Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best solutions. After a stressful day at work, or if you’re in the middle of trying to solve a problem, or if you want to jump start your creativity, walking – apparently – helps. Walking lowers your blood pressure, improves memory, and strengths your immune system. According to author […]
Addicted to Love? What Real-Life Sex Addiction Is.
Singer Robert Palmer’s 1986 megahit “Addicted to Love” – along with its memorable music video – has become a cultural stable in the United States since its release. Few people may not know, however, that being addicted to love, or, more accurately, being addicted to sex, is a real problem that remains problematic for some […]
The Pill: What to Know about SSRIs and Treating Depression and Anxiety
According to authors E. Siobhan Mitchell and David J. Triggle, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are more than just a category of pharmaceutical drugs . . . these pills have taken on their own cultural significance. Developed in the 1980s as a second wave of drugs aimed to treat depression and anxiety (and in some […]
The Art of Not Caring: When Deciding What Matters and What Doesn’t, Sometimes It’s Better to “Not Try”
OK . . . So, the title of this article may sound a little strange. I mean, who doesn’t want to not try at something? But I recent read New York Times bestselling author Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F____” . . . and, the book, which at first did not […]
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): What is It? How Is It Treated?
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a mental health disorder that – to put it simply – impacts the quality of a person’s life in social situations. Sure, “Some of us feel some nervousness in social situations, don’t we?” you may be thinking. True. But the difference between feeling some nervousness in social encounters and having […]
Daylight Savings Time Just Happened: What Does It Mean for Your Mental Health?
If you’re like me, you may not be happy that after turning the clocks back this weekend, the sun will be setting around 5pm. And this is only the beginning. In the Northern Latitudes, the sunlight begins to fade more and more until – toward the end of December – the darkness reaches its zenith […]
October is National ADHD Awareness Month: Why It Matters
Those who suffer from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may find it hard to sit still, concentrate, or follow through on finishing a task. In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers and clinicians were just beginning to understand the disorder, and, since then, there has been a flood of new information about ADHD, and now it remains […]
Why Meditation Matters
Asking “Why Meditation Matters?” is a deceptively simple question. Upon closer inspection, however, an individual may learn that meditation – though not intended to be cumbersome or difficult – actually takes some practice to master. Meditation comes in many forms: walking meditation, breathing meditation, sitting meditation, standing meditation . . . but most types of […]
Solitude: When It’s OK to be Alone
At most times and in most places – at least in Western Cultures – there appears to be a stigma toward those who choose to be alone. Not just romantically but also generally. Who would rather stay home on a Saturday night, when all of your friends are going to a party? Who would opt […]
Recurrences of Depressive Episodes
Those who suffer from depressive episodes may understand how debilitating it can be. According to the authors of a recent study, about half of the people who suffer from a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) for the first time will also experience reoccurrences. This means that the likelihood of experiencing more than one MDE is about […]