Dancing Through Depression

Wouldn’t it be great to build up our self-control “muscles?” Changing our relationship to guilt is a great place to start.

Sadness is actually very common for many during this time of year. “Listening in” to our sadness may be the beginning of a journey toward healing.

When game designer Jane McGonigal found herself bedridden and suicidal following a severe concussion, she had a fascinating idea for how to get better. She dove into the scientific research and created the healing game, SuperBetter. In this moving talk, McGonigal explains how a game can boost resilience -- and promises to add 7.5 minutes to your life.

We can no longer afford to allow antidepressants to be our sole response to the raging depression epidemic. We must pursue a broader range of solutions....

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to appreciate the link between sugar and depression. Anyone who doubts the relationship need only to spend a night i

Decades of research have found that introversion, emotional sensitivity, and vulnerability to negativity—seeing the glass as half empty—are all common personality traits of highly creative people. They are also common symptoms of depression. In fact, artists and writers are eight to ten times as likely as the general population to suffer from mood disorders. Many studies speculate that this is because artists tend to examine their lives more deeply than the average person and that they draw on unpleasant experiences to feed their work.

“Creative people might be more likely to experience negative emotions,” says Wendy Berry Mendes, the Sarlo/Ekman associate professor of emotion at the University of California, San Francisco, who conducted a study while at Harvard University to look at how mood change can affect creativity. In one study, researchers measured levels of DHEAS (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), a hormone that when at lower-than-normal levels is associated with depression, before people received either harsh negative criticism or positive feedback in a mock job interview. Then the subjects were assigned a creative task. “Receiving negative compared to positive feedback was associated with enhanced creativity,” says Berry Mendes. “This was especially the case for individuals who had lower levels of DHEAS,” indicating they were predisposed to depression.

What's the difference between self-awareness and self-indulgence? A new study shows that excessively using words like "I" and "Me" can lead to depression.

These same studies found that using “We” and “Us” instead of “I” and “Me” often give us a new sense of social connectedness, which helps us feel that we are not always alone in our struggles – and in fact, we each seek to achieve our own happiness.

Resources for Depression

Articles Screen Time and Depression Creating Happiness Lost Places 10 things to say to someone who is depressed New Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression? Finding Peace of...

DBSA Greater Houston offers free help for depression and bipolar disorder. Our bipolar and depression support groups are highly effective in assisting individuals and loved ones with recovery.

A Bipolar Wellness Plan is a powerful tool for recover and prevention you can starting using today

Some researchers say we need new ways of thinking about depression entirely — and that one day, therapy could start with a blood test.

Exercise helps beat depression -- that’s not just a theory, but scientific fact. Many people think exercise involves grueling workouts or exhausting run

Learn how untreated depression can take a heavy toll on the quality of your marriage.

The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Move Through Depression and Create a Life Worth Living (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) [Patricia J.