A loss always seems fresh, even when the calendar tells me otherwise. Depression can really sneak up on you. It’s not like you wake up one day with all of the symptoms, pull out your checklist, make an appointment with a doctor, talk it out for 30 minutes, swallow a pill, and call it a[…]
“Although the holy grail of personalized therapy — be it with psychotropic drugs or psychotherapy — has proved elusive, we’ve learned a lot recently about individual factors that might predict a better response to one type of treatment over another. Dr. Helen Mayberg, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University, recently published a study in[…]
“In April 2013, Insel announced that the NIMH would shift its $1.4 billion annual research budget away from projects focusing on DSM diagnoses to instead concentrate on underlying disturbances of brain circuitry. That means using brain imaging to look at the activity of these circuits, as well as studies of brain chemistry, genetics, and thinking[…]
“No genuine system of mental health care exists in the United States. This country’s diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems are fragmented across a variety of providers and payers – and they are all too often unaffordable. If you think about it, the list of complications is almost endless: Families of loved ones with[…]
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“The problems surrounding mental health stigma are nuanced and far-reaching, and we really need to get to grips with the effect that each different type can have. I think it’s great that more people are now feeling able to talk about their own experiences with depression, but we mustn’t fool ourselves into believing that this[…]
“Since suicide is the ultimate act of disconnection — from society, from community, from friends and family — it’s not surprising that connection is a powerful roadblock to suicide. We’re creatures of connection. We’re hardwired for it. It’s a fundamental human need. So it’s worth noting that this deadly phenomenon that we know is caused,[…]
“If I had to name one thing a person (or persons) said to me when I was severely depressed that made me feel better, it would be this: “You won’t always feel this way.” It is a simple statement of truth that holds the most powerful healing element of all: hope. As a friend or[…]
“I say that it is our collective responsibility to advocate for mental health because those that suffer from a mental illness may not have the ability to understand what is happening to them nor do they have the ability to think in a “rational” manner. Additionally, doctors do not always know how to properly diagnose[…]
