OK, so my good friend, and fellow Douglas Institute blogger, Joe Rochford (The Rochford Files), has decided to write about some of the discussions we have had in the past. It seems that in between conversations about Bob Dylan, particle physics, and unpleasant bodily functions, we occasionally touched on questions of mental illness (what are [...]
Category Archives: Depression
Mental illness discussed with class and a human touch
If you want a real sense of what it is like to be afflicted with a mental illness, I strongly suggest you check out a website called Breakdown put together by The Globe and Mail. It provides a clear and very human portrait of how lives are affected by schizophrenia, anxiety and depression. In reading [...]
Depression and self-confirming negative biases
In today’s Metro column, I tell a story of how depressed people, or those who tend to think poorly of themselves, are always finding proof for their beliefs.The idea of a negative schema (a strongly held belief, or what is often called a “core” belief) is important in the treatment of depression. In cognitive therapy [...]
Depression and Burnout
The Douglas Institute Foundation recently ran a public education and fundraising campaign. One of the topics it chose was “Burnout.”It seems that everyone has a different idea about what burnout is and most people confuse it with depression (and with good reason because “Burnout” is not a well-defined term). In order to help shed some [...]
Hindsight and two jars of marbles
I once met with a client who saved a neighbour from suicide. He was worried about this neighbour when he didn’t answer the door. He ended up breaking in and discovering the neighbour in the bathtub with his wrists slashed. This was a great act and one for which this client should be very proud. [...]
