Two and half years ago, I experienced a terrible case of insomnia. I took the sleeping drug Lunesta, which afforded me a few wonderful nights’ sleep, until I realized it substantially increased my anxiety during the day. Within a week on the drug, I became addicted, experiencing more and more withdrawal (anxiety) symptoms. Other sleep...

I have mentioned in some of my posts that drinking a green smoothie is among one of my more effective sanity tools. For fear of sounding like an infomercial, I must say that I realize there is no simple cure for depression. However, I do think chugging down two or three of these leafy-green concoctions...

For anyone who has ever been debilitated by severe depression, there is nothing more frightening than the feeling that he or she is relapsing into another episode. We chalk up the first few days of angst to a bad stretch and hope it gets better from there. But by the time we have hit six...

“Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination,” said the 19th century writer Christian Nevell Bovee. As everyone who has ever experienced a panic attack knows, there is nothing imaginary about the way you feel. I have tried to convince my husband on countless occasions, in...

The standard advice you’ll hear if you express suicidal thoughts is to call a suicide hotline or check yourself into the hospital. Trained volunteers, such as those at The Samaritans, provide an invaluable service to severely depressed people who call or email them in desperation. But for some of us, suicidal thoughts can be present for many months or...