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...

Brain hiccups. We all get a case of them now and then. For some they are fleeting and all a person has to do is to take a deep breath, visualize their departure, and poof! They’re gone. Not so easy for the rest of us. If I counted up the moments I spent trying to...

Every time I have relapsed into an episode of clinical depression, the first question I always get is, “What caused it?” There is sometimes a trigger, but not always. I grow somewhat annoyed that most people categorize depression as “situational” all of the time, not as a biological condition that can come without a cause....

Grief and depression share similar symptoms: sadness, tears, lack of appetite, difficulty sleeping. It is easy to mistake one for the other. When people experience major upheavels–such as the death of a loved one or pet, a move to a different community, or dealing with a life-threatening illness in a loved one or yourself—it is...

A review in the journal “Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience” awhile back highlighted certain medications that can cause depression. The following medications should be used cautiously in people with current or prior depression, or those who are otherwise at high risk for depression: Barbiturates Vigabatrin (Sabril) Topiramate (Topamax) Flunarizine Corticosteroids Mefloquine Efavirenz (Sustiva) Inteferon-alpha These medications...