I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO BE HAPPY (SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française) Why are some people more prone to depression than others? The answer is far from straightforward. Many people are sad because their lives aren’t going well. Failed relationships and employment problems account for many of these. But plenty of [...]
Tag Archives: Depression
Pig depression
Here is what I published in today’s Metro column: Pig Depression (Source: Dépression porcine: Journal Métro, November 05, 2013) Voir plus bas pour la version Française. Do animals feel the same things we do? Well, I suppose that if emotions evolved in humans in order to increase their chance of survival, the same must be [...]
My brain chemicals are out of whack!
I don’t know about you but I’ve never understood what is meant by the phrase “chemical imbalance.” Pharmaceutical companies use the term as a means of describing depression. It gives the condition a medical-sounding cause, which of course requires a medical-sounding treatment (such as the pill they happen to sell). Before I go any further, [...]
I have a feeling about my feelings
This week’s article is about our tendency to add problems to our problems: I have a feeling about my feelings (Source: Je ressens quelque chose à propos de mes sentiments. Journal Métro, July 02, 2013) Voir plus bas pour la version Française. A funny thing about people is that we have feelings and then we [...]
The genius and the idiot
The genius and the idiot (Source: Le génie et l’idiot. Journal Métro, February 26, 2013). Voir plus bas pour la version Française. We all wear filtered glasses that distort what we see. They are known as biases or prejudices to most people but psychologists call them core beliefs and schemas. We normally think of bias [...]
Aiming high and the pursuit of goals
Some people just don’t seem to care much about things while others seem to make an issue of everything. Our standards determine much of human achievement…and happiness. Except happiness doesn’t always seem to correlate with achievement. In today’s column in Métro, I tell a story of two salesmen, each of whom have very high standards. [...]
Mini-Psych School / L’École Mini-Psy 2011
Bonjour tout le monde (an English message will follow). L’automne dernier, j’ai eu l’honneur d’agir comme hôte de notre 6e édition de l’École Mini-Psy de l’Institut Douglas, une série de présentations qui s’adressent au grand public. Les vidéos des présentations se trouveront sur notre site web à partir du 1er juin, à raison d’une nouvelle vidéo [...]
What’s HIS problem? I’ve gone through worse.
Many factors contribute to stigma in mental illnesses but an important one involves assumptions made when two people experience the same circumstances. It is natural to assume that if we both stub our toes, we will experience similar pain, or if we both lose our jobs we will both have the same reaction. In reality, [...]
How blue is blue: Understanding depression and burnout
Hi folks, Every year the Douglas Institute hosts a series of lectures for the general public called the Mini-Psych School. We then produce DVDs of these lectures and post them on line. In 2009, I gave a lecture entitled How blue is blue? Here it is in two parts. You might want to keep a [...]
Love me, love my broccoli
It’s always amazing to see what triggers someone off. Every once in a while a seemingly innocuous event or statement can really get to us, resulting in a strong emotional reaction (anger, depression, anxiety, etc.). In most cases, this emotion is stirred not so much by the event as it is by the assumptions it [...]
