Information is power. It can either propel you towards recovery and healing, or it can send you down a rabbit hole of futile experiments and short-lived solutions. One of my largest regrets in life is wasting too much time and money on the wrong professionals and books and websites touting the latest fad or quick...

Have you ever wandered why those shouting “Alleluia!” at church on Sunday morning seem happier and more energetic than the average person, projecting a feeling of satisfaction in their lives that you don’t get from the folks reading the paper at Starbucks on Sunday morning? I understand this well because I have used religion as...

I used to think that once you put down the drink, you were fixed; that once you conjured up the courage to quit your addiction, the hard work was over. But addicts are never really cured. Like cancer survivors, they simply stay in remission for the duration of their lives. There is always a person,...

Some of the best physicians are wounded healers, those who have walked through the pain of depression themselves only to emerge on the other side to help others. Dr. Thomas Franklin is among them. Medical director of The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt, he is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School...

I am reposting this blog because I continue to be irritated by the inaccurate association between mental illness and violence. Every time there is a tragedy like the Germanwings crash in which the murderer is suspected of (or is documented with) mental problems, my job as a health advocate who tries to educate the public...