Author Archives: JmaC

The standard advice you’ll hear if you express suicidal thoughts is to call a suicide hotline or check yourself into the hospital. Trained volunteers, such as those at The Samaritans, provide an invaluable service to severely depressed people who call or … Continue reading →

“Holding on to anger,” said the Buddha, “is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” I don’t know about you, but I feel the venom coursing through my veins when I’m ticked off, tightening all my muscles, … Continue reading →

A new study from the University of Oxford finds that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is just as effective as antidepressants for preventing a relapse of depression. In MBCT, a person learns to pay closer attention to the present moment and … Continue reading →

Stuck thoughts. Painful ruminations. Unrelenting obsessions. They are the curse of depression — among the most excruciating symptoms, in my opinion. “When a child gets lost, he may feel sheer terror,” explains Byron Katie in her bestseller Loving What Is. “It … Continue reading →

Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder rarely appear “out of the blue.” Most often family, friends, teachers or individuals themselves begin to recognize small changes or a feeling that “something is not quite right” about their thinking, … Continue reading →

There are many misperceptions about mental illness and its treatment that contribute to stigma. People may incorrectly assume that the feelings that accompany anxiety anddepressive disorders can be willed away with the right amount of discipline, or that seeking help … Continue reading →

Finding the best treatment plan for depression can take some trial and error. Here’s how to tell if your current treatment isn’t working and what to do about it. When it comes to major depression, there’s no one treatment that … Continue reading →

You don’t have to tell people about your major depression. But you don’t have to keep it to yourself, either. Before you share your diagnosis, consider the following facts. It may come as a relief to know that there’s a … Continue reading →