The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 last week has raised questions about who is mentally fit to fly a plane. Obviously, there needs to be some revisions to the present policies abroad in response to the tragedy of 150 lives. I mourn for all the families and send my prayers to them. However, in reading...

Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, was once asked following a lecture on mental health: “What would you advise a person to do, if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people thought he would say: “Consult a psychiatrist.” But he didn’t. He surprised everyone when he replied: “Leave your house, find someone...

Like most mental health writers, I have compared depression to other illnesses like diabetes in the past, and stressed the biochemical aspect of mood disorders in my efforts at reducing stigma. Somehow talking about the gene G72/G30 located on chromosome 13q (that may predispose individuals to depression and bipolar disorder) makes it more legitimate, as...

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 about the complexity of mood disorders gets much, much harder. Why? Because the connection of depression and/or suicidal thoughts is once again...

A woman on ProjectBeyondBlue.com, my depression community, recently asked me this: “You exercise daily and eat the right things. You research and write this stuff for a living. But what about those of us who can’t get out of bed in the morning? What about when you are too depressed to exercise, eat right, or...