Depression affects approximately 6 million men in the U.S.; however, many more suffer silently. The symptoms of male depression are often difficult to diagnose because they vary considerably from women’s symptoms, or what we think of as “classic” depressive symptoms. The confusion compounded by the misconception of depression as a women’s illness impedes many men...

Awhile back Christina Gombar of Exhale interviewed me about pregnancy, medication, and motherhood. You can find the original interview by clicking here. Here’s what I had to say: Christina: In your memoir, “Beyond Blue,” you attribute some of your relapse after a post-college, medicated recovery to a perfect storm of factors — moving, switching from...

Picnics at the beach. Afternoons by the pool. Three months of summer bliss. Or not. For many people, the summer months are the most difficult. In fact, 10 percent of those diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder suffer symptoms at the brightest time of the year. The summer’s brutal heat, bright light, and long days can...

Johns Hopkins just published an interesting summary of the research out today on treating mood disorders with hallucinogens. In the most recent Depression and Anxiety Health Alert, the author chronicles the history of hallucinogens and how they affect the central nervous system to release the right kind of neurotransmitters. Per Hopkins:   Hallucinogens (also called...

I often focus on women’s issues with regard to depression–hormonal triggers, people-pleasing, guilt, motherhood, and so forth–because, statistically speaking, more women than men suffer from depression. However, today I focus on men’s depression, and in particular, on older men’s mood disorders. I have excerpted an interview published in the Fall 2007 issue of the “Johns Hopkins’s...