This week I have the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Russell, who writes the fantastic blog, “Practice Makes Imperfect.” Since we talk about perfectionism a lot on Beyond Blue–because it’s so related to depression–I thought she’d be a perfect guest to interrogate on this topic. Therese: What are five ways a person can tackle perfectionism? Michelle:...

I like to publish this story around the first of October, since it is the feast day of St. Therese, my patron saint. I owe my life to St. Therese of Lisieux. A few times over. This Carmelite nun–dubbed the “greatest saint of modern times” by Pope Pius X–declared on her deathbed that she would...

One of my favorite passages on pain is what Kahlil Gibran writes in his classic, “The Prophet”: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep...

Divorce is the second most stressful life event, preceded only by the death of a spouse. And what is stress is capable of? Expediting a severe bout of depression and anxiety to your limbic system (the brain’s emotional center) if you’re not careful. Acute and chronic stress, especially, undermine both emotional and physical health. In...

Below, I have reprinted a fascinating article by James Potash, associate professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Mood Disorders Program (where I graduated with the help of Dr. Smith) at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. More and more research is showing that the brain actually shrinks with severe depression, and that...