MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Psychology Today Depression Center' source. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:39:39 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3113421&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Ffamily-secrets%2F200912%2Fmerry-or-melancholy The holidays can usher in an emotional tug of war-between happy childhood memories and not-so-happy adult tensions. For many, the disconnect between how the holidays felt then and how they feel now can lead to cynicism and even depression. Perhaps when you were a child, your family's festive celebrations, special meals and treats, and brightly wrapped packages made you believe in the magic of the season. But now those recollections may only make the upcoming holidays seem like a fraud, as phony as leaving cookies and milk for Santa. The preparations and festivities continue, but the feeling is gone. When we compare our childlike excitement to our current end-of-the-year stress, it's no wonder we often wind up with the blues. Even if we'd like to recapture the December thrill we once felt, ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3113421 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:07:08 +0100 3113421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3113420&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mindfulness-approach%2F200912%2Fhow-not-be-victim-your-emotions When you really look closely at anxiety, depression, fear, anger or stress, you will almost always find recurring patterns of negative thoughts, traumatic memories and habitual emotional reactions. They are our tormentors, the pesky biting insects that annoy us throughout the day. They ambush our consciousness, pull us down and cause stress and emotional suffering. They come uninvited, cause havoc, and we wish that they would go away. If only we could control them, we would certainly have a better chance of controlling our mental state. So how do we do this? The practice of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation can provide a path forward. The first step of mindfulness practice, and one that can make all the difference, is to fully and completely understand that YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS. ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3113420 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:59:30 +0100 3113420 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3210618&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fanger-in-the-age-entitlement%2F200911%2Fbetter-living-through-cognitive-dissonance Misinterpreting the message of cognitive dissonance ruins marriages, a fact that totally eludes marriage therapists and relationship authors who promote "getting your needs met."Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort of self-image colliding with reality. Such collisions are inevitable, as self-image tends to be based on values - what is most important to you - while behavior is routinely directed at short-term comfort, pleasure, and utilitarian goals.The common cognitive dissonance in intimate relationships is:I am a loving and compassionate person.Yet I am not loving and compassionate to you at this moment.The way we resolve cognitive dissonance helps determine health and well being. The following choice gives you the best chance of achieving a solid and authentic sense of self while impr... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3210618 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:16:16 +0100 3210618 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3050627&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mindfulness-approach%2F200911%2Fthe-online-course-in-mindfulness-meditation Meditation has been around for thousands of years and there are many different approaches. The most common forms of meditation usually involves focusing on a particular object, such as a word mantra, as in Transcendental Meditation; a divine image as in some forms of Tibetan Buddhist meditation; an inspirational phrase or image, as in Christian contemplative meditation; or mindful contemplation of breathing, as in Buddhist samatha meditation. In general, these forms of meditation attempt to cultivate an altered state of consciousness, in which you feel more relaxed and more centered in the present moment, and generally more spiritually uplifted by the contemplation of something greater than the "monkey mind" of our common moment-to-moment thoughts and worries. In this approach the meditato... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3050627 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:18:59 +0100 3050627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3042636&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200911%2Fdangerous-myth Is there an increase in suicide deaths during the holiday season?It's been clearly demonstrated that, no, suicides actually increase in other seasons (spring and fall). But, how many times have you read or heard that suicide increases around the holidays?The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania has studied media coverage of the "suicide myth" since the 1999-2000 holiday season, when it was found that 23% of media stories linking suicide and the holidays dispelled the myth that suicide increases during the holiday season. In the 2007-2008 holiday season, 49% of stories debunked the myth - an improvement, but not compared to 2006-2007, when 91% of stories debunked the myth.What's the problem with supporting the myth? Well, aside from the obvious - that, as a myth,... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3042636 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:23:49 +0100 3042636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3050626&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200911%2Fbehavioral-health-vs-mental-health-battle-conformity When I posted a couple of weeks ago about the concept of "behavioral health," I received a number of very thoughtful and interesting responses. A couple of commenters addressed the idea that behavioral health connotes conforming to society's expectations for behavior, which is different from mental health. I'd definitely agree, and I think that's pat of why I struggle with the term. When I was training as a social worker, I was struck by how much of the work is about getting people to fit a mold - perhaps a mold that does not fit them. I've included excerpts that I found particularly thought-provoking below:Mandy Harris wrote: "If a guy walked into an ER, bleeding profusely from a bullet wound in his leg, we would not diagnose him as having a ‘bleeding disorder.'The behaviors associated... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3050626 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:22:35 +0100 3050626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3113419&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-happiness-project%2F200911%2Flonely-and-not-happy Sometimes people ask, “If you had to pick just one thing, what would be the one secret to a happy life?” The answer is clear: strong bonds with other people. If I had to pick one thing, that’s it. The wisdom of the ages and the current scientific studies agree on this point. On that subject, I just finished a fascinating book by John Cacioppo and William Patrick, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. The book underscores the conclusion that few things will challenge your happiness more than loneliness. Without thinking it through, I’d assumed that being lonely would make people warmer, more eager for connection, and more accepting of differences in others. If you’re lonely, you’re going to be open to making friends and therefore more easy-going, right? To... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3113419 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:27:01 +0100 3113419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2991114&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsacramento-street-psychiatry%2F200911%2Fare-antidepressants-just-crutch Recently I evaluated a new patient, a young woman who wondered whether medication might ease her depression. She was in therapy elsewhere, and although seeing me was her idea, she was apprehensive about adding an antidepressant. I did end up recommending one, at which point she asked: "Aren't antidepressants just a crutch?"<!--break-->I relish this question. It is asked in anxiety, hesitation, and doubt, yet carries within it its own hopeful answer."Why yes," I answered with a smile. "Antidepressants are exactly that, just a crutch." I pointed out that antidepressants, and all psychiatric medications, are symptomatic treatments. Despite pharmacologic hand-waving about how they supposedly work, the truth is that no one really knows. We do know that antidepressants relieve mood symptom... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2991114 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:52 +0100 2991114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2987405&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-wise-open-mind%2F200911%2Fhow-mindfulness-can-help-in-crisis In a crisis, we’re likely to resist change and give in to fear of the unknown. Yet the ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness, remaining fully aware of what you are experiencing in the present moment, is the key to bringing yourself out of suffering and back into happiness. Mindfulness is a process of linking awareness with attention in order to develop, expand, and enhance both. It results in more focused and heightened concentration: You observe your thoughts and feelings rather than become immersed in them. You become aware that you have two selves, the self that’s having the experience and the self that is witnessing it and is separate from it. First, you allow this witnessing self to emerge in your consciousness. Then, instead of thinking about, analyzing, and building upon a se... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2987405 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:38:56 +0100 2987405 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2987406&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mindfulness-approach%2F200911%2Fonline-psychotherapy-is-effective There has been a growing interest in Online Therapy using email, correspondence and live video conferencing using Skype or similar free services. The convenience of this approach for the client is very apparent: The client can take control of the process, paying only for the time that he or she wants to pay for. The client can have his session at a time that is convenient to him, and can take the time to compose his email questions and feedback at his leisure, instead of feeling pressured to perform during a traditional session. Of course, not having to take time off work to drive to a therapist's office is always a plus. Generally the cost for online sessions is much lower too since the therapist doesn't have to pay for office space. Generally, it is well recognized that if you make thera... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2987406 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:23:30 +0100 2987406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2983564&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200911%2Fwhy-do-we-dream-five-modern-theories Freud said that whether we intend it or not, we're all poets. That's because on most nights, we dream. And dreams are lot like poetry, in that in both things, we express our internal life in similar ways. We use images more than words; we combine incongruent elements to evoke emotion in a more efficient way than wordier descriptions can; and we use unconscious and tangential associations rather than logic to tell a story.Freud essentially called dreams those poems we tell ourselves at night in order to experience our unconscious wishes as real. Dreams allow us to be what we cannot be, and to say what we do not say, in our more repressed daily lives. For instance, if I dream about burning my workplace down, it's probably because I want to dominate the workplace but am too nervous to admit t... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2983564 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:17:53 +0100 2983564 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2983565&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcharting-the-depths%2F200911%2Fthe-tragic-consequences-depression-stigma Yesterday, Robert Enke, 32, and a goalkeeper on Germany's national soccer team, committed suicide by stepping in front of a train in Hanover, Germany. Read these links for more on this terribly tragic story. There will be many analyses trying to explain why someone who had so many gifts could be brought to such a violent and self-destructive end. While I have little insight into the why, it is clear that this story is a profound demonstration that depression stigma can have devastating consequences. Enke suffered from serious depression. For many years. Privately. I find it heartbreaking that Enke would apologize for keeping his depression a secret from the public in his suicide note. That Enke felt that he had to keep his depression to himself *FOR YEARS* is ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2983565 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:28:52 +0100 2983565 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2979674&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhope-today%2F200911%2Fhope-rage-and-fort-hood Greetings Welcome to my blog. My name is Tony Scioli (pronounced "showli"). I am a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology who has been studying hope for several decades. For the past 10 years I have been working on a new theory of hope. Along the way, I've written two books on the topic as well as conducting a number of related experiments and developing tests to measure hope and hopelessness. Starting today, I will be blogging on hope for Psychology Today (Hence the title for this post, "Hope for Today"). In this first post, my intention was to devote most of this blog to giving you a sense of my general perspective on psychology, and introduce you to my way of understanding hope. But with news of the recent events at Fort Hood in Texas, I am going to shift my focus to this tra... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2979674 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:55:44 +0100 2979674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2979675&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fbuy-or-not-buy%2F200911%2Fholidays-beckon-whats-overshopper-do Consciousness is the watchword for problem shoppers, particularly as the holiday season approaches, and most particularly amidst all the over-optimistic talk of economic recovery. Consciousness means not allowing yourself to shop as a way of trying to satisfy emotional needs. It means becoming aware of what triggers your shopping urges and genuinely acknowledging their consequences: financial, familial, at work, and with friends. And it means distinguishing your wants from your needs, as well as recognizing that many of those wants have been foisted on you by a massive and highly sophisticated marketing machine, rarely with your best interests at heart.Since retailers make much of their year's profit over the holidays, expect to be bombarded with highly stimulating ads these next months. G... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2979675 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:39:09 +0100 2979675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2976064&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fbuy-or-not-buy%2F200911%2Fwhats-overshopper-do Consciousness is the watchword for problem shoppers, particularly as the holiday season approaches, and most particularly amidst all the over-optimistic talk of economic recovery. Consciousness means not allowing yourself to shop as a way of trying to satisfy emotional needs. It means becoming aware of what triggers your shopping urges and genuinely acknowledging their consequences: financial, familial, at work, and with friends. And it means distinguishing your wants from your needs, as well as recognizing that many of those wants have been foisted on you by a massive and highly sophisticated marketing machine, rarely with your best interests at heart.Since retailers make much of their year's profit over the holidays, expect to be bombarded with highly stimulating ads these next months. G... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2976064 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:39:09 +0100 2976064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2972946&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhuman-nature%2F200911%2Fwhat-does-it-mean-say-well-adapt-big-cities-and-little-nature A reader posted the following response to an earlier discussion of mine [click here]. He said, "We can't turn back time, we need to adapt." But adaptation is many things. Sometimes when we adapt it's good for us - biologically and psychologically. And sometimes it's bad for us. I'd like to discuss different types of adaptation. This discussion forms part of the argument for smaller cities, fewer people, and bigger nature.One of the most common ways of understanding adaptation is in terms of genetic change through the process of natural selection. The basic idea here is that genes that lead to behaviors that enhance survival tend to reproduce themselves more rather than less. In turn, those genes and correlative behaviors grow more frequent in a population. But there are other ways to under... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2972946 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:45:38 +0100 2972946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2971648&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fambigamy%2F200911%2Fself-confidence-less-self-generated-you-notice-until-youre-unemployed Unemployment has reached its highest level in 26 years.  If you're un-, or under-employed this one's for you.  It's for you too if your children recently moved out,  if you just quit a club or ended a friendship or partnership. Really, its for anyone whose life somehow became less populated recently.Until a few months ago I taught thirty hours a week.  That meant I had a lot of eyes on me, eyes expecting me to be and do certain things. It was easy to play teacher.  I'd wake up around 7:00am maybe slightly disoriented. Coffee would open my eyes and then students would fill them with faces looking back at me expecting me to be teacher-like.  At some point in my six years teaching, I noticed that even a week's vacation would make me a little fuzzy about teaching.... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2971648 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:35:33 +0100 2971648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2965730&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Flifestyle-design%2F200911%2Fits-time-be-sad There's no mistaking that our lovely planet has now wobbled its seasonal wobble and tilted those of us in the northern hemisphere away from the sun until the winter solstice passes, and we wobble back again.All that to say, it is DANG DARK OUTSIDE!For most people, the shortening of days is an annoying but normal part of winter, and they light a little candle and just deal. But for some of us, the lack of light leads to decreased serotonin production, a slowing of bodily functions and a steady descent into a state of depression. This condition is called Seasonal Affective Disorder, bittersweetly acronymed SAD.The Psychology Today website states:Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that follows the seasons. The most common type of SAD is called winter depress... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2965730 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:07:48 +0100 2965730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2961673&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200911%2Fwhat-rates-in-different-nations-might-tell-us-about-su Discussions I've been involved in recently have made it clear how important it is to be specific about risk and protective factors. For example, religious community involvement is considered a protective factor. But, what is it about being involved in a religious community that is protective? Are there instances where being involved in a religious community is not protective? From a public health perspective, figuring out what risk factors are modifiable and which protective factors should be promoted is done on a large scale. Rather than considering what, in each individual, adds to risk or protection, public health looks at the big picture of environments that increase risk or protection. In the U.S., access to firearms increases risk, and certainly contributes to this country's high sui... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2961673 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:42:25 +0100 2961673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2957380&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-happiness-project%2F200911%2Ffundamental-secret-happiness-get-enough-sleep I’m working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone’s project will look different, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. I’ve written before about my resolution to Get more sleep, and I’m bringing it up again, because I’m truly convinced that this is one of the first aspects of life to tackle when you start a happiness project. It’s easy to become accustomed to being sleep-deprived, but it’s not good for you. Many researchers argue that not getting enough sleep has broad health consequences, such as raising your risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even obesity, but in addition to those, it has a profound effect on your happiness. One study showed that a bad night’s sleep was o... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2957380 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:42:26 +0100 2957380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2953247&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-beauty-prescription%2F200911%2Fwomen-and-depression In her September 19th column, "Blue Is the New Black," Washington Post columnist Maureen Dowd related the fact that, according to the General Social Survey, which tracks the general mood of Americans, and five other major studies around the world, women are getting gloomier while men are becoming cheerier.Doesn't seem fair, does it? Not only do women have to deal with the "glass ceiling," lower earning power and all the rest, but now there's a rose-colored ceiling as well. The column goes on to deconstruct the possible reasons for women's increasing unhappiness, arriving at the general consensus that because women have so many more opportunities than in the past but are still expected to bear children and take care of the household, we're basically the female twenty-first century equivalen... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2953247 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:26:39 +0100 2953247 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2953248&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200911%2Fpractical-mindfulness-the-new-witness-protection-program For about 3 hours now, I've been sitting cross legged on my green comforter, staring at the TV. Someone, a woman, with too much lipstick and over-plucked, penciled-in eyebrows squeaks and hiccups about the ‘greatest' buy shoppers could ever hope for. Something about this season's must-have girdle that sweats away fat. Oh gawd. I am watching... The Shopping Channel. Then I notice that familiar feeling that's been sinking into my chest, dawning into my arms, and trailing into my legs. What I fear and respect most shows its edges: Depression. But I've learned that doesn't mean I will spiral out of control, descend under its black sheet. If I gently albeit nervously invite the demons in for tea and watch them, the power they threaten to hold over me dissolves. Or at least lessens. I have lea... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2953248 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:05:11 +0100 2953248 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2953249&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Flets-connect%2F200911%2Ffour-exercises-socialemotional-education For many years the classes I have taught at a large university all involved social/emotional education (SE). They worked best with a discussion format, rather than lectures, in seminars of about 20 students. Until recently the topic of these courses has been Communicating, role-playing difficult conversations that the students report. My present courses concern The World of Pop Songs. In this course we examine the emotional/relational elements in pop lyrics and in the students own lives. The biggest problem in all of the SE classes has been getting men enrolled and keeping them involved in the class once enrolled. I have no objection to teaching only women, but the women themselves object to classes with few or no men. After much trial and error, I learned how to attract men to the classes... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2953249 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:10:52 +0100 2953249 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2949558&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-healing-arts%2F200911%2Fart-therapy-meets-digital-art-and-social-multimedia Traditional materials of 20th century visual arts--drawing, painting, sculpture, and collage or mixed media--have defined the field of art therapy for the past 50 years. In fact, most educational programs that offer art therapy coursework or related degrees require applicants to demonstrate proficiency in drawing, painting, and sculpture as part of prerequisites. But as digital technology has become more accessible and straight-forward, practitioners of art therapy are gradually including digital media as a method and means for client self-expression. Well, maybe...A decade before the explosion of social multimedia [YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Skype, and the like] and availability of digital art making programs via one's home computer or Internet, I wrote a short text on the topic of computers... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2949558 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:25:56 +0100 2949558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2949559&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fambigamy%2F200911%2Fbroken-symmetry-nobel-physicist-explains-why-you-miss-old-places-friends The bittersweet sad intense pain of missing a place, a person, a crew, a time. What's with that? How does that happen? Here's a take on it you probably haven't heard before. I'll start way back with the big bang.  If everything was all concentrated and homogeneous at the origin, how did our universe ever get so lumpy, with separate things like stars and planets, you and me? The 2008 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to scientists who identified the source as broken symmetry. A first pass explanation of their idea is simple.  You know how you can easily balance a broomstick on the palm of your hand? If it's centered, symmetrically upright, it tends to stay there. But if it tips asymmetrically toward one direction, then it becomes increasingly difficult to balance. The symmetry w... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2949559 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:41:16 +0100 2949559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2949560&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mindfulness-approach%2F200911%2Fmindfulness-psychotherapy-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-b Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be defined as recurrent episodes of anxiety and panic reactions triggered by memories of a past trauma. A trauma in this context is an experience that is overwhelming at both the sensory and emotional levels to such an extent that the mind cannot process and assimilate the experience. The trauma, which is the combination of both the intense sensory memory along with associated emotional energy, becomes repressed as an emotional complex, only to reoccur in the future when the appropriate sensory triggers are activated. The basic direction in psychotherapy is, therefore, to help the client re-process and re-assimilate both the sensory and emotional memory. One approach, which I have found particularly helpful, is a form of psychotherapy that combines... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2949560 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:01:22 +0100 2949560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2949561&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcharting-the-depths%2F200911%2Fthe-continuing-stigma-depression Part of the mission of patient advocacy groups is to reduce the stigma associated with depression. This is noble and important work because historically people who have suffered from depression have tended to suffer in silence and/or not sought treatment because of the shame associated with admitting depression. In the US in the 19th and 20th centuries, virtually every form of mental illness was associated with a moral failing or sign of a weak character. Seemingly in tandem with the efforts of patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies have expended enormous resources in advertising so that the public will come to see depression as a medical illness. Given that something like 27 million people are taking antidepressants, it is clear that it has become more acceptable to take m... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2949561 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:19:28 +0100 2949561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2941774&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200910%2Ftop-ten-bipolar-blogs-2009-psychcentral Holy! Holy! I am honored to be listed as an honorable mention for PsychCentral's annual top Bipolar Blogs of 2009. Sandra Kiume compiled a list of 10 stellar blogs. And what great blogs they are: witty, informative, controversial, personal, raw, intimate, funny, moving, incisive are just a few words I would use to describe the range and style of these Top Ten. So to be listed in the company of these well established, well written blogs, I am truly excited (not that bad, over the top, gonna run down the street naked kind of excited - but just your good ol' fashioned happy to be living kind of excited). It feels so good to be part of this very honest, very important growing virtual community. Here is the Top Ten List for 2009: 1. The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive2. The Trouble With Spiko... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2941774 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:41:33 +0100 2941774 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2941775&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fminding-the-nations-health%2F200910%2Frecovery-americans-mental-health As Congress and the administration consider a new stimulus, they need to repair the recession's damage to Americans' mental health. We are seeing what we've known for decades: job losses and economic uncertainty increase the rate of psychiatric symptoms, the rate for suicide and the demand for mental health services. Calls this year to suicide crisis lines have increased sharply, with a large percentage linked to economic distress. A just released national survey found that jobless Americans are four times more likely than those with jobs to report severe levels of psychiatric symptoms. They also are four times more likely to have thought of killing themselves. Even those who have full-time employment but who were forced to make a job change during the last year are affected. This group is... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2941775 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:53:24 +0100 2941775 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2937199&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fliving-around-the-blues%2F200910%2Fin-celebration-insanity   Jeanette Winterson writes in praise of the crackup. And I am reminded of a year-long project when it seemed imperative to celebrate the creativity born of madness. (Or the madness born of creativity?). Sometimes madness must be justified. Sometimes - because every effort to weed it out has failed and it remains rooted, in my case, in the deep, dark ringed eyes of my mother who stared at me mournfully across the breakfast table whilst she feebly pushed a slice of toast around her plate - it must be celebrated. For what else is there? It remained soggily in residence anyway, saturating her every sense and by cold, seeping association, mine too. It's there. That's that. Acceptance is good, acceptance is a start. But often it isn't enough. To seek some redeeming quality, some bright lit... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2937199 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:43:15 +0100 2937199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2937200&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fprescriptions-life%2F200910%2Fis-depression-contagious-how-i-caught-it-and-cured-it I took a copy of the October 2009 issue of Psychology Today with me on a recent much-needed vacation, and found myself fascinated by psychologist and fellow PT Blogger Michael Yapko 's article, "Secondhand Blues", about the contagious nature of depression. I dedicate a significant portion of my professional work (including my book, Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You) to sharing my own story about depression, detailing how I went from being a suicidally depressed Emergency Medicine resident to deeply enjoying my new life as a wellness expert/speaker/life coach and professional flamenco dancer. I typically credit my recovery to key elements of my personal reinvention: rediscovery of dance and creative expression; following long-suppressed dreams; ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2937200 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:39:05 +0100 2937200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2933238&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200910%2Fbehavioral-health-versus-mental-health The terms "behavioral health" and "mental health" are often used interchangeably. But, do they really mean the same thing? I've made two short lists below as I've tried to work out what's good, and not so good, about the term "behavioral health," and am very curious to hear what you think.Three things I like about the term behavioral health:-It's a way of being inclusive. Behavioral health includes not only ways of promoting well-being by preventing or intervening in mental illness such as depression or anxiety, but also has as an aim preventing or intervening in substance abuse or other addictions.-Perhaps the term "behavioral health" is less stigmatized than "mental health," so a kinder, gentler name opens doors that might otherwise remain closed for folks.-Behavior is an aspect of ident... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2933238 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:07:01 +0100 2933238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2929623&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-side-depression%2F200910%2Fprevention-works-if-only-we-d-let-it This report spotlights the role of prevention in saving lives and improving the quality of peoples’ lives. Prevention strategies could improve the well-being of millions of children and adolescents and, in simple economic terms, save the U.S. an estimated $247 billion a year. The report draws heavily on psychological research and was sponsored by several major government research and treatment groups, including the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The report is called, Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among young People: Progress and Possibilities, published by National Academies Press and is available (though relatively expensive to buy) at www.nap.edu. There are pdf version of sections available for review on the websit... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2929623 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:55:20 +0100 2929623 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2929625&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcharting-the-depths%2F200910%2Fis-depression-disease-part-iii Mainstream approaches to depression view it as resulting from a disease or defect (the defect can be biological or psychological). In my last post, I debunked several of the main arguments that are advanced in favor of the disease model. In this post, (the last on this particular topic for a while) I consider some of the challenges of creating a better explanation of why people become depressed. Specifically, here are five key facts that an explanation of depression, must, somehow, explain. Again, these are facts that the disease model does not handle especially well, but I will not belabor that now. (1) Syndromal and subsyndromal depression have extraordinarily high lifetime prevalence. Recent estimates project that up to 1/5th of the population will have an episode of majo... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2929625 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:42:49 +0100 2929625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2929624&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fmaking-change%2F200910%2Fhow-high-self-esteem-can-get-us-down High self-esteem is a real feel-good. We admire others who possess it and strive for it ourselves. Innumerable self-help books and workshops have been devoted to helping people improve their self-esteem. But there is a dark side to it that people often fail to see. And this dark side can actually leave them feeling worse about themselves; and failing to make sought-after changes in their lives.Kristin Neff, a renowned researcher on compassion, expressed the downsides of pursuing high self-esteem in her piece Self-Compassion: Moving beyond the pitfalls of a separate self-concept (2008). I'll summarize some of what she wrote while also sharing my own thoughts on this topic.<!--break-->When people succeed, their self-esteem is often elevated, and they feel good. At those times, all is w... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2929624 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:14:56 +0100 2929624 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924345&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Flifelines%2F200910%2Frelinquish-dignity-last      Fact: In the United States there are now thirty-five million people over the age of sixty-five, 13 percent of the population. Their numbers are increasing and, with the reluctant help of the baby boom generation, there will be seventy million elderly by 2030.      For obvious reasons, I've been paying more attention to the aging process lately. As a psychiatrist, I see a select sample of the elderly, but I also have the experience of friends and contemporaries to draw upon. It's not, in general, an attractive prospect.      One of the risks we run throughout life is that of becoming a cultural cliché. We can do this at any age: the rebellious teen, the naïve newlywed, the acquisitive yuppie, the overburdened paren... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924345 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:06:20 +0100 2924345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922292&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fulterior-motives%2F200910%2Fcategories-essences-and-behavior-change When we talk about things, we have to give them labels. Those labels end up having a big influence on the way that we think.. When we say that someone has depression, that seems to say more about them than just that they are sad, or have trouble sleeping, or has difficulty getting excited about positive events. The label suggests that there is something deep about that person that causes these symptoms. And in the case of depression, of course, it is true that having depression tends to cause all of these symptoms. <!--break-->Douglas Medin and Andrew Ortony wrote a chapter in the 1989 book Similarity and Analogical Reasoning in which they called this effect of labels psychological essentialism. That is, when we describe something with a label, we are saying that the object is part o... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922292 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:03:28 +0100 2922292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922293&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhappiness-in-world%2F200910%2Fwhen-everything-seems-be-going-wrong For me, this last week has been a little rough. I've been working as an attending physician on an inpatient service populated with incredibly sick patients, several of whom are intensely angry about their diseases and are projecting their anger toward me and the team of residents with whom I work. The medical informatics project on which I'm the physician sponsor has just gone live with its most ambitious and radical portion and many physicians are nervous and resistant and are acting out in negative ways. <!--break--> I'm struggling to find the time to practice Buddhism, to work on my book and this blog, fulfill my work responsibilities, my relationship responsibilities to both my wife and son, continue a regular program of exercise, get adequate sleep, and relax. In short, in the l... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922293 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:31:22 +0100 2922293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922294&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200910%2Famerica-s-big-secret What's your secret?That's the question Frank Warren is asking when he encourages people to contribute to PostSecret, an ongoing community art project in which, according to the blog for the project, people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.Last week, I went to hear him speak because I, like many, am fascinated by people's secrets and intrigued by the idea of people sharing them with the "world's most trusted man." I also knew that Warren is a staunch suicide prevention advocate.Warren's talk is about the kinds of secrets he gets to see and his responses to these secrets. He shows his audience secrets that have, for various reasons, been "banned" from inclusion in any one of the five published PostSecret books. Warren is often asked what he does when people write i... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922294 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:43:29 +0100 2922294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922295&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fulterior-motives%2F200910%2Ftrauma-and-the-benefits-writing-about-it Psychological trauma is bad for your health. The stress of abuse, violence, or the unexpected death of a loved one can cause all sorts of health problems. People suffering after these events may stop working effectively in school or at their jobs. They may lash out at friends, family, and coworkers. They may experience significant illnesses as stress depresses their immune systems.Why does psychological trauma have these long-lasting effects.?<!--break-->One reason for the stress of psychological trauma is that our representations of these traumatic events are fragmented. Psychologically traumatic events are ones that have no good explanation. The sudden death of a loved one may seem senseless. Abuse you suffer is a betrayal of a sacred trust. You have painful facts with no story to ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922295 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:53:58 +0100 2922295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922296&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fliving-around-the-blues%2F200910%2Fcreating-gaps-closing-doors I think that my mum's illness, its sly and stealthy onset so that at first we could believe what she told us - I'm just having a bad day - coincided with the collapse of her role as mother. Not entirely, of course, the job is never taken away entirely: once a mom, always a mom. But its shape morphs and evolves and moves so that at times it is difficult to grapple with, to grasp firmly, to pin down: that's what I do: I'm a mom. When children go to school. Start college. Leave home. You're never out of a job. But you can feel redundant. As if of all the balls you were juggling, you had dropped one. Or two. Or all three. And it's in the searching, in the flailing about that follows, that Depression can slide in. Unseen. Innocuous. Into the cool gap left by departingallgrownup children. Mum ha... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922296 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:47:43 +0100 2922296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3018071&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Faddiction-in-society%2F200910%2Fballooning-depression-among-women Maria Shriver has issued a report on the status of women, A Woman's Nation, which emphasizes women's growing economic role.  Just as A Woman's World is appearing, however, there is a deluge of "we need to diagnose more mental illness - particularly in women."Here are three women who have led prominent lives in past years which they subsequently announced were ruined by mental illness. All have written (or plan) books that suggest contemporary life for women is overhwelmed by unrecognized emotional disorders.Jane Pauley. As co-host from 1976 to 1989 of the leading morning news program, The Today Show, Pauley was one of the most visible women in the United States. She embodied the new American woman by maintaining her career while being married to cartoonist Garry Trudeau, with whom she... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3018071 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:33:57 +0100 3018071 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922297&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Faddiction-in-society%2F200910%2Fcountermarketing-shrivers-womans-nation-ballooning-depression-among Maria Shriver has issued a report on the status of women, A Woman's Nation, which emphasizes women's growing economic role.  Just as A Woman's World is appearing, however, there is a deluge of "we need to diagnose more mental illness - particularly in women."Here are three women who have led prominent lives in past years which they subsequently announced were ruined by mental illness. All have written (or plan) books that suggest contemporary life for women is overhwelmed by unrecognized emotional disorders.Jane Pauley. As co-host from 1976 to 1989 of the leading morning news program, The Today Show, Pauley was one of the most visible women in the United States. She embodied the new American woman by maintaining her career while being married to cartoonist Garry Trudeau, with whom she... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922297 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:33:57 +0100 2922297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2922298&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcharting-the-depths%2F200910%2Fis-depression-disease-part-ii The disease (or defect) model of depression represents a mainstream view of this condition. In my last post, I started the series by asking whether this approach should go unchallenged. In this post, I briefly debunk four commonly held arguments that are used to support the disease model. (1) Depression must be a disease because it is disabling and aversive. Yes, depression is horrible and undesirable and associated with impairments. Many real diseases are undesirable and associated with impairments. However, just become something is bad does not make it a disease. As Randolph Nesse has so nicely argued, fever and cough and pain are unpleasant and undesirable but far from being diseases, these responses are actually protective of health (without a capacit... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2922298 Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:03:32 +0100 2922298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3042635&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcanine-corner%2F200910%2Fthe-former-french-president-s-depressed-dog-jacques-chirac-and-sumo       The French public was somewhat shocked to learn that their former president, Jacques Chirac, and his little white dog, Sumo, had ended their relationship on a violent note. Sumo, a Maltese terrier, was originally a gift to Chirac's wife Bernadette from their grandson Martin, but the first lady said her husband "adopted him immediately and he became his dog." The dog accompanied Chirac everywhere and appeared to be a happy and friendly companion. The story released to the press was that small dog underwent treatment for depression after leaving the Elysee palace, when Chirac lost the French presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy. This depression has resulted in unpredictable and aggressive behavior which has caused them to part company with their pet.   ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3042635 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:11:17 +0100 3042635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907304&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200909%2Fis-suicide-train-changing-how-we-think-about-preventio My beloved Washington, D.C. Metro has been in the news lately, and it's not for being the cleanest and most organized public transportation system in the country. Unfortunately, it's for being the means by which a number of Washington-area residents are choosing to end their lives.But, Metro is taking steps to curb the suicides occurring on its tracks, partnering with area suicide prevention organizations to develop training for Metro employees and reach out to individuals at risk for suicide through signs placed in Metro stations.Metro is not the only transit agency to take on suicide prevention.The Boston-area T, run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has partnered with Samaritans to place signs with hotline information at T stops. Toronto is planning an automatic t... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907304 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:14:03 +0100 2907304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3050625&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-teenage-mind%2F200909%2Fadolescents-risk-alcohol-use-disorders-aud                                  Adolescents-at-Risk for Alcohol Use Disorders:                                          A Case Study ApproachKatie (17) became sad, withdrawn, and stopped eating when her boyfriend, John, broke up with her. Katie is in her second semester of her freshman year at an Ivy League university. Katie was an excellent student in high school and very loved by her small town. Now, she feels overwhelmed, lost,... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3050625 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:49:53 +0100 3050625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3018070&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fwhat-freud-didnt-know%2F200909%2Fgot-stubborn-psychological-problem-you-can-probably-blame-your-amy This blog is the first of a series. Here we focus upon a simple understanding of the neurobiology that appears to underlie most common psychological problems--the amygdala region of the brain takes center stage. The next of these blogs will focus on how a perfectly well-functioning brain can create significant psychological problems for us. After that, there will be blogs that show how neuroscience provides insights that can help us master these problems.>> Some part of Mark's mind knew that he was going down a familiar and destructive path but he still found himself telling his wife, "You are such an idiot! Now we all look like fools!" And this oytburst was because she had been asked by the school to fix some mistakes she had made on their boy's kindergarten application.>> Mar... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3018070 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:07:58 +0100 3018070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3203129&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200909%2Fgatekeeper-training-prevent-youth-suicide-does-it-work This week, Suicide Prevention Week, I am posting each day about a "hot topic" in suicide prevention. Gatekeeper training is perhaps the hottest of the hot, at least in my opinion, as it is quite possibly the most popular intervention undertaken by those involved in suicide prevention.Gatekeeper training involves educating natural helpers, or adults who interact with youth as part of their regular day, to recognize warning signs for suicide and know how to respond appropriately to suicidal youth. A gatekeeper should ultimately be able to provide a link, or open the gate, between a young person and a mental health professional.The interesting thing about gatekeeper training as an intervention is that we have little evidence indicating that it works. By works, I mean a few things. Do gatekee... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3203129 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:25:30 +0100 3203129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3050624&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fnew-chapter%2F200908%2Fthe-courage-ask-help What four-letter word can be the most difficult to say?Help.Living in a society that prides itself on self-sufficiency, the idea of asking for help can often be daunting. You mean admit that I can't handle everything that comes my way? Not a chance! The ability, though, to ask for help can sometimes be life saving and the inability to do so can lead to many unnecessary consequences.<!--break-->There've been a few stories in the news this week about people asking for help. One involved Michael Beasley, a professional basketball player who checked himself into a facility for depression . Then there was a report that Melanie Griffith had - again - checked into a rehab facility . Today, I read an interview with Serena Williams in which, speaking about dealing with her sister's murder a f... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3050624 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:00:05 +0100 3050624 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907302&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-side-depression%2F200908%2Fmajor-depression-in-preschool-children First, I want to announce that I have an article in the new (October, 2009) issue of Psychology Today magazine. It’s called “Secondhand Blues,” and presents some of the key points from my new book, Depression is Contagious, which will be released next month from The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster. (You can click on the book announcement elsewhere on this blog page and it will take you to Amazon where there's a brief video clip you can watch of me describing the book.) Both the article and book counter the prevailing myth that depression is all about biology run amok. Instead, I draw attention to the social side of depression, the many ways our relationships with others can trigger and exacerbate depression. I hope you’ll read both the magazine article as well a... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907302 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:39:49 +0100 2907302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907305&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsomebodies-and-nobodies%2F200908%2Fsomebodies-and-nobodies-equal-in-dignity All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.- Universal Declaration of Human RightsRankism is putting oneself up and others down. Here's an example from a friend in the academic world.I was on a doctoral committee with several other professors examining a graduate student in physics. It was the final hurdle to his Ph.D., and his career hung in the balance. There is probably no scarier moment in one's entire education, unless it's the first day of kindergarten.The candidate was less than five feet tall. At one point he ran out of space on the blackboard and asked if he might erase some of what he'd written. The committee chairman, pretending to be helpful, suggested, "There's still plenty of room at the top-just climb up on a chair."The student turned red, but stood on a ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907305 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:00:12 +0100 2907305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907301&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fgirl-gone-sane%2F200908%2Fdear-john-soldiers-and-suicide A while ago I read a Dear Abby column. In it she advised a reader NOT to call off her engagement with her boyfriend, a soldier in Iraq. Responses from the readers varied, some agreed saying it's just too much for soldiers-they have enough stress to contend with. Yet others did not-one person wrote, it's better to end your relationship while they're overseas instead of waiting till they return, because of the support system that's already in place for soldiers overseas.But one letter struck me powerfully. It came from a mother of a soldier who received a "Dear John" email from his wife. After reading the email the soldier talked to his wife over the phone, then went out and shot himself in the heart. The mother of the soldier blamed her daughter-in-law for her son's suicide stating, "If onl... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907301 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:45:21 +0100 2907301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3203127&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200908%2Fboy-interrupted-story-mental-illness-and-suicide Today, HBO airs "Boy, Interrupted," a documentary which tells the story of a young man's experience with mental illness and his mother's struggle to provide him with the support he needs.  If you happen to watch it, I'd love to hear what you think (please comment below).  If you're interested in finding out more, check out this article in the Huffington Post. I will write more once I know more - but, for now I'd love to hear what you think about:- young men and mental illness- the effects of mental illness on family members- how documentaries might help or might hurt efforts to decrease stigma about mental illness  (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3203127 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:14:37 +0100 3203127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907300&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Faddiction-in-society%2F200908%2Fthank-god-were-all-happy-now A new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry reveals that antidepressant prescriptions doubled between 1996 and 2005 - so that now 10 percent of the American population is receiving those little lifesavers!Since many experts have claimed Americans have been undermedicated (like our own great Peter Kramer), and yet the standard estimates of depression prevalence are about 10 percent, we should be fully drugged up and contented now.I know, some qvetches will claim that antidepressant use will continue to grow since drugs don't get to the core discontents of our era - especially considering that the fastest growing consumers of these and other psychiatrics meds are young Americans, and people don't easily stop taking these drugs. Why can't these stupid people absorb the reality that depr... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907300 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:12:20 +0100 2907300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2659644&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200907%2Fchildren-divorce-are-good-actors Children of divorcing parents tend to be good actors. They put on different masks to fit into their parents' different worlds. All of us put on and take off masks depending on whom we're with. I once studied personality by studying letters that famous authors had sent to various people in their lives. I looked at the letters that Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, and Charlotte Bronte had written to three different life-long friends, over the course of their lives.  Each woman had taken on a different but consistent voice for each friend. In other words, Woolf was a different Woolf--goofier, or bolder, or more submissive--when writing to her sister, her close male friend, or her female lover. (Indeed, you can study spoken and written language to study personality. In work with computer ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2659644 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:15:45 +0100 2659644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2655861&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fprescriptions-life%2F200907%2Fhow-food-can-improve-your-mood-delicious-ways-prevent-depression I have a history of depression, though thankfully I haven't had an episode in almost ten years. I turned my mood around by making major changes in my personal and professional life, and will tell you more about that in another post. I'm a practicing medical doctor (GP) with a degree in Dietetics, and am fascinated by the potential for certain foods and simple wellness practices to prevent and treat major medical conditions or diseases. I've written for years about the ability of food to protect and boost your mood, though in some cases of depression anti-depressant medications might still be necessary. That said, understanding the relationship between food and mood can help increase the effectiveness of anti-depressant medications, and may also help prevent relapse. I protect myself from r... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2655861 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:08:31 +0100 2655861 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2714555&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200907%2Fis-it-the-economy-really As the summer began, a group of researchers and policy analysts gathered to discuss the growing problem termed "familicide" - cases involving a husband and father killing his family and then himself. Each report has been getting stored somewhere in the back of my mind, and I suppose it says something about the number of incidents that the details of each individual case have become quite blurry.Up until now, I've noticed one angle of these stories, the suicide angle. In most of the publicized cases, a distraught husband has been pushed to his limits by financial turmoil. But, the group of experts convened by the National Institute of Justice to better understand this issue and plan for prevention identified another angle: domestic violence.It turns out that the greatest risk factor for fam... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2714555 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:45:41 +0100 2714555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2655860&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fliving-around-the-blues%2F200907%2Fwaving-not-drowning Now, now in high blue white African winter (a misnomer, surely? winter? in Africa?) the pool is brittle blue cold. The sun dances a waltz on the bottom, holding hands with the water. Shifting. Swaying. It'll slow and then stand still when I turn the pump off. The wind whips across the water's surface in the morning. Nippy, chippy oyster-grey dawns. I don't swim at sun-up in the winter. I swim close to dusk. When the lengthening shadows are not so long that the pool is cast in shade but when I hope the sun is low enough that it won't seek me out and burn me. A mother with Depression. And an African childhood. What's it going to be then? A mental illness or skin cancer? Neither I say, defiantly. And slap my Factor 50 on thickly so that my daughter asks, in some concern, God Mum, you're so wh... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2655860 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:15:11 +0100 2655860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2714554&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-healing-arts%2F200907%2Fhelping-children-draw-out-their-traumas It's well known that traumatic events have profound effects on cognitive, emotional, and physical functioning in children. Fortunately, many children recover from traumatic events in a matter of weeks, but others have serious reactions that may last months or years. For those children who do not bounce back, there is hope through structured intervention and one simple activity: drawing.For almost twenty years, the National Institute for Trauma and Loss In Children [see earlier post, Resilience Matters in Traumatized Children's Lives] has been "ground zero" for the study and promotion of sensory-based interventions [art, play, and somatic therapies] in children's recovery from trauma. Dr. William Steele, founder of the Institute, has been a passionate, dedicated advocate and visionary for d... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2714554 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:49:26 +0100 2714554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2784615&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fliving-around-the-blues%2F200907%2Fthe-dangers-heeding-good-diet-advice Mum was once persuaded by a nutritionist (who I thought was too fat, given her profession) that her diet was the root cause of her vulnerability to Depression. My initial doubt (flashing red beacon: but we already do that whole three, or is it five? helpings of fresh fruit and veg thing every day) ought to have served as a warning. But it did not, when you are desperate (as Mum has often been, as I have too) you'll try anything. Mum paid 150 bucks for every session conducted in the nutritionist's million dollar home, where we sank into a voluptuous sofa and drank chamomile tea. ‘Have you tried it?' the nutritionist asked, eyes disappearing into rolls of fat around her face as she grinned at us, ‘very calming in the event of anxiety'. Oh piss off I wanted to say. But I didn't. I drank m... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2784615 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:32:51 +0100 2784615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3203128&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Femotional-fitness%2F200907%2F10-ways-avoid-summertime-depression Take these cues to avoid the summertime blues.Summer comes with its own set of problems. Kids being out of school and bored, coping with the heat and the desire to take time off are just some of what we all deal with during this season. Here are a few tips to help make it wonderful as well as warm. 1.     Electronic babysitters should be fired. Letting the kids watch television, play video games, or hang out on the Internet is not the answer. Get your kids and yourself involved with other real-live humans. 2.     Lemonade stands, garage sales, or car washes are great activities that bring the family together and perhaps bring in some extra cash. These activities are fun and teach your kids the value of money. 3.     Dr. Bernie Sie... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3203128 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:34:32 +0100 3203128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907299&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcounterclockwise%2F200907%2Frainy-day-thoughts It rained for so many days in Provincetown the month of June that it felt like it was never going to end. Each day of showers felt so familiar that many of us forgot what it was like to be outside enjoying the sunshine. It made me think of what happens to those experiencing depression. Depression feels like it's never going to end. In fact, some-perhaps many-depressed people believe they will always be depressed.<!--break-->Rarely is anyone "always" depressed, but even if one were, never is the depression the same each day. If we took note, we'd see that there are many moments of nondepression and many moments when the depression is less worse than at other times. When we feel depressed we think about all the times we've felt this way, as if the feeling is always the same. When we're... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907299 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:35:22 +0100 2907299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2655859&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fbaffled-numbers%2F200907%2Fholding-beckys-hand Becky was wounded in a vicious accident, almost 4 months ago. In fact, she hates the term ‘accident' as it implies this may have been her fault. It wasn't. A rocket hit Becky's car on way home from work. She suffered injury to her stomach and thigh, which almost cost her life. She is better now, way better, but the physical pain is still there, as are the gap between what she used to be, and who she is now. She is fighting still. Struggling with staircases, long walks, physiotherapy and bad memories. And with the fear of the unknown which lies ahead - the gnawing suspicion that she may never be well. As strong willed as they come, and just as independent, Becky is not one for sugar coating. Her words, I think, speak for themselves:"I had several good days - with myself, but also with doc... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2655859 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:16:39 +0100 2655859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2714553&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200907%2Fself-injury-addiction-parasuicide-cry-help-or-none-the Non-suicidal self-injury strikes me as one of those mysteries of human behavior. The purpose of self-injury is not to cause permanent damage to the body; self-injury is not always intentional self-mutilation. Yet, the outcome of self-injury is often a permanent mark.Lest we think that it is not happening where we live, at least one state, Massachusetts, added a self-injury question to the administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey examines a number of health behaviors, including substance use, dietary habits, behaviors leading to injury, and sexual behaviors. In 2007, 17% of high school students surveyed admitted to self-injurious behavior. Just for context, this percentage, at least for Massachusetts, is higher than any of the measures of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2714553 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:52:29 +0100 2714553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2784614&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-skeptical-psychologist%2F200906%2Frecent-negative-findings-gene-environment-interaction-in-depr This article, written by the able New York Times psychology reporter Ben Carey, reported that a widely ballyhooed finding - first reported by Avshalom Caspi and his colleagues in 2003 article in the prestigious journal Science - didn't hold up when 14 other studies were combined in what psychologists call a meta-analysis, which is a fancy statistical technique that allows investigators to combine multiple studies and treat them as though they were one big study. Specifically, in 2003, Caspi and his collaborators had found that a specific gene variant relevant to the neurotransmitter serotonin "interacted" with life stress in boosting risk for depression. That is, people with both the gene variant and life stress were especially depression-prone, so that the "effects" of genetic and environ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2784614 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:48:47 +0100 2784614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2655858&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-side-depression%2F200906%2Fif-depression-isn-t-in-your-genes-then-where-the-heck-is-it Highly publicized reports in the New York Times, Forbes and other popular periodicals appeared this week about the new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 17th issue). The study challenged earlier research suggesting that depression is caused by a "depression gene.". The new study reaffirms research associated with the Human Genome Project which also clearly indicated there is no single depression gene that causes depression. In fact, the search for a “depression gene” has made it clear that not only has no depression gene been found, but no such gene will be found. What has been found, however, is that there is a heritability, a genetic predisposition to depression. But it is a relatively weak one that is highly modifiable by en... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2655858 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:39:29 +0100 2655858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2714552&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-99th-monkey%2F200906%2Fwhos-the-crazy-one There was an episode of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm in which Larry felt it necessary to discontinue therapy as a result of running into his therapist on the beach and seeing him wearing a thong bikini. Not quite as dramatic, last weekend my wife and I pulled into the parking lot at our local pool; Shari went in ahead of me and unwittingly set up our spot right next to the new psychiatrist I had just started seeing, primarily for a meds consult.<!--break-->In our first session, however, when I mentioned that I was also seeking a psychotherapist, he declared himself a "One-Stop Shop," and told me that he'd been trained as an old-fashioned, lie-on-the-couch, Freudian psychoanalyst. Since psychoanalysis normally requires three to five sessions a week, I knew it would be way beyond... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2714552 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:07:49 +0100 2714552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2907298&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-social-self%2F200906%2Fthe-self-is-typically-community-selves-not-single-monolith We often hear someone claim that a friend, lover, parent, or co-worker seems to have multiple personalities. For example, we may find ourselves asking why is Sarah assertive at work but so subservient to her boyfriend? Or we may think, how can Mike be meek around his family but so brazen with his college buddies? What should we make of people like these and what are the implications?People with many and diverse self identities are typically not "schizo" (the often inappropriately applied term for dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder). Instead, people with many different selves, known in the scientific literature as self-aspects, are common, and these people can often benefit from their diversity of selves.When people have many self identities feat... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2907298 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:11:40 +0100 2907298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2624212&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Ffearsome%2F200906%2Fdo-the-eyes-have-it A few years ago, my friend Ally, who had a somewhat unwarranted confidence in my knowledge of Things Psychological, asked if I knew anything about EMDR; she had suffered some severe childhood trauma, and was thinking of trying it. "EMDR?" I asked, "Is that a new street drug?" I guess that showed her what I knew. She explained that her therapist had suggested this relatively new technique, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, that had been shown to ease symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in soldiers and rape victims. From what she understood, the therapist would help her to focus on her devastating memories of childhood abuse while directing her eyes to twitch rapidly from side to side. This, according to her shrink, would help her to better "process" her memories. ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2624212 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:21:13 +0100 2624212 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2659643&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcanine-corner%2F200906%2Fthe-health-and-psychological-benefits-bonding-pet-dog      On January 29, 1908 an article appeared in The New York Times reporting the decision of a military tribunal concerning one Colonel Deems and his dog Riley. According to the article "The Retiring Board in solemn conclave has decided that the Colonel's fondness for the little fox terrier that had the run of Fort Howard, Baltimore, was not an evidence of mental derangement."      The testimony against the officer was supposed to be quite damning, such as "it must not be forgotten that Riley jumped right up in the Colonel's ample lap and kissed him squarely in the mouth. Did it scores of times. Once he so far forgot himself as to carry off one of the Colonel's boots surreptitiously and the post commander had to hobble around his quarters for an... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2659643 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:06:27 +0100 2659643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2461634&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20060511-000003.html Naturally nostalgic people have high self-esteem. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2461634 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:22:37 +0100 2461634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2578876&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-happiness-project%2F200906%2Fmoney-happiness-realtorcom-and-spaniels During my study of happiness, I’ve noticed that I often learn more from one person’s highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. There’s something peculiarly compelling and instructive about hearing other people’s happiness stories.<!--break-->Laura Rowley has written extensively on one of the most fascinating, complex issues within the large subject of happiness: the relationship between money and happiness. Her book, Money and Happiness, examines the relationship between money and happiness, and how to spend money to reflect your values. On her popular, engaging Yahoo! Finance column, Money and Happiness, she writes frequently about money and how you can use it to build a happier life – or not. Not o... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2578876 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:52:18 +0100 2578876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2624211&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Flifelines%2F200905%2Fpeople-avoid     Recently I published a book on "people to avoid, people to cherish." Among the former group I relied heavily on descriptions of certain character traits that are variants of the DSM-IV definitions of personality disorders: "An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from cultural expectations, is pervasive and inflexible, is stable over time, and leads to distress and functional impairment."     After considering the perils of linking one's life to the terminally self-absorbed, substance prone to substance abuse, or those consumed with anxiety or depression, I was left with a group of people to be wary of that do not fit into any specific category of personality disorder. They do not, in general, seek to manipulate or ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2624211 Mon, 25 May 2009 18:14:31 +0100 2624211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2632808&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200905%2Fsimmer-boil-how-accumulation-stressful-life-events-inf A few years ago, I had a bagel in Newton, Massachusetts with a woman named Terry Wise. Working in a community-based domestic violence program, I met with Terry because she had grown up in a home in which domestic violence occurred and my program wanted to see if she, a local resident, might want to be involved in our efforts to help families experiencing domestic violence.As I talked with Terry, I found out that in addition to her early experiences of domestic violence and child abuse, she lost her husband to Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) after four years of marriage, when she was 35 years old. I also found out that Terry Wise is pretty famous. Terry has written a book about her life's experiences called, "Waking Up: Climbing Through the Darkness," and speaks widely about what she seems best ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2632808 Wed, 20 May 2009 15:39:58 +0100 2632808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2578875&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsnow-white-doesnt-live-here-anymore%2F200905%2Fcrushes-boys-longing-telephones-plus-teachers-cheati All I ever wanted, as I explained last week, was for boys to like me and for people to think I was smart.Neither has been easy.The boys I liked didn't always like me back. They thought I overdid everything. I frightened the poor souls by running after them. When I offered Brett Simon all my brother's Hardy Boy books, he clearly would have been less terrified had I started chasing him with stick. That, at least, would have seemed appropriate to childhood. Mean and vicious --but appropriate. All the affection I was attempting to lavish--now that was just nuts.There were times I'd have a similar effect on the people I most wanted to impress. No matter how hard I worked to provide right answers, or how devotedly I tried to jump through hoops, some looked at me with unbridled contempt. I overdi... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2578875 Sun, 17 May 2009 23:41:05 +0100 2578875 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2714551&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200905%2Fjust-kids-being-kids-links-between-bullying-and-suicid I often have several stories of suicide running through my head. I read about suicide and suicide prevention daily and write about it at least once a week, so it's ever-present. I don't often get dragged down by these stories; I keep them in my head to stay focused and remind myself why I do the work of suicide prevention. But, lately, I have been replaying in my head the stories of young adolescents who have died by suicide, trying to understand what might have been done differently to prevent their deaths.One story is that of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, whose mother was recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Carl was 11 years old when he ended his life in Springfield, Massachusetts, after he was bullied daily in school with anti-gay comments. Carl did not identify as gay, so being g... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2714551 Mon, 11 May 2009 16:03:37 +0100 2714551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2624210&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsnow-white-doesnt-live-here-anymore%2F200905%2Fincidental-mother Some are born mothers, some achieve motherhood, and some have motherhood thrust upon them.In strictly historical terms, most women probably had motherhood thrust upon them, what with a lack of reliable birth control for the first couple of thousand years of our species. Only recently has motherhood been one of many options for females who want to fool around. In the past, it was pretty much how my grandmother (mother of nine) described it: “If you wanna have sex, then you’re gonna stay home for the next twenty years.” I thought she meant “stay home” as in “luxuriate in a totally fulfilling domestic environment” when what she meant was “not leave the house without a small child attached to your person until you hit menopause.” Only in her later years did she sum up her own... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2624210 Thu, 07 May 2009 22:37:04 +0100 2624210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3196095&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200905%2Fdating-in-the-midst-mental-illness-part-3-the-devil-made-me-do-it From my real, and not so imagined, life as a bipolar princess: So Nick, with his Michelangelo's David cut cheeks (I'm talking about his face now...what were you thinking?), looks at me when he finds out I have a weekend psych ward pass. Weekend passes are supposed to be for going home or visiting friends in quiet, healthy, socially appropriate and psycho-social rehab sort of ways - not for partying, cutting loose, screwing up and messing around. ‘You want go somewhere?' He whispers. I don't know if he means meet like for a double-double at Tim Hortons or go like ‘clubbin' it on the town' kind of go somewhere. But who cares? Both options sound good to me. I can't imagine another weekend playing Scrabble and Uno with Jim and Tom. Both of them whine. And Jim cheats, though he sw... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3196095 Thu, 07 May 2009 18:58:26 +0100 3196095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2784613&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200905%2Fyou-say-prevention-i-say-treatment-the-nomenclature-su Part II of IIIn my last post, I presented three stages of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Each stage of prevention takes place at a different point in time in relation to suicidal behavior - before suicidal behavior, as suicidal behavior occurs, or following suicidal behavior.Three levels of prevention interventions also exist: indicated, selective, and universal.An indicated intervention, as is somewhat implied by its name, is focused on individuals who have a risk factor for suicide. These interventions are often one-on-one and involve interactions between an individual and a health or mental health service provider. A selective intervention is focused on high-risk groups, and includes such activities as screening for suicide risk in a juvenile justice population or offerin... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2784613 Mon, 04 May 2009 14:24:53 +0100 2784613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2578874&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Freel-therapy%2F200904%2Flessons-depression-in-the-most-unlikely-films Who would have guessed that a fantasy comedy featuring the latest piece of Hollywood eye candy (Zac Efron) and geared towards thirteen year-old girls discusses depression, but that is exactly what 17 Again does.The film opens on an inexplicably shirtless Efron, shooting hoops. He is seventeen years-old and on the verge of achieving his dream of a college scholarship and presumably a life of fame and fulfillment in the NBA. But right before the big game (why is it that in movies college scholarships always hang in the balance of one big game?), he learns that his girlfriend is pregnant. He runs off the court and into a life of domesticity and, as we will soon learn, damning regret.Fast-forward 20 years: an effervescent Efron has been replaced by an overweight and passively resentful Mathew ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2578874 Fri, 01 May 2009 04:04:27 +0100 2578874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2378953&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20090427-000001.html Carefree activities to relieve depression. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2378953 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:41:50 +0100 2378953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2723800&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200904%2Fthe-swine-flu-pandemic-hell-name "The world is bracing for a pandemic." We've all heard that phrase lately. Jon Stewart ran a great show on that notion this week, showing how various news channels used the phrase "we're not trying to freak you out" while they were all the while trying to freak the hell out of us. Media sources, which drive our economy, get ratings by freaking us out. In turn, we've all got to decide, by re-evaluating details with a critical eye, if there's something solid in the world to freak out about. Facts: The current manifestations of this flu has killed about 150 people. Any year's flu strain kills about 250,000 to 500,000 world-wide. This year's flu is dangerous because it's a new strain, and it doesn't have a direct vaccine. That said, ample evidence shows that two existing antiviral drugs, Tamif... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2723800 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:42:13 +0100 2723800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2558829&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fanger-in-the-age-entitlement%2F200904%2Femotions-and-the-value-life Just as rivers employ the force of churning stones and gravel to chisel out canyons in rocky terrain, the innate drive to create value uses emotional energy to carve out the landscapes of our lives.Most emotions occur in streams that carry value meanings, with built-in motivations to behave according to one's deeper values. By adulthood, the value meaning of emotions carries a constant warning: Create value and remain true to it, or you won't know who you are and won't accept the person you've become.On a conscious level, the weaker streams of emotion mark less important levels of value: We want vacations to go well and get disappointed if they don't. The stronger ones, with the most forceful motivations, normally go to the very deepest values: We're impassioned about protecting children a... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2558829 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:10:12 +0100 2558829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2755558&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-your-unwavering-mind Let us try againLeave nothing unsaid-A linear course-I'll listen unsheltered,Not weigh you down With my ambushes orDecaying wits;I'll not sink to worn outDisplay of unhappy woundsIn the maze ofFrugal tales;I'll not invoke the infrangibleIn my beating the light, but stillI will remain treacherously In your mind.T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2755558 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:34:16 +0100 2755558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2723799&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Ften-zen-questions%2F200904%2Fbeing-mindful Mindfulness - usually described as "being in the present moment" - is a really tough discipline! When I first heard of this word, at a conference on Buddhism and psychology, I thought it very strange because surely I was already in the present moment wasn't I? Where else could I be? But then I started asking myself "am I in the present moment now?" and noticed something very odd: the answer was always "yes" but I got the peculiar feeling that perhaps a moment ago I had not been present at all. It was a bit like waking up. But if so, from what? Had I been asleep - half conscious? What?I was also acutely aware of my own troubled mind. At that time we were living in Germany where my husband was working while I stayed at home with our two small children, and tried to learn German. I longed to ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2723799 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:29:57 +0100 2723799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2704793&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200904%2Fdating-in-the-midst-mental-illness-sex-love-the-psych-ward-part-1 From my real, and not so imagined, life as a bipolar princess: So you know when I mentioned I didn't forget about dating and romance just because I was diagnosed with a mental illness... or three? And that even in the hospital I thought I had met a potential soul mate... but that would be for another post? Well this is that post. My second visit at ‘Club Medication' and I'm following this blue line down the middle of the hospital hallway. It leads to the smoke ‘garden'. That's where all the chain smokers hang out. I never smoked until I got there but the cute guy from A3 lights up every two hours. So I won't see him otherwise. So I'm in the ‘garden' - yeah right and sitting in my blue drawstring hospital pants on one of those flimsy white plastic chairs; one leg is shorter than the o... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2704793 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:25:23 +0100 2704793 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2703437&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-deities-love I was young and lightNot yet undoneAn unresisting prey to Profane violenceMany a wound.I was too preciseStranger to riddles andFemale bedsThey asked me love themScarcely understood,Deities of love.I may err on this, butIt was not an easy thing to doUncharted sensesWhat did they really want?Unaware of the privilege of dissolutionTurned adriftNow, I sang their pain.T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2703437 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:49:23 +0100 2703437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2684768&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200904%2Fyou-say-prevention-i-say-treatment-the-nomenclature-su Part I of IIFor three weeks, I've been writing about suicide prevention without defining suicide prevention. I've been assuming that what I mean by that term is interpreted by others in the way I intend. But, given that other terms I use are often interpreted in ways different than what I have in mind (i.e., "social work," most often interpreted as child protection, or "public health," usually thought of as related to epidemic control), it is probably useful to define suicide prevention.From a public health perspective, which is the perspective that I present in this blog, there are three stages of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary.Primary prevention takes place before suicidal behavior occurs. The target of primary prevention is the cause of suicidal behavior. Strategies includ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2684768 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:42:23 +0100 2684768 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2669601&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-the-carcass-love If this is the end, thenIn the self-blaming simplicityI would like to render rightAnd yield to my fateSpinning stillWithout pangs of doubt or Tribulations;PetrifyIn the names of frowning godsTill no trace is left fromThe carcass of our love.T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2669601 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:38:11 +0100 2669601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2612839&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-narcissus-in-all-us%2F200904%2Fsunshine-and-suicide If you ever want to stump someone with a trivia question, ask this: "In which month are suicide rates highest?"After you receive an (incorrect) answer, you can assert that suicides are highest in June. (This assumes you're in the Northern Hemisphere; in the Southern Hemisphere, suicides peak around December.) Indeed, there's a strong relationship between the amount of sunlight and suicide - it's just in the opposite direction we expect.Yes, dark days can make us feel depressed, but they rarely drive us to suicide. Most people who attempt suicide already suffer from severe depression, regardless of the weather. Extremely depressed people, though, have difficulty formulating any kind of concrete plan to kill themselves; carrying out such a plan is even tougher because they rarely have the en... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2612839 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:28:57 +0100 2612839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2361971&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20031103-000001.html Unhappy mothers may breed violent children. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2361971 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:13:17 +0100 2361971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2361972&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20030506-000001.html Maternal depression magnifies a child's risk. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2361972 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:13:16 +0100 2361972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2519935&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-turns-life The last I saw was her stareSentencing meBehind darkened walls,Hell-bent in herMuted voice-Plunging me to depths of Inward wrath;She assailed my pastFeverless silenceMy promises Within narrow boundsWhat was it?Pangs of old devotionCould it be so easily lost In a turn of life?T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2519935 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:15:52 +0100 2519935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2525765&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-half-concealed How should it begin?"A heap of the squandered!"Too harsh a cadence.In final lingerings to Far off melodies?Hardly responsive to absent kisses?No longer tortured by any desire?Half concealed.Unremittingly aimless?Almost the life itself-The meaning expunged and erased, andLost, above all, the struggle Against time.Come then, to find some ease inThe uncertainties of No divine origin.T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2525765 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:47:57 +0100 2525765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2551897&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200904%2Fexercise-good-depression-whose-bright-idea-was I am an avid runner...okay I should say I am an avid advocate of running. That is - I run on a regular basis now but don't necessarily enjoy doing it. Although I do run like my life depends on it sometimes and in a way - it does. But why on earth is one of the top coping tools for mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, what-have-you, this ghastly beast called exercise? Everyone knows ‘normal' people who don't wrestle with demons of depression have a hard time sticking to regular physical activity - let alone those of us who find the cemented weight of it in our bones. So much to my vexation, I've discovered heart pounding exercise (running to be exact) is one of my best mood stabilizers. It helps contain my energy when I'm hypo-manic and kick starts me when I'm sliding do... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2551897 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:38:36 +0100 2551897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2567387&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsnow-white-doesnt-live-here-anymore%2F200904%2Fwho-she-is-the-betrayed-wife Women who can’t attract men like him disapprove of men like him. You married him--got him, won him, caught him, however you want to describe it--you’re his wife. His only wife. That means everything. You never want him to have another one.When you’re next to him in bed you want to make sure he’s not dreaming of someone else. Sometimes if he sighs or moans you want to nudge him with your elbow or kick him, ever so lightly, in the shin. You don’t do that, of course, but you look at him so intensely that, even in his sleep, he turns away. This happens even after thirteen years of marriage and three children, all of whom look like him. Sometimes you worry. You stay awake looking out the window and into your own reflection most of the night. You’re worried that, yes, you’re his wi... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2567387 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:28:05 +0100 2567387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2647703&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-mystery-happiness%2F200904%2Fapril-is-poetry-month-interred-longing At the oddest moments-times of Fierce intimacy.You're absolving my empty feat:"I shall not love."You're imputing my endless breachIn a furtive vein;Draining your sad patienceInto my virtuous lies;You're framing my semblance of selfReplete with the worst of wrongs, withinA love bearing quietude. Not thatWe had no bonds of love or Lust;But the time decayed my venoms,Now, all seems witheringIn my interred longing.T. Byram Karasu, MD is the author of Rags of My Soul (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2647703 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:23:17 +0100 2647703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2575153&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200904%2Fthe-staging-susan-boyle By now, you might be one of the 35 million people who've watched the youtube clip of Susan Boyle—the 47-yr-old Scot who never had a French kiss—sing "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. If you're not, here's the story that everyone's talking about: Susan Boyle is an unemployed, single woman who lives alone with her cat Pebbles in the hamlet of Blackburn and has never gotten formal vocal training (or been kissed). She won a spot to sing on TV, on Britain's version of American Idol, in front of an audience of millions, including the critical judge Simon Cowell (owner of a record label, gatekeeper to riches and fame). When the pedestrian Susan walks onto the stage, the cameras pan the crowd, and the crowd looks universally repulsed. Susan's potbelly pushes a curve into her silky d... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2575153 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:04:39 +0100 2575153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572496&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200904%2Fschool-connectedness-and-suicide-prevention When I tell people what I do for a living, without fail, the most popular question I am asked is: What is the key to suicide prevention? Suicide is a complex event, and like most public health problems, there is no one solution. For each individual who dies by suicide, there are multiple factors which have influenced that outcome. For those of us who care about suicide prevention, the fact that suicide is complex can be a hopeful reality. Multiple entry points for intervention and prevention exist.When I think about risk and protective factors, I think big. I see risk and protective factors that are both proximal - close to the event - and distal - farther away. For example, a proximal risk factor for suicide is access to means. Childhood trauma is an example of a distal risk factor.The sa... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572496 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:30:18 +0100 2572496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2586765&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200904%2Fwont-hurt-bit-really-dating-after-mental-illness When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and anxiety and...uh, psychosis (I usually hold off telling people that part) it's not like I suddenly stopped being interested in dating. In fact even in the hospital I met...well that'll be another post. What I mean is we don't stop craving companionship just because we have a mental illness. We're just like everybody else (for those of you without a psychiatric disorder - you may not want to hear that). But we are. But how do you start dating again? There are a lot of factors to consider and it's not like there's an outpatient program for us: "dating after diagnosis", "intimacy after insanity". One time, when I got out of the hospital - I kept running into this guy I liked. I don't think he knew I was alive. I must've been invisible. Oh. Don't ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2586765 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:26:30 +0100 2586765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2636724&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fcrazy-life%2F200904%2Fcomparison-shopping-my-mental-illness I, like 57 million Americans and 7 million Canadians, live with a mental illness. We are people with mental health ‘issues' or ‘consumers'. That's our official title: mental health consumers. Right, like I went comparison shopping for my best fitting pair of psychiatric illnesses. You know: ‘Oooh, I just can't decide between this really acute panic attack and this moody deep blue depression thing. Oh and then of course, there's this adorable eating disorder - it's sooo slimming. God, I just can't decide. What's your return policy?' No. I call it like I see it - I'm a person who lives with a mental illness. Well two actually: bipolar disorder and anxiety. Plain. Simple. Unlike political correctness and our mental health systems. You either like the word ‘consumer' or you don't. Or, ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2636724 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:07:10 +0100 2636724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2639082&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200904%2Fhow-house-made-everyone-talk-about-suicide "Did you see House last night!?"That was the echo sounding from my last week. Everyone who knows I work in suicide prevention found out about this blog last week, just in time for the television show House to air an episode depicting the suicide of one of the show's characters.To demonstrate the impact of this one show, I'll share that some of my friends' Facebook status updates reflected the sadness they felt at the death of actor Kal Penn's House character Lawrence Kutner. The New York Daily News called it an "instant communal experience." The Baltimore Sun headlined their coverage with the statement: "‘House' character's suicide inspires real mourning." Entertainment Weekly commented on the resultant "outpouring of grief."Perhaps building on the "instant communal experience" it helped... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2639082 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:33:26 +0100 2639082 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2558827&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fanger-in-the-age-entitlement%2F200904%2Fmarriage-problems-50-ways-cause-fear-and-shame I've posted before - and with Pat Love have written a book about - the ancient fear-shame dynamic that secretly undermines intimate relationships. To briefly recapitulate, usually subtle (but sometimes obvious) anxiety or fear in one partner triggers shame-avoidant behavior (withdrawal or anger) in the other, and vice versa.Near the end of our three-day boot camps for highly distressed couples, I ask the men to list all the ways they are likely to make their partner anxious or afraid without meaning to and the women to list all the ways they are likely to stimulate shame in their partners with no intention to do so. Amazingly, the more than 600 participants have come up with lists very close to what Pat and I first brainstormed when we were discussing the book. (We have to admit that our p... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2558827 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:11:36 +0100 2558827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2608648&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200904%2Fsylvia-plath-killed-herself-her-son-reacted Sometimes we deal with heavy emotion by focusing on one rational thing. That's a natural defense. For instance, some people deal with their hysterical or overly-anxious parents by adopting a lawyerly style to all subjects. They counteract that unbridled emotion with logic. And, some people overcome their own drug or alcohol addictions by directing their sprawling energy onto something just as taxing but less destructive, like building model airplanes from found materials, or discovering and detailing new varieties of marine life. Call it a useful neurotic fixation. Such was the case, I think, of Nicholas Hughes, the son of Sylvia Plath who recently committed suicide. Plath was famous poet who explored depression in her famously evocative prose. She also killed herself by asphyxiations in h... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2608648 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:04:19 +0100 2608648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2669600&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fadventures-in-old-age%2F200904%2Fcaregiver-stress-would-you-some-angst-sandwich-generation Despite 2,000,000 residents in 18,000 nursing homes, most caregiving for the frail, confused, elderly is given by family members--people who are trying to lead their own lives, pursue their own careers, and care for their own children. I, like millions of other baby boomers, am a card-carrying member of the sandwich generation. My mother lived a life of independence until the day she suddenly died, but my father descended into a deeper and deeper dementia during the last few years of his 89-year life. And this was happening while I was raising my own children. I became, like so many others, a parent to both my parent and to my children. I would likely not have been counted among those who was the primary caregiver to my father, but even though he was at first in senior housing attending a ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2669600 Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:06:11 +0100 2669600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2336664&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20041112-000003.html Why is placebo response to antidepressants high? (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2336664 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:20:05 +0100 2336664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2612838&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200904%2Fdr-phil-suicide-prevention Personally, I never thought I'd be saying thank you to Dr. Phil. I can't even say that I've watched more than five minutes of Dr. Phil, on his show or on Oprah. But, Dr. Phil has done something that has gotten a bit of attention in the suicide prevention field.As part of a strategic partnership that Dr. Phil has formed with The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1.800.273.TALK (8255) - Dr. Phil created an avatar on the Lifeline Gallery. The Lifeline Gallery is an interactive online forum featuring stories of suicide survivors (people who have lost a loved one to suicide), attempt survivors (people who survived a suicide attempt), and suicide prevention advocates. Dr. Phil's avatar is a very accurate two-dimensional representation of the real Dr. Phil; the real Dr. Phil has recorded a m... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2612838 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:52:50 +0100 2612838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2519934&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200904%2Fhbos-in-treatment A man kissed a girl. The next day he went on a diet. The above is an example of parataxis. Parataxis is a grammatical technique that places one naked fact next to another. The author doesn't waste words explaining the cause and effect between the two events. (Parataxis means there are no conjunctions like "because" or "therefore"; there's just a gap.) So, the reader sits with silence. She has to figure out what the author means: What logic links the first image to the second? A reader can usually figure it out. After all, readers have psychological skills. Everyone knows a bit about how motivation works. A guy kisses a girl. (So of course he worries about how attractive he is.) And so, he goes on a diet. Parataxis is lovely, I think, because it shows that there's trust between people speak... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2519934 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:23:45 +0100 2519934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2525764&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fpromoting-hope-preventing-suicide%2F200904%2Fcan-social-media-help-prevent-suicide What is the intersection between social media and suicide prevention? How do we tap into the ways that social media utilize social support to build that protective factor for suicide prevention?<!--break-->In this blog, I'll be posting about suicide as an outcome, as well as about preventing suicide. Protective factors, those elements of individual lives, families, communities, and our society that promote health and well-being and contribute to preventing negative health outcomes, are most interesting.Social media, such as this very platform (blogs), social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and microblogs like Twitter, are building communities in innovative and unconventional ways. They facilitate instantaneous interaction and simultaneously, anonymity and full disclosure ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2525764 Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:11:38 +0100 2525764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2680514&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fredefining-stress%2F200904%2Fadd-and-adhd-the-same My book, The ADD Answer, has enjoyed an enormous amount of response the world over probably because it represents a no-nonsense approach for the families at home dealing with the problem. I focused on the primary disorder as being labeled Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) because I was most concerned with the neurological / psychological issues and the confusion of what "attention" problems come from, the brain signature for ADD in particular. There are things you can do for yourself that can be tremendously helpful. I give you this brief history of the book because in my last posts I started reverting to ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactivity Disorder) as being synonymous with ADD, since they have been linked in the DSM-IV. My readers have caught this generalization and made it cle... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2680514 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:56:26 +0100 2680514 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2647702&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200903%2Fdepression-inflammation-immunity-and-infection By 2020, depressive disorders are projected to be the 2nd leading cause of worldwide disability. The burden of Mood Disorders is rising both for the individual, the family, and for the society. Currently, most people who are treated for depression are partially responsive or non-responsive. New tools are needed. One of these tools involves a focus on the inflammation, immune dysfunction, and infections that are often associated with depression.Many immunity-inflammation mediated disorders are co-morbid with depression: Heart disease, diabetes, Chron's disease, autoimmune diseases, cancers, HIV, and Multiple Sclerosis.The brain and the immune system talk to each other, and the communication is bi-directional. This means that inflammation (such as that which occurs due to infection) affects ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2647702 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:37:22 +0100 2647702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2567386&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-literary-mind%2F200903%2Fgenius-the-right-mix-rebel The most rebellious minds aren't the ones who change the world.  Utterly submissive ones don't either.  The highly rebellious and highly submissive can be equally unoriginal.  A true original thinker usually manages some mix of those two styles. A genius--on the one hand--does need to be a bit dutiful or submissive.  She needs to be able to honor and digest the voices that existed before her.  Picasso, for example, spent a lot of energy learning realism before he dove into abstraction.  And Darwin thought deeply about Lamarckian inheritance before he hypothesized Survival of the Fittest.  In other words, an original mind does need some obedience to authority--or to what other people named "the rules" before she herself had a role in naming them. That... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2567386 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:36:09 +0100 2567386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2575152&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fadventures-in-old-age%2F200903%2Fsuicide-mastery-and-control This article was adapted from my book, Nasty, Brutish, and Long: Adventures in Old Age and the World of Eldercare (Avery/Penguin).I'm pleased to point to my first print review in the Hartford Courant: "Nasty, Brutish, and Long," A Realistic and Dismaying Take on Nursing Home Care  (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2575152 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:00:36 +0100 2575152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2586764&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-big-questions%2F200903%2Fwant-save-money-cheer In this study, 33 participants (age 18 to 30) were randomly assigned to either watch a sad video or an emotionally neutral video. Once again, participants who watched the sad video later spent more money to purchase an item (this time, a water bottle).     An everyday example of this would be getting off from a terrible day at work. To blow off some steam, you head to the mall, hoping that the shirt you have been dying for has gone on sale.  When you arrive, you notice it is still full price. Typically, you would hold off buying it but not this time.  In an effort to cheer up, you disregard the price and become the happy owner of a new shirt.     The practical take home message: Being in a negative mood can increase your spending.  So, if possib... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2586764 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:27:59 +0100 2586764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572495&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fsnow-white-doesnt-live-here-anymore%2F200903%2Fyou-are-not-winner I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of finding out, first thing every morning, that I'm a loser.I open the flap of the cereal box and it announces "Sorry--you are not a winner." Now I'm very well aware of the fact that I am "not a winner," especially not at 6:30 a.m.. I'm not even fully human at 6:30 a.m.. But what I most certainly am NOT is in need of having it confirmed for me by the cereal's marketing department that I have already LOST a contest before I've had coffee.Not that it stops in the morning. That would make life too easy. I twist off the cap to the seltzer bottle and it tells me to "Please try again." I buy a candy bar only to have the wrapper announce "Are you kidding? Why even bother to look? You did not just win a Ford Explorer. Trust us, you're not even o... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572495 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:12:51 +0100 2572495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2703436&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200903%2Ftime-health-care-solutions-medicine-and-the-mask-science-part-iii In my last two blogs, I wrote about the idea that much of the field of medicine hides behind a mask of science. I presented a very brief and minimal set of examples supporting my impression. And I promised to talk about some solutions.First, a relatively easy solution. The vast majority of health care professionals (HCP's) care about their patient's and want to do well by them. In their pursuit of post training knowledge they are misled by a never-ending stream of data, a significant degree of it false or inaccurate, produced under the banner of science, by prevailing socio-economically driven forces, such as pharmaceutical companies. Eventually, after decades, the false claims are exposed. Why not have a required course detailing the many blind alleys medicine has traveled over the centur... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2703436 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:41:09 +0100 2703436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2636723&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fget-out-your-mind%2F200903%2Fcompassion-the-child-within  We all have a child within - the child we once were. The pain of today that is most difficult to carry often goes back a long way - it touches that child. How we relate to that part of us is a good model for how we can move forward with the pain we experience in our adult lives.The core of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) work can be put into six words: Acceptance, defusion, self, now, values, and action. Almost any book about ACT will walk through these processes. But we can get a sense of what they are really about more quickly by thinking of that child within.Imagine yourself as a child, and a time when a hurt you are feeling now was first being felt.Acceptance is taking in your history as it is ... much like giving that child a hug. The compassionate part of us would n... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2636723 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:25:52 +0100 2636723 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2608647&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Ffearsome%2F200903%2Fthe-search-non-pharmaceutical-courage In this study mice were trained to associate safety or fear with specific electronic tones: for fear conditioning, a tone was paired with a shock to the foot, and for safety conditioning another tone signaled there would be no shock. Mice that had been trained to associate a tone with assured safety were found to be significantly more resilient under adverse conditions and less depressed by stressful situations than their cell mates with no learned safety training . In other words, when they knew there was a chance to be safe, they could return to their happy place. And these effects were discernable at a neurophyiological level.In mice trained to feel safe, levels of a growth factor called BDNF increased, causing more neurons to be born in the dentate gyrus, a brain structure that contrib... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2608647 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:04:43 +0100 2608647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2647701&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fnew-rules-stepfamilies%2F200903%2Fstepmothers-in-distress Studies show that stepmothers are much more likely to be demonized by the children than stepfathers. Why would this be the case? This is because husbands often expect their new wives to establish order in the household and this can be resented by the children. As researcher Mavis Hetherington writes in For Better or Worse; Divorce Reconsidered, "Stepmothers are expected to be nurturers to already difficult and suspicious children...In our most contentious stepfamilies, a real demonizing of the stepmother often occurred. Stepfathers rarely encountered this kind of vitriol.... Stepmothers had been able to build up the least closeness and goodwill with their stepchildren with less than 20% of young adults saying they felt close to their stepmothers." In addition, stepmothers are more likely t... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2647701 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:48:23 +0100 2647701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2558824&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Frecovery-life%2F200903%2Fit-is-often-the-little-pressures-add I don't know about you, but I have come to the conclusion that many of the so-called conveniences in our lives can pile up and drive us to drink. For example, I know when I text or e-mail someone or even that old standby of phoning - if I don't hear back from the person in a reasonable amount of time - my imagination starts to go wild. This is especially true if I'm waiting to hear back from a patient, a referent or a loved one. These alleged conveniences are supposed to make communication faster and simpler. Yet, they can sometimes put us on edge. I've also realized that nuance is often lost in an e-mail or text - resulting in six more e-mails trying to clarify an initial point. We live in a world that is driving us to drink and we need to reclaim it for ourselves. When some of my patient... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2558824 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:50:21 +0100 2558824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2612837&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fembracing-the-dark-side%2F200903%2Fis-optimism-cheap I have long believed that our optimistic spirit is one of the best things we Americans have going for us. In the midst of hard times, we are able to sustain the belief that things will be better again one day. As I have pointed out in previous postings, though, the problem with our almost reflexive preference for happiness is that we ignore, disown, and deride suffering and people who suffer. Cornel West has talked about American optimism as "cheap" because it exists in ignorance of the suffering of oppressed people of all kinds. He distinguishes this from his own "blues-inflicted hope" in the potential for good in people. West has said that empathy takes courage, and he's right. To empathize with someone who is in pain is to inflict pain on oneself. Unless one is willing to do that, one's... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2612837 Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:03:41 +0100 2612837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2519933&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fanger-in-the-age-entitlement%2F200903%2Femotional-abuse-and-violence-cross-line-should-never-seem-m Like most adults I was appalled by the Boston survey that showed 46% of the teen respondents believing that Rihanna was responsible for her beating at the hands of Chris Brown. Another 44% said that fighting was a normal part of relationships.I don't know how the questions were worded, but I suspect that the survey indicates something I have found in my work with thousands of victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. The surveyed kids, like so many of my clients, conflate relationship conflict - including intense disagreements - with abuse.Because relationships are dynamic, interactive systems, it is not possible to have unilateral conflicts and disagreements; both parties must contribute something, however inadvertent, to the escalation of conflict. Both are likely to perceive their neg... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2519933 Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:23:34 +0100 2519933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2525763&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fliving-depression%2F200903%2Fsmall-comforts-depression This month I took yet another nosedive into the jagged canyons of depression and agitation. I am able to describe the descent quite well.But I never, ever see it coming. There is usually a 24 hour period - when I have a vague sense of unease. The winds shift ominously and the clouds steal the light. And. then, BAM,I am knocked down again. In the midst of it, I am deprived of the most basic comforts and pleasures.I can't converse. I can't read. I can't even watch TV. The agitation and depression vie for supremacy, and I am never able to referee.One night, in an empty house, I wrestled with my fears about getting through another night. I reached for the remote to travel the endless circuit of possibilities. The vast majority of programs featured people humiliating themselves or each other. I... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2525763 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:19:12 +0100 2525763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2519932&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fget-it-together%2F200903%2Fwalking-backward-looking-forward As I was walking through my neighborhood last week, I decided to turn around and walk a few of the gentle slopes backward. I sometimes do that because walking backward works different muscles in my legs and breaks the monotony of just walking. As I was making my trek up the street, I felt uncomfortable not being able to see where I was going. Even though I have very good hearing (dog hearing, some would say) and I knew I'd be able to hear an oncoming car, I still felt compelled to turn and look behind me (which was actually forward) just to be sure. And even though I looked once, I found myself turning around again and again on the same small stretch of street just to double and triple check. It seemed ridiculous that I didn't have enough faith to just face backward and walk without lookin... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2519932 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:26:49 +0100 2519932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2241332&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20030806-000003.html Get closer to your teen daughter and prevent depression. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2241332 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:50:02 +0100 2241332 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2567385&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-justice-and-responsibility-league%2F200903%2Ffour-drawbacks-cognitive-therapy Cognitive therapy is a generic term that refers to diverse cognitive approaches to modifying human experiences and activities. This critique focuses on cognitive therapy that focuses on altering negative self concepts. This approach is based on the theories developed by A. Beck and A. Ellis. The self-focused cognitive approach assumes that it is irrational or negative cognitive beliefs about the self, rather than negative activating experiences, that lead to negative emotional states (e.g., depression or anxiety) and dysfunctional behavior. The behavior includes a sense of defeat and the withdrawal of investment in people and in conventional goals, as well as an intensified sense of vulnerability. The purpose of cognitive therapy is to restructure the client's irrational/negative/distorted... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2567385 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:08:08 +0100 2567385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2575151&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-playing-field%2F200903%2Fmy-head-hurts-the-growing-problem-brain-injury-in-sports On February 10, the Concussion Panel, an assortment of hockey experts including ex-pros like Eric Lindros and specialists like Dr. Charles Tator, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, gathered together to review the problems of long term brain injury in their sport. They then suggested the essentially unthinkable: that fighting should be banned from hockey. Personally, I'm an indifferent. I think there's no sport that works better in person and worse on TV than hockey and since I live in a state without a team my interest is limited to a few games during the playoffs and the occasional finals. I don't watch the game enough to miss the fights, but die-hard fans hate the idea of a ban. Not only do fans enjoy a good fight, but experts have also argued that without fighting t... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2575151 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:39:47 +0100 2575151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572494&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fadventures-in-old-age%2F200902%2Fthe-law-life-or-is-assisted-living-living At the Roarke'a Drift Retirement Community, I meet Mrs. Rita MacKenzie. It's a medium-grade assisted-living center. The couches in the common area are fabric, not leather. The carpet could be thicker. I hear a hollow thud from the cheap construction materials as my big frame walks down the corridors to the McKenzie apartment. Each apartment has some pictures by the door. I pass a photo of the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge, a model sailing ship, the rocky coast of Maine, a resident's photo along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At Mrs. MacKenzie's door is a photo of what I learn is the Canadian Rockies and there's a little display shelf too with a replica of the Eiffel Tower. They tell me Mrs. MacKenzie won't leave her room. Her meals are brought in from the dining room by her aide w... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572494 Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:44:28 +0100 2572494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2586763&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200902%2Fmeditation-oatmeal Several years ago I meditated on a bowl of oatmeal. It just happened (no drugs were involved, promise). I focused on the oatmeal in my bowl, and every other thought was gone. I became aware of the miracle in my bowl. I thought of the enormous web of people involved in bringing the oatmeal to my table: the employees of the company that produced the seeds and the fertilizers, the steel and rubber plant employees that built the many different types of trucks that transported the seeds and other ingredients and made the machines that tilled the fields, the drivers, the thousands of people that worked to make the gasoline for those trucks, the plant that manufactured the paper, the inks, the glue for the packaging, the people that built and maintained the power lines for these factories. On and... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2586763 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:53:11 +0100 2586763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2216941&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20030401-000010.html Determining the best drug for a patient. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2216941 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:12:24 +0100 2216941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2703435&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200902%2Fdepression-we-have-been-duped-0 I predict, that when all of us look back 10 years from now, we will see that today we have reached the tipping point, a paradigm change, in the treatment of mood disorders. Having been a practicing, teaching, and writing in the field of mood disorders since my days at the National Institute of Mental Health in 1982, I am certain that that these days are the tipping point. In 1988, the western world was taken by storm by Prozac. Patient's were seemingly freed from difficult side effects which plagued them. They had not yet learned that there were other side effects waiting for them around the bend. Psychiatrists were inflated with a sense of efficacy with their newfound tool. This stuff is so good, maybe we should put Prozac in the drinking water, we quipped. We didn't know that within ten ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2703435 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:14:01 +0100 2703435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2206826&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20031030-000001.html Meditating depression away. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2206826 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:21:57 +0100 2206826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2636722&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-healing-arts%2F200902%2Fbe-here-now-mindfulness-and-the-creative-spirit Mindfulness is the art of paying attention to the details of the present moment. When we are engaged in the process of creating--whether through words, music, art, or movement--without getting caught up in where it might be leading, it is a form of mindfulness. It's been a rough few weeks and I have to admit that it's been hard to focus on the present; the past and future seem to be taking up most of the neural pathways in my brain these days. A colleague is seriously ill, family and friends have been distressed by tragedies, and my work life hasn't been without occasional irrational and uncontrollable sputters and rumbles. The media is no source of relief either; one week it's the "miracle on the Hudson" and then it's back to watching retirement funds circling down the bathroom ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2636722 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:28:44 +0100 2636722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2608646&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fmood-swings%2F200902%2Fno-exit-antidepressants-and-suicide We psychiatrists have a problem with antidepressants; we have been so committed to giving them for so long that it is scary to think that they might be harmful. Side effects are bad enough, but suicide seems incredible to imagine. Yet the FDA came to that conclusion about 4 years ago.Since then a slew of studies have appeared in psychiatric journals challenging the FDA view; a recent WHO study put them all together, and could be interpreted as showing that clinicians were right all along: antidepressants are safe, at least in adults (the WHO study continues to find risk in children, but less in young adults, unlike the FDA analysis, which found risks of suicide in young adults as well).My problem is that I agree with both sides on this debate, and I would like to see if we cannot agre... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2608646 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:21:52 +0100 2608646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2177678&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20081208-000001.html Some people experience an intense kind of grief. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2177678 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:06:33 +0100 2177678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2177679&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20020802-000003.html Does grief therapy really have positive effects? (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2177679 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:17:41 +0100 2177679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2169884&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20081103-000001.html How one reacts to an abortion will depend on temperament. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2169884 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:06:40 +0100 2169884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2558822&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fmy-life-aspergers%2F200902%2Fthe-danger-diagnosis In my last post I talked about the value of self knowledge in the context of neuro-psychological testing. I said, "There is no downside to testing." Several readers took me to task for that, pointing out that there can be a downside . . . learning that you are officially "different" can be a crushing blow to the psyche.I have thought about that point quite a bit. Frankly, although I acknowledge what people are saying, it does not make a lot of sense to me. Why would increased self knowledge be such a blow? ADD, Asperger's or autism are neurological differences. They are (generally) stable conditions, not diseases that progress. If you learn you are on the spectrum, it's not a death sentence. You're not going to become senile or lose your wits.So why is the knowledge of ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2558822 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:47:28 +0100 2558822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2612836&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fin-practice%2F200902%2Fantidepressants-and-suicide-who-scientists-weigh-in On the question of new antidepressants and suicide, the evidence we have has been synthesized, and the results are in: the medications prevent suicides in adults, and especially in the elderly. For children and adolescents, we simply don't know - and the gap in our knowledge has had dangerous effects.World Health Organization scientists based in Italy and Canada have re-analyzed data on over 200,000 patients with depression treated with serotonergic antidepressants, or SSRIs. With a pool this large, the researchers were able to look past ideation to actual attempts or completed suicides.The study found a strong protective effect for adults, including young adults, aged 18 to 25, and the elderly, over age 65. The medications decreased the risk of suicide by over 40 per cent in adults aged 1... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2612836 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:29:05 +0100 2612836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2525762&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200902%2Fdepth-psychology-and-health-honey-we-re-moving Frank hates where he lives. Every morning, for the past 8 months, he wakes up, looks around, and feels oppressed by his cluttered 2-bedroom apartment. Mockingly, he refers to the décor as "middle period odds & ends". The back-story is that Frank is a very successful, well respected, 57 year-old education lobbyist, living in Washington, DC. Divorced 2 years ago after a very long separation, he recently married a "wonderful woman" who is launching a second career. They live together, in a small two-bedroom apartment, with their "odds and ends" and her ‘boomerang' daughter (24 years old, pursuing a master's degree in fine arts). It's crowded, but due to their situations (her full time student status and his child support), it‘s all they can afford.Frank ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2525762 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:16:58 +0100 2525762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2746985&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fin-practice%2F200902%2Flexapro-and-zoloft-in-cloud-dust Is one antidepressant more effective than another?I confronted this question last September, when I had breakfast with one of psychiatry's leading scholars and administrators. He was complaining about the influence of pharmaceutical houses on physicians. Why, he asked, did doctors prescribe the newer antipsychotics, like Abilify and Zyprexa, when studies showed that older and much cheaper drugs, like Trilafon and Haldol, were just as effective?I told my colleague that I shared his concern about the influence of drug companies, but I thought that clinicians had a tough choice. The side effects of the medications were so different that the new and old medications were finally not identical.All right, the colleague said, but what about antidepressants? Almost all those medications are availab... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2746985 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:15:27 +0100 2746985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2551896&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fshift-mind%2F200902%2Fthe-pathologizing-culture A young woman in her mid-twenties recently came in for her first visit with me.  Three months earlier she had experienced her first bout of anxiety and it had become more acute thereafter. She went on to explain that she had been seeing a psychiatrist who had prescribed four different psychotropic medications, simultaneously. Complaining of a blurred and disconnected feeling, she offered that she was uncertain as to whether the cause was physical, emotional and psychological—or a symptom of the gross invasion of this massive drugging.  I asked her if she had engaged in any therapy with either this psychiatrist or anyone else. “ He told me I didn’t need any therapy, just take the medication.” I gathered myself as I felt my ire arising. This medical professional seemingly appeared ... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2551896 Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:49:46 +0100 2551896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2647700&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Funstuck-healing-ourselves%2F200901%2Fwe-must-consider-cam-depression Dear Readers,Despite a hectic schedule this January, I'm hoping to keep my blog up-to-date with the exciting events in my practice and at The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM). A quick look at my schedule/to-do list:I'm just finishing leading (along with Kathie Swift, MS, RD, LDN, my co-director) The Center for Mind-Body Medicine's professional training program in nutrition, Food as Medicine, in San Francisco. We're also moving forward with our exciting work with the US Military training health and mental health professionals who are working with active-duty military as well as in the Veterans Administration to use mind-body techniques with vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe depression, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. Over 100 of these professionals came to the first... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2647700 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:55:57 +0100 2647700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2567384&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200901%2Fthe-anatomy-depression-part-ii-benjamin-burps BEN'S STORY (Continued): I decided to start with the psychosocial stressors - (being a parent, having an ill wife and parents) and delve into the nature of how these stressors changed his life, and how he adapted to them. Apparently, Benjamin had to take a detour from his own career in order to manage his parents finances, control his mothers spending, and deal with his fathers business. When the day was done, he would come home to his ill wife and do most of the house work. Having little support, Benjamin began to cope by stress-eating. He gained weight, began to experience indigestion, and excessive belching. His family doctor, concerned about gastro-esophageal reflux, placed him on Prilosec. Benjamin noticed a significant improvement in his indigestion and remained on the drug for three... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2567384 Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:12:07 +0100 2567384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2575150&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200901%2Fthe-anatomy-depression-part-i The Anatomy of Depression: Part I GOAL: The person with depression is in a complex homeostatic state, albeit a disturbed, negative, painful one. The task of the clinician is to develop an understanding of the homeostatic processes (social, biological, etc) involved, and the nodal points that require intervention. The clinician must then intervene at as many of these points as possible, at the same time, to re-establish a new more functional equilibrium.THE PARADIGM: Neurotransmitters are built from a number of essential nutrients. The process, not too different from making a ‘big mac with special sauce', requires that certain ingredients (e.g., tryptophan, tyrosine, B vitamins, folic acid, B12, magnesium, etc.) be available in adequate supply. High demand (i.e., stress, certain medicatio... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2575150 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:00:39 +0100 2575150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572493&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Frecovery-life%2F200901%2Frecovery-is-still-possible-in-challenging-times It's no secret that addiction is a disease. It is primary, progressive, chronic and fatal if not treated. I know this first as a clinician with more than 32 years in the field and second as a researcher of co-occurring disorders and psychiatric substance abuse.These days, I am very mindful that while we begin 2009 with hope - tremendous uncertainty and fear seems to lurk around the corner. Our safety as a nation is questioned. We are a part of a global village that has to contend with environmental erosion and financial crisis. As a moral people, we have seen our values change - a diminution, if you will, of decency and respect for others. This is not to say that we have gone to hell in a handbag, but we do need to get back to caring a tad more. As Hillary Clinton once said, "it take... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572493 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:18:44 +0100 2572493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2586762&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200901%2Fcarmelita-vs-culture When I first met Carmelita she was a 49 year old school teacher, with a history of depression of such severity, that at the time of her referral she had been hospitalized twice. She was hanging on to her career by a thread. After a comprehensive Whole Psychiatry assessment (which included a full psychiatric and psychosocial history, a psychopharmacologic re-evaluation, and assessment of nutrition, digestion, inflammatory/ immune function, detoxification disturbances, and endocrine abnormalities) and institution of treatment, Carmelita achieved a degree of mood stability, verified by her family and employer, which she had not had in a decade. Despite the obvious benefits of following the comprehensive program. Carmelita had great difficulties complying in a consistent manner with the recomm... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2586762 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:24:32 +0100 2586762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2703434&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fblog%2Fhealth-matters%2F200901%2Fthe-culture-depression-nature-materialism-and-depression The physical world we have created and within which the incidence of depression is most rapidly rising is the densely populated Western city. It is made of concrete, steel, glass and asphalt. Most of us breathe hydrocarbon polluted air, eat nutritionally harmful or vacuous food (see your local fast food menu or supermarket tomato or strawberry for details), and drink plasticized bottled water. The National Institute of Health is studying over 900 new-to-nature chemicals, thought of as hormone interrupters, to see what effect they have on us. If we are fortunate, we may have an ocean retreat from the man-made. If we are less affluent we may make special trips to connect to nature, be it at the zoo, or the botanical gardens. But for most of us in most of Western civilization, nature is absen... Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2703434 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:38:34 +0100 2703434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2121934&cid=s_35654_36_f&fid=35654&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Frss%2Fpto-20001101-000030.html Healing members in despair. (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center) Psychology Today Depression Center consumer http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2121934 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:28:40 +0100 2121934