, much […]
As a manic-depressive, my postcard from the Caribbean would say, “Having a ball, wish I were dead.” (My guardian angel, Ann, came up with that one.) That’s how moody I am. And my moods definitely fluctuate according to the seasons.Thus, my love-hate relationship with October. Typically, in a non-global-warming world, this is the month when […]
In his book, “How to Love,” bestselling author and psychiatrist Gordon Livingston offers 37 chapters of advice for a happy marriage. Having myself compiled stories, excerpts, and insights from hundreds of couples—famous and not—in my book with co-editor Mike Leach, “I Like Being Married,” I recognized the wisdom in his simple suggestions. I chose four […]
From my archives … Many of you may have seen the Ted video by Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist and spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center who survived a stroke in 1996, at age 37, to describe the shifts in her brain that took place as part of her recovery. Fascinating stuff. And […]
Two bombs explode yesterday in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people are killed, including an 8-year-old watching his father run, and more than 130 are injured. But there are thousands that will leave the race with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Although not all will develop what we define today […]
“There is no question that the most common destructive behavior affecting depressed patients, barring suicide, is alcoholic or any substance abuse.” Words from one of my mental health heroes, J. Raymond De Paulo Jr., M.D. at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He does not mince words on the seriousness of alcoholism and drug addiction to […]
I don’t really think of myself as having a hot temper. But I do have trouble speaking up when something starts to bother me. Thus, the irritant builds and builds, and instead of becoming a pearl, like a grain of stand does in an oyster, it explodes … usually on the person whose behavior I […]
I thought the following chart I found on helpguide.org might be helpful for those of you wondering if your relationship is abusive. Originally published on Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com
“It often seems that I could fill a practice with cases of falling out of love, so common is the complaint,” writes bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist Peter D. Kramer in book, “Should You Leave?” He chronicles dozens of cases based on the stories of his patients and arrives at this little mantra: “Depression causes […]
In her insightful book, “The Superstress Solution,” Roberta Lee, M.D. assesses the stress level in most homes today, and offers a word of caution about chronic stress. In her introduction, she writes: We’re deluding ourselves if we think that we can indefinitely endure the macro stresses that accompany impersonal encounters, less sleep, more work, less […]
Awhile back I gave you 10 quotes on following your dreams from a little book called “2500 Years of Wisdom: Sayings of the Great Masters.” I wanted to share 10 more on the topic of adversity, because I found them very inspiring—exactly what I needed to propel me forward despite the difficulties I face. I […]
Yes. It’s that season where I compare everything to a pumpkin! 1. It comes in all shapes and sizes (and diagnoses). 2. With enough creativity, you can it put it to good use. 3. You have to carefully monitor kids around it. 4. It arrives in October, and stays through the holidays. 5. It can […]
I fall into the category of the “uninsurable.” It doesn’t matter that I wake up most mornings to swim 160 laps, am borderline obsessed with eating salads and whole grains, and that I haven’t drank a drop of alcohol in 24 years; that I do yoga twice a week, keep a mood journal, engage in […]
