Do antidepressants work? There’s a lot of stigma around psychiatric medications, and plenty of people would argue that no, antidepressants don’t work. There are also people, that argue that medication is life-saving. Those are personal experiences, but what does the research have to say? A recent paper published in the Lancet, and reported on in […]
Do Antidepressants Work Better Than Placebo? Read More »
It was spring of 2017, and my depression had gotten worse despite being on plenty of meds. I decided that I needed to add in other elements to my treatment plan. I’d had some bloodwork done that showed I had elevated levels of inflammation as measured by something called C-reactive protein. I decided to talk to
Can an Anti-inflammatory Diet Help with Mental Illness? Read More »
In A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, Dr. Thupten Jinpa offers a practical guide to creating change through Buddhist-inspired compassion practices. Dr. Jinpa is a former Buddhist monk who completed a Ph.D. in religious studies at Cambridge University. He has been the principal English language translator for His
Book Review: A Fearless Heart by Thupten Jinpa Read More »
A little while back I was reading a blog post that talked about Dr. Elaine Aron’s book The Highly Sensitive Person (affiliate link). I thought huh, sounds like I’m probably one of those. So I picked up the book from the library and had a read. It got me thinking about trait, illness, and all
Emotionally Sensitive, But Not-So-Highly Sensitive Person Read More »
We work so hard on our mental health, but sometimes we can get knocked down by an unexpected source—prescription medication. Sure, we all know that some street drugs can adversely affect mental health, but there are also a number of prescription medications for conditions totally unrelated to mental health that can trigger psychiatric side effects,
Medications That Can Cause Psychiatric Side Effects Read More »
We’re regularly bombarded with news of the latest scientific research findings, and sometimes it seems like you can find a study to tell you just about anything. My concern with news reporting of research findings is that many people (including members of the media) have relatively limited research literacy. Research literacy refers to the ability
Research Literacy: Understanding Results of Clinical Trials Read More »
I have always been a big fan of the documentary program The Passionate Eye on CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster. Until now. On January 6, 2018, they aired “A Prescription for Murder?“, which was originally shown on the BBC. The program focused on James Holmes, the young man who shot and killed 12 people and injured 70
A Prescription For Murder? Read More »
Despite what the title might suggest, this post isn’t about me being self-critical. I’ve been struggling for months with cognitive symptoms of depression, and on a daily basis I notice that it impairs my overall functioning. But it’s not something I’ve ever had much of an objective sense of, until I tried the THINC-it test.
The THINC-it Test for Cognitive Symptoms of Depression Read More »
The Psych Meds 101 series on my perspective as a mental health nurse, former pharmacist, and person with depression. This final post in the series focuses on sleep meds. While some of these meds are primarily for sleep, many have other uses as well. The choice of medication for any given person will be based
Psych Meds 101: Medications for Sleep Read More »
I never would have thought that I would feel like a stranger in my own family. Depression changed everything, though. The present story I spent Christmas with my family this year. It was a small gathering – just my parents, my brother, his fiancee, and me. Except it didn’t feel small; it seemed like there
Feeling Like a Stranger in My Own Family Read More »
