In the fall and winter, we’re especially vulnerable to a form of depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or winter depression, which is related to shorter days and a lack of sunlight. Fortunately, there are several effective treatments for SAD including light therapy, antidepressants, talk therapy, and self-care. With light…
Depression is characterized by, well, a depressed state. Those who develop the condition present this state of despair as well as a loss of interest or pleasure in day to day life. The remaining characteristics can vary… and be mistaken for another illness entirely—the flu. This makes distinguishing the difference…
Teens and other young individuals overuse the term depression: they say they’re “depressed,” when they’re anything but perfectly happy. This is a problem, as it blurs the line between being experiencing normal emotions and being clinically depressed. The answer to this problem is to help young people understand that life…
Counselors are seeing a rise in young people seeking counseling for depression. One reason so many young people are dealing with depression is because they’re socially isolated thanks to increasing social media use. The good news is that while this problem is concerning, it can be corrected: we can take…
It’s often scary to be diagnosed with depression or experience depressive thoughts, but it can be especially frightening for teens. Fortunately, there are helpful resources readily available to teens on their smartphones. Resources include depression discussion guides, crisis text lines, and an app that comes with a depression test and…
A few days ago, I was having an initial session with a new client. She works at a well-known New York Investment Banking company, a job she felt extremely proud to have. Like me, she was an HBCU grad but had only worked in Corporate America for 5 years in…
Many of us enjoy a cold beer or a tall glass of wine every now and again. It helps to “take the edge off,” to calm us down after a long week. But what we often fail to realize is that alcohol affects each one of us differently—and as tempting…
Instead of setting New Year’s resolutions, I set New Month’s resolutions. So, rather than brainstorming a few different goals to tackle throughout the year, I set one main goal to tackle each month. In January, I set a fairly simple goal of journaling each night. In February, I (regrettably) challenged…
If you’re anything like me, you don’t take change or rejection well… which means you probably don’t take breakups so well. I mean, who does? Breakups—whether you’re the one who has initiated the split or not—aren’t fun. In fact, they’re the very opposite of fun: they’re emotionally, mentally, sometimes even…
For some, it’s just a game. But for others, it’s a lifestyle. I’m talking about the players of course, but there’s another group that fits the bill: die-hard sports fans. For players and die-hard sports fans alike, there’s more on the line than a game lost and a slight blow…
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada, discovered that men and women with major depressive disorder (MDD) experience opposite genetic transformations. This study “Opposite Molecular Signatures of Depression in Men and Women,” which is published in Biological Psychiatry, suggests…
An estimated 350 million people around the world suffer from depression, making this illness a leading cause of disability. Some of these individuals experience depressive thoughts or feelings after a loved one has passed; some after going through a bad breakup; and others for no apparent reason at all. The…
