I hope you enjoy these classics. They’re good notes to end the summer on. 1. How to Cope with Depression Lev Yilmaz: If you’re feeling down, go to your Co-Workers, Elders, Family and Friends for help. They are sure to give you great, great advice… 2. Things I Have Worried About Lev Yilmaz: Just a few things I have worried about over the years… Watch more Tales of Mere Existence Read the rest»
My Top 10 Depression Information Websites
Information about depression and mood disorders is fairly easy to come by online, but it’s not always up-to-date, accurate or detailed enough to be helpful. I’ve been reviewing many of the major mental health websites to figure out which are the most helpful for understanding the illness and deciding what to do about it. I’ve chosen 10 sites that I turn to frequently when I have questions. Even if they [...] Read the rest»
11 Relationship Traps of Depression
Depression sets relationship traps for both partners. Everything can change quickly between two people, and it’s crucial to be able to spot these changes as soon as possible. Here are 11 signs of the illness that seem perfectly designed to undo the bonds of closeness. Humor, talking and doing things together, sharing special moments – they’re all gone. In their place are avoidance, anger, blame and isolation. Two Sides of [...] Read the rest»
Depression Is a Free Fall in Slow Motion
Once my kids pulled me with them up to a water slide. I don’t like sliding through winding tubes and hadn’t done it before. But I couldn’t back out of it once I was standing in a dense line at the top of a 50-foot high platform. Nowhere to go but down. So off I went, speeding into a panic of flailing arms as I desperately tried to keep myself [...] Read the rest»
Antidepressants: My Personal 10-Point Guide
Trying to get a balanced view of antidepressants is becoming harder by the day. Supporters of antidepressant use shoot down the statements of those activists who reject the use of psychiatric medications. Those activists, in turn, debunk the simplistic claims that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, describe the drugs as useless or worse and go after the pervasive influence of the pharmaceutical companies. Those who've used medications for years are taking sides as well. If your life has either been saved or shattered by these medications, you'll talk and write passionately about your experience. You want others to get the information that's guided you, but misinformation is everywhere. Read the rest»
How Does Depression Change You? Can You Ever Be Yourself Again?
Have you ever wondered if multiple episodes of depression change you so much that you’ll never get back to your old self? Most people I hear from say: I want to be myself again. That’s their definition of recovery. Can it happen? I found an interesting discussion about long-term changes in an online journal called Medicographia. The editors posed a question to psychiatrists and researchers from around the world and printed their responses together. Here’s the question: Is the patient really the same after a major depressive episode? Read the rest»
I Can’t Let You In
Depression isn’t a one-time disaster in a life relationship. You think you’re through the great crisis. You’re both relieved to have the burden lifted, but little by little you feel the weight pressing down again. It’s back. It will disappear again and then come back again. It kept coming back to me and my wife for decades, and each time it did I became the absent, distant, irritable – or [...] Read the rest»
Long-Term Antidepressant Treatment: A Strategy for Recovery or More Depression?
The more I get into the research on antidepressants, the more questions I have. In the last post, I raised issues about the endless search for the right medication; the discouraging record of relapse after becoming symptom-free; and the puzzling primacy of antidepressant treatment for an illness with complex causes that go way beyond biology. Those questions are only the starters. I have even greater concern about long-term antidepressant treatment. Most psychiatrists consider it necessary for severe, recurrent illness, but others - apparently a small minority - are speaking out about adverse effects of using these drugs for prolonged periods. Read the rest»
