depression

5 Natural Ways to Overcome Anxiety and Depression

Do you ever feel anxious or depressed – especially in these times? It’s easier than we think for our brain to get conditioned into an anxious or depressive loop. In this video I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned over the last 20 years as a psychologist, around what are natural ways to… Read more »

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Denial: The Danger in Rejecting Reality

“Denial was a weapon; it killed truth, numbed the mind, and I was a junkie.” – John Hart If you read the title and thought, “Oh, I don’t struggle with that,” then this post might be for you. In fact, one of Western society’s biggest problems is rooted in the defense mechanism theorized by psychoanalyst… Read more »

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The Critical Inner Voice and Addiction

It would be hard to overstate the massive impact of this past year’s pandemic on individuals’ mental health. Last August, the Centers for Disease Control reported results of a survey that showed anxiety  disorder symptoms in 2020 to be three times those reported in the same period of 2019, and depressive disorder about four times… Read more »

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Dealing With Today’s Trauma

Two weeks ago, I was talking to a friend who has been depressed. Because of COVID-19 and her age, she is quarantined and has been unable to visit with many of her friends. As she described the details of her life and her loneliness, she broke down crying, “I don’t recognize my life! I don’t… Read more »

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Saving Lives from Suicide During a Pandemic

There are ways to intervene and help one another through the darkest of times. The current crisis we’re enduring with Covid-19 is taking a toll on more than our physical well-being. A recent Kaiser poll showed that nearly half of Americans feel the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health. Suicide and crisis call and text hotlines… Read more »

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Experts at Home: Kevin Hines on the Mental Health Crisis and Getting Help

In this Experts at Home conversation, Dr. Lisa Firestone talks with suicide attempt survivor and mental health advocate Kevin Hines. They discuss the current mental health crisis, and how people can get help or help others during this challenging time. Watch Now: Subscribe to PsychAlive (it’s free!) to see more Experts at Home.      

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Coping With Loneliness During a Pandemic

Part 1: Overcoming the inner enemy that haunts us when we’re isolated. In late 2019, the team I work with at PsychAlive decided to offer a webinar on overcoming loneliness that would run in April of 2020. At the time, we had no idea that a global pandemic would give the subject of loneliness an entirely new… Read more »

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Finding Purpose in a World “On Hold”

It’s 10 pm on a Saturday night, and I’m curled in bed wearing the same sweatshirt I’ve had on the entire day, drinking tea, watching my fourth consecutive episode of The Sopranos. It’s a scene quite different from the typical Saturday nights my friends and I partake in as college seniors, but it’s become my… Read more »

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Is This More Than the Baby Blues?

I have yet to meet a mother, or any parent for that matter, who has described the experience of becoming a parent as easy or exactly what they expected. Bringing a new child into the world, whether it is your first or your fifth, is big adjustment and can bring up feelings that are often… Read more »

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How Meditation Is Linked to Better Mental Health

Meditation and practicing mindfulness have gained increasing momentum in the western world in the past several decades. By paying attention to what happens in each moment, people can practice being present and more aware of everyday life.  Research shows that meditation not only relieves stress but has significant impacts on an individual’s sleep, coping mechanisms,… Read more »

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