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Before moving on from my discussion of depression to write about other disorders, including bipolar illness and anxiety disorders, I wanted to present the following list of symptoms for Major Depressive Disorder, or clinical depression. This information comes from the National Institute of Mental Health. It is a very concise list of symptoms, many of […]

I have written previously about the most serious form of depression, what is called Major Depressive Disorder and sometimes referred to as clinical depression. But another type of depression is important to note: Dysthymic Disorder. This type of depression is characterized by long–term (two years or longer; 1 year in adolescents and children) but less […]

While the experience of depression can be very similar for both women and men, there are some gender differences that are worth noting. Factors that influence a woman becoming depressed may be different than for a man, and the way a man experiences depression and responds to it may be different. Depression is more common […]

Given that I am writing this during the week of amazing events in our national history, I have to detour from writing on psychotherapy issues and add my words to what is being written at this momentous time. This week saw two such events. The first, which was truly a foundation for the second, was […]

These days there is a lot of talk about depression. Recently I picked up a news magazine which had a caption about how to prevent depression. It turned out that the depression the article was addressing had to do with economics. But there is a lot of focus on depression that pertains to emotions and […]

It pays to have so many magazines in a therapist’s waiting room: One can never know where some useful information will be found. Take the recent edition of People magazine. This issue is focused on people losing weight. And on page 104 there’s a very short side bar about helpful hints to avoid emotional eating, […]

One more word about techniques for helping to reduce stress during these tense, economically challenging times. Breathe. Take time to consciously breathe in and out. Research has shown that breathing is an excellent stress buster. In fact, it seems that breathing and stress cannot co-exist: during that moment, when you inhale, the stress is gone. […]

I have been wanting to write something about the harsh economic times that we are all experiencing. It’s a very scary time. But I didn’t know where to quite begin. Recently someone asked me for some tips on reducing stress, particularly stress caused by these unpredictable and anxiety-causing economic realities. So I’ve put together this […]

I have been meaning to write something about the difficult times that so many people are experiencing now in so many ways. Jobs lost, tighter budgets, a thick cloud of uncertainty. But before doing that, a word about thanksgiving and gratitude. I’m writing this a few days after Thanksgiving holiday with the intention of stretching […]

How we go on? While thinking about this basic existential question, I came back to a small gem of a poem, Gary Snyder’s “Axe Handles.” In the poem, Snyder addresses one of the ways that we indeed do go on: through relationships. He includes a number of relationships: teacher to pupil, older poet to younger, […]