People in debt are three times more likely to have a mental health problem than those not in debt, according to new research led by the University of Southamptom. With levels of debt increasing in the recent years, in light of the economic recession and fiscal instability. Researchers from the University of Southampton, along with […]
I’m a late convert to yoga. I’ve known since I was about18 that lotus pose and other positions seem to help with emotional problems, or at least that’s what my first therapist told me, but it’s taken me about 24 years to come around to it. The research is on yoga is substantial and keeps […]
Brain hiccups. We all get a case of them now and then. For some they are fleeting and all a person has to do is to take a deep breath, visualize their departure, and poof! They’re gone. Not so easy for the rest of us. If I counted up the moments I spent trying to […]
Every time I have relapsed into an episode of clinical depression, the first question I always get is, “What caused it?” There is sometimes a trigger, but not always. I grow somewhat annoyed that most people categorize depression as “situational” all of the time, not as a biological condition that can come without a cause. […]
If you were afraid to drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, as I am, would it help you to watch a friend do it first? New research suggests that watching someone else safely interact with a supposedly harmful object—like a spider, clown, small space, or ginormous bridge—can extinguish our conditioned fear responses and prevent them from resurfacing later on. […]
As much stigma as there lives in American homes regarding mental illness, it’s much worse in other countries. Gayathri Ramprasad grew up in Bangalore, India, where traditional Hindu culture has no concept of depression. There was no doctor to diagnose her anxiety disorder as an adolescent girl nor medicine to treat the condition. Now, as […]
A good friend of mine recently considered applying for an executive position at her marketing firm, a step up the managerial ladder from her job. The position paid a higher salary but would require some late nights, weekend work, and would involve more of the administrative tedium that bored her to death. She procrastinated completing […]
Grief and depression share similar symptoms: sadness, tears, lack of appetite, difficulty sleeping. It is easy to mistake one for the other. When people experience major upheavels–such as the death of a loved one or pet, a move to a different community, or dealing with a life-threatening illness in a loved one or yourself—it is […]
Awhile back I mentioned a few strategies that help me be productive at work. Everyday Health’s Madeline Vann names 8 Career Success Strategies for Bipolar Disorder in a recent feature. I excerpted from her piece below: 1. Set Up Some Structure “Ideally a very structured work environment would go a long way to preventing stressors,” says […]
I need all the pep talks I can get. The following are my favorite quotes on courage. Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. –Rollo May You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear […]
Insomnia is aggravated and perpetuated by a set of false beliefs. Sometimes we don’t even realize what we believe about sleep–and how those beliefs trigger anxiety and compromise a good night’s sleep—until they are laid out before us. In their book, “Quiet Your Mind & Get to Sleep,” authors Colleen Carney, Ph.D. and Rachel Manber, […]
