Some people just seem to have it all. Consider a few of your friends whose lives you may have purview via their social media profiles. Perhaps you know someone who is successful, intelligent, attractive, and well-respected. Let’s call this person, Jill. From the outside, it probably looks like Jill won the proverbial lottery. As though her life is perfect and effortless. If you know Jill well enough, however, you might be aware of all the time and energy that she spends worki

Were you all prepared to “Fall Back” last weekend? Whether you like it or not, it’s that time of year again when we return to Standard Time by setting our clocks back by one hour. As it begins to get dark outside earlier in the evenings, our bodies will respond naturally to the Fall and Winter months with physical, emotional, and even behavioral changes. This is because our circadian rhythms are typically set by a 24-hour cycle that is strongly influenced by sunlight and our

Can you remember the first time that you flew in an airplane? How about the first time that you drove a car? Or what about the first day of your job? These events all have at least two things in common. By using the word “first” in my descriptions, I have hinted that they were once novel experiences, things that you had never done before. And the other commonality is that they provoked at least some degree of anxiety. As I mentioned last week, anxiety is a perfectly normal re

As we enter the month of October, let's change gears from the topic of memory loss and dementia and focus for a moment on anxiety disorders instead. After all, Halloween is just around the corner and with this holiday comes a deluge of horror movies, scary costumes, and other fear-provoking stimuli. As a matter of fact, a news report was released in south Florida just the other night that warned parents of a "creepy clown" threat- an Instagram post that pictured a clown with

If you suffer from depression, or you have suffered an episode of depression in the past, then (hopefully) you've already spoken with your doctor to rule out the possible medical conditions that could be responsible for your symptoms. The list of possibilities is longer than you might think! However, this is a GOOD thing because knowing the cause of your symptoms can help you identify the most effective treatments. It is important that you see your doctor for annual physical

"But I don't feel that depressed..." Is it possible to be clinically depressed and not even know it? The answer is YES. As I mentioned last week, a feeling of sadness is only one component that makes up the criteria for a diagnosis of depression. Sometimes people don't acknowledge that they are feeling down because they are unable to provide an explanation for it. First of all, it's important to understand that you don't need an excuse to feel depressed! Although it could be

We've all had moments, or even days, when we've felt sad... So at what point does sadness turn into clinical depression? I can promise you that this is not a silly question. In fact, many people often wonder whether they have depression or whether the emotion they are experiencing falls within the range of normalcy. It is important to understand that, in order to qualify for a formal diagnosis of depression, other criteria (in addition to feelings of sadness) must be met. For