http://www.deborahgray.org (Preferably with a decaf mocha in hand) Mon, 05 May 2008 19:56:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I think Ive come up with a great way to save money on medical bills. Lets face it, they can be ridiculously high, and not everything is covered by insurance. Even though I have good medical insurance from UC Berkeley, we still get billed $50 for emergency room visits, $35 ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/05/05/treating-depression-dont-go-it-alone/ I described in my last SharePost how I had been bullied for years during my childhood, both physically and emotionally. As you can imagine, it's painful to dredge these memories up, although to be honest, I wonder if they ever really went too far under the surface. I think that ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/04/15/what-do-you-do-if-your-child-is-being-bullied/ I was bullied through much of my childhood, beginning when I was seven years old, which was when we moved from New Jersey to a wealthy town in Connecticut in which sports were worshipped. I was, to put it mildly, not very good at sports. Not only was I somewhat ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/04/11/childhood-bullying-and-depression/ We often hear that suicide rates are highest during the holidays. I even heard a character in a Christmas TV movie warn about the risk during the last holiday season. Seems to make sense, in a way. After all, the holiday season even has its own syndrome - the holiday ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/04/07/why-suicide-rates-increase-in-the-spring/ I discussed in an earlier SharePost how the mental health community is beginning to accept the idea that men tend to exhibit depressive symptoms differently than women. Instead of feeling sadness, a man may feel angry or irritable. Instead of losing interest in activities he previously enjoyed, a man ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/03/18/depression-talking-to-a-man-about-depression/ Antidepressants in the SSRI family don't appear to be any more effective than a placebo in treating any but the most severely depressed people. That's the conclusion of a study published last week in the Public Library of Science Medicine. The study analyzed trial results, both published and unpublished, ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/03/18/antidepressants-are-no-better-than-sugar-pills-well/ I had my quarterly appointment with my psychiatrist the other day. As planned, I told him that I would like to switch to a new antidepressant. I felt that Wellbutrin, which I had been taking since 2000, was exacerbating my overall anxiety level. I showed him my nails, ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/02/28/the-antidepressant-saga-continues/ I've never been officially diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), partly, I believe, because there have been so many other disorders for my doctors and I to focus on (depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder, anyone?). Looking at the description of GAD, though, I am pretty sure that ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/02/28/antidepressant-side-effects/ For many older adults, the "golden years" are indeed golden. My parents, who are both over the age of 65, are enjoying their retirement here in Northern California. My father is supervising the building of their new house and my mother runs a website she created for senior women. They ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/02/28/depression-in-the-golden-years/ You can stop feeling like it's your fault that you haven't found an antidepressant that works. Not that you should have ever felt that way anyway, but most depressed people blame themselves for everything that goes wrong in their lives. But this one is definitely not your fault, and probably not ... http://www.deborahgray.org/2008/02/28/antidepressant-studies-getting-the-whole-picture/