I’m considering building an ark, because it feels as if it’s been raining for 40 days and 40 nights. In one of the wettest, coldest Mays in Maryland’s history, highly sensitive types like myself are having difficulty not getting pulled into a depressive mood that often accompanies bad weather. I am clearly affected by rain —...

This post is from my archives. For National Nurse Appreciation Week! A major survey by Nursing Times found that eight out of 10 nurses feel they are under more pressure at work than they were 12 months ago, with seven out of 10 suffering the side-effects of work-related stress resulting in physical or mental health...

Gratitude is good for us every way you look at it. According to Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of California, Riverside, it boosts our happiness levels in a number of ways: by promoting the savoring of positive life experiences; by bolstering self-worth and self-esteem and helping to cope with stress and trauma; by building social...

As a clinical psychologist, Mary Pipher, PhD, designed “healing packages” for her patients: activities, resources, and comforts to help them recover from trauma. Then, after Dr. Pipher’s book Reviving Ophelia became a runaway best-seller, she herself suffered from an episode of major depression and designed a healing package of her own. “The essence of my personal healing package,”...

January 24 is on record as being the most depressing day of the year. It’s not hard to figure out why. The bills come in from all those generous gifts you gave back when the holiday spirit had you feeling rich. The resolutions you made on December 31 are, well, broken. And it’s cold, dark,...