A Buddhist proverb says that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. After five years of trying to learn and practice mindfulness—moment to moment awareness, or paying attention to the present moment—on my own and ending up … well … different than the bald guys in the ochre and saffron robes, I decided...
Most people understand the ripple effect of all mood disorders. Depression, in particular, lurks into all corners of a home, into every aspect of a relationship. I am often asked what a person should do for a depressed love one. Here are four quick tips. 1. Educate Yourself Education is always the starting point because...
I’ve always known, from my own experience with depression, that there is a strong connection between volunteer work and mental health. Now a University of Missouri researcher has found that prosocial behavior–volunteering and helping others–is related to the same gene that predisposes people to anxiety disorders. So helping them cope with their anxiety may increase...
Positive psychologists have claimed in the last twenty years that we are born with a happiness set point. Therefore our happiness will ebb and flow as we experience joy and sadness, however we will inevitably shift back to the level with which we are born. Now a new study by a University of British Columbia...
One of the main tributaries feeding into the river of depression is loneliness. It can both trigger depression and can prevent us from recovery. But loneliness doesn’t just affect mood disorders. It has a hold on heart disease, immunity function, nervous system disorders and many other illnesses. It is not an exaggeration to say that...
