Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Depression and Hope Don't Mix

Thought for the Day: Although the weather this summer has been delightful, here in the northeast, the news lately has been very depressing. War has plagued the Middle East. The murder of American journalists covering the battles has brought the horror of the conflict graphically into Americans' lives. The Ebola epidemic in Africa threatens the world. Suicide of yet another great actor, Robin Williams, shocked and saddened people around the world. As a clinical psychologist, I have helped people overcome adversity for many years. I know that depression and hope don't mix. In fact, hope may be the secret weapon in fighting depression. When hope dies, depression wins. This fact lead me to today's words of wisdom:

"If life's challenges seem insurmountable, a daily dose of hope can help you cope." 

Find something to be hopeful for every day. Instead of a spoon full of sugar, a spoon full of hope may be the best medicine. You do not have to become a Pollyanna, but research has shown that finding something or doing something that gives you hope can help reduce feelings of despair and depression. Support a research project to find a cure for Ebola. Read about or join a program that is working towards peaceful solutions to political strife. Learn about or support an organization that helps prevent suicide. Teach your children things they can do to make the world a better place and hope that they will find better solutions in the future. Take time every day to find ways to feel more hopeful, it can help.

#FF Wonderful Weekend Review: Fabulous Finds in Psychology, Photography, Music, Comics & more

       Click to Read the Magazine

                8/22/14 Wonderful Weekend Review via @flipboard

Thought for the Day: This has been a busy week. On Wednesday, I had the pleasure and honor of being interviewed by Chicago  documentary film maker, Steve Simon for the film, "Feeling Judo," which will be released later this year. House guests later in the week and attempts to work and enjoy the summer have distracted me from writing the blog, but here is a great compilation of finds for this weekend's magazine.

       Included in the magazine are articles on psychology, depression, parenting, photography. music (Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams and John Lennon) and of course an array of funny videos (Kermit the Frog's ALS Challenge) and GIFs for Sunday's comics.

     I hope you enjoy these articles and finds and have a great end of the summer!

Tuesday's Psychology Tips: Robin Williams, Mental Health, Prevention & a Guest Post

Thought for the Day; I was called to Boston for a critical incident and did not have time to write a post. While in Boston, I was saddened to hear of yet another death of a great entertainer, philanthropist and human being, Robin Williams. Sadly he appears to be yet another fatality related to depression and the drug and alcohol epidemic that plagues our world and the entertainment industry (I have written posts in the past following Whitney Houston's death and more recently, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and will add links later to those posts, but want to get this out nowsince I have been away since Sunday night.) I would like to see a safety net of creative psychological programs across the nation to help families and people suffering from mental illness to try to reduce the numbers of suicides. One creative program in Houston Texas seems to have been a life saver for the guest blogger today. When will the insurance agencies and society pay more attention to both preventative mental health and treatment of these diseases?

Here's Tuesday's Psychology Tip which arose from hearing about Robin William's tragic death:

Mental health has been the step-child of conventional medicine for too long. Physical health is directly related to emotional health. Psychotherapy should be affordable to all.

Juast about a day ago, I saw a tweet from a new follower: @StidmaFighters suggesting that I read an article. I said I would & after I read it asked if I could use it as a guest post here on my blog. It certainly fits with my Tip and will make up for my not writing yesterday's Motivational Monday's post.  Here's the bio of the writer, Twitter: @MindyOggMH who happens to live in Houston TX where I grew up:

Mindy lives and thrives in Houston, Texas. A mental health advocate and consumer, her interests include writing, daydreaming, new age and classical music, sci-fi, technology, and humor. Butterflies signify hope. After her mother died in 2004, a miracle happened. Searching for precious treasures of her mother’s in the house where she lived, Mindy found butterfly-related things, one after another. The search led to a piece of stained glass her mother made that was unknown to Mindy; but she guessed it existed before it was found. And don’t you know? It was of a big beautiful butterfly. Mindy sensed her mother’s presence which led her to a path of spirituality where she had none before. Now she has courage. Now there is hope.

Read on to see why Dreams are for Everyone...

Thursday's Psychology Trivia: To Regret Or Not To Regret, That Is The Question

*Photos from FlickrCC.com

This has been a very busy week, since I was away from Sunday till Tuesday afternoon, so here's a slightly updated Trivia question and answer. It has also been an emotional roller coaster in reaction to Robin Williams death and news of his bout with depression. I will be on the radio tonight on the LA Bachelor show at 7 PM (EDT) if you want to tune in and ask questions, it's airing live. We will be talking about depression and how it relates to athletes and celebrities.
Thought for the Day: This week we have been looking at emotions (Motivational Monday & Wednesday's Words of Wisdom). Our Trivia question on Tuesday was about the feeling of regret. Here's the question we asked:

       Regret is:
           a) just a backward looking emotion & therefore it doesn't impact much on people's lives;
           b) not an emotion at all; or
           c) can be a powerful emotion
What do you think?