Deep breathing has become increasingly important in my recovery from depression and anxiety because I recognize that shallow breath contributes to my panic. In fact, at my worst hours, I would use a paper bag to keep from hyperventilating. The practice of deep breathing stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), responsible for activities that occur...

Recently I described symptoms of panic: Indecision: sorting the laundry is excruciating. My God! I don’t know if these plaid shorts go into pastels or darks. They include both light and dark colors! Guilt: I’ve given my husband a rash because I’m causing him stress and stress does evil things, shame on me. I’ve also...

A new study from Ohio State University and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain, and published in Psychological Study found that when a person writes an unwanted thought down on paper and throws the paper away, he or she mentally discards the thought. Conversely, when a person writes down a thought and puts the paper in his or...

Flow is the mental state of a person when he is completely immersed in one activity or event—a moment in which all of his energy is focused on one thing so that he is oblivious to the world around him. It is a single-mindedness that harnesses all emotions into one action to produce a kind of...

My most popular post is the gallery, “12 Depression Busters.” But those suggestions were actually a response to Beyond Blue reader Peg’s query on how to stop smoking. They absolutely do help a person fight depression and the ongoing war against negative thoughts; however they were designed as techniques to use when getting pulled into...