My new blog, “Sanity Break,” launched yesterday on Everyday Health! My first post … Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results (Albert Einstein). It’s comical when your husband’s cousin gets caught in a mental “Groundhog’s Day,” but not so fun when you can’t break the cycle of nonsense in your...

From my archives … Today I received this email from a Beyond Blue reader:   “I’m a Christian, and have been struggling with depression and my faith since my brother took his life 2-1/2 years ago. I joined your group for friends and tips on dealing with problems with Major Depression. I feel like I...

Last month, I dedicated a day to the topic of women’s issues and depression: how our hormonal fluctuations contribute to depression and bipolar disorder. Some readers questioned whether or not the figures were accurate–that twice as many women than men suffer from depression–since so many men are undiagnosed. True. True. True. I have been amazed...

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...

I’ve always known that I climb out of any pool a lot happier than when I dove in. Yes, I know any kind of aerobic exercise relieves depression. For starters, it stimulates brain chemicals that foster the growth of nerve cells; exercise also affects neurotransmitters such as serotonin that influence mood and produces ANP, a...