‘Depression’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 2

You haven’t seen your family for weeks. Your job performance is literally a matter of life and death. You’re cooped up in a small living space with work colleagues, and you can’t even step outside for a quick breath of fresh air. You’re an astronaut in space, and you’re depressed. Who can you turn to? The answer — a new computerised therapy system being developed for NASA — might turn out to be pretty useful right here on Earth, too.

Psychiatrist Candida Fink and freelance author Joe Kraynak, co-authors of ‘Bipolar Disorder for Dummies’, have launched a new blog at Dr Fink’s site. They share self-help tips, treatment strategies, and more. It’s well worth a visit if you or someone you love has been affected by bipolar disorder.

Men can also be victims of sexual abuse and rape. Maybe they silence themselves and their experiences even more. What can be done with the trauma and shame which so many people carry around in secret?

While depression and anxiety are often considered to be “diseases” of the affluent, new studies find them to be just as common in poorer countries. Can a Western model of interpreting and treating mental distress be applied to other cultures?

The shocking mortality rate for anorexia — higher than for any other psychiatric disorder — is not due just to starvation or physical deterioration, says new research, but to sufferers committing suicide in the most violent and determined of ways.