“Live to the point of tears,” said Camus. That’s not so hard if you have treatment-resistant depression or any kind of chronic mood disorder. You learn to take Kleenex with you wherever you go. In the middle of a depressive episode, especially, it happens as naturally as sneezing or blowing your nose. Two or three...

Once a year or so I’m tempted to shave my head like I’m going through chemo to make my depression visible to others. I’m thinking if I pulled a Sinead O’Connor, people would take the illness seriously. I saw a commercial the other day for some leukemia association, and I was jealous. I know that’s...

Five years ago, a talented artist, Anya Getter, painted a beautiful piece for me (shown here) and sent it to me as a gift. You have to look closely to see the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” It sits on my bed stand so it’s the first thing...

Approximately 10 percent of depressed persons are treatment resistant. These folks have not responded to antidepressants or any kind of medication. Their efforts at cognitive-behavioral therapy and other types of therapy have failed. Even sessions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have proven unsuccessful. These people are the sickest of the sick, and spend their days in...

A new study by researchers at Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis offers new insight into why vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is so successful in treating persons with severe depression. VSN involves inserting a device into the upper left area of the chest to stimulate the left vagus nerve, which originates in the brain....