A while back, I linked to Louis Menand’s big New Yorker article about the history of depression treatment. Didn’t read it? Here’s a conversation about the piece–The Depression Debate–in a podcast from the magazine’s website. Meds, placebos, Freud, CBT, and depression itself all come under the microscope.
The Depression Debate Read More »
A Boston University meta-analysis (a study of studies) confirms what you may have already suspected if you’ve ever jogged around the block or done a few sit-ups when anxious, depressed, stressed, or angry–exercise is good for your mental health. “Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and
Exercise v. Depression and Anxiety Read More »
Are you anxious or depressed? Maybe you meet criteria for Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, or an Eating Disorder. PsychCentral aims to let you know with this long list of free psychological tests and quizzes. Test have been “scientifically reviewed,” the page says. Not sure exactly what that means, but they do seem better than your average
Strong reactions from depression/medication/flying-wary net commenters to a story that the FAA has changed policy and now will allow pilots to take one of four approved antidepressants. The story, from MSNBC: “We need to change the culture and remove the stigma associated with depression,” Babbitt said. “Pilots should be able to get the medical treatment
Antidepressants for Pilots Read More »
MRIs and emotional word tests indicate depressed worriers may have an advantage. The study found the brain scans of a worried and depressed person doing the emotional word task were very different from those of a vigilant or panicky depressed person. Despite depression, the worriers did better on the emotional word task because they were
Anxiety v. Depression Read More »
Being a parent is difficult and demanding on the best of days. But, as the L.A. Times reports, when parents are depressed, it gets much tougher–and kids are the ones most affected. The fallout from parental depression doesn’t just go away. […] Children caught in the cold grip of a parent’s depression can carry patterns
Depressed Parenting Read More »
A long review/think piece in the New Yorker about therapy and psychiatry, including the view from Gary Greenberg’s book, Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease: Greenberg basically regards the pathologizing of melancholy and despair, and the invention of pills designed to relieve people of those feelings, as a vast capitalist conspiracy to
Manufacturing Depression Read More »
A vigorous response to the NYT’s Depression’s Upside article by Dr. Ronald Pies at PsychCentral: [W]e have the myth of depression as a “clarifying force,” or as an “adaptive response to affliction” — notions being advanced by a number of psychologists, psychiatrists, and sociologists. Thus, Lehrer quotes psychiatrist Andy Thomson as saying, “…even if you
Depression Good for You?…Maybe Not Read More »
A massive NYT Magazine piece explores “Depression’s Upside,” as hypothesized by evolutionary and social psychologists. [T]heir speculation is part of a larger scientific re-evaluation of negative moods, which have long been seen as emotional states to avoid. The dismissal of sadness and its synonyms is perhaps best exemplified by the rise of positive psychology, a
Depression is Good For You…Maybe Read More »
Study of the day, as posted by the New York Times: Up to a quarter of all women suffer from depression during pregnancy, and many are reluctant to take antidepressants. Now a new study suggests that acupuncture may provide some relief during pregnancy, even though it has not been found to be an effective treatment
Pins and Needles: Acupuncture v. Depression During Pregnancy Read More »