We’ve all heard the phrase “dry drunk, ” referring to a person who is alcoholic and who has stopped drinking, but who has not done anything to address the underlying emotional and psychological issues, which his or her drinking medicated. Recent experience suggests there may also be something similar for the person who suffers from […]
Archive for the ‘Depression & Suicide’ Category
Coping with Depression
Posted byOne of the great difficulties these days with contracting a serious illness is that the disease makes us tired, emotional, vulnerable, and uncertain at a time when we most need to be mentally sharp, resourceful and diligent in order to reach out and determine the most effective treatment. This is especially true with diseases like […]
Depression – What Angle Do You See It From?
Posted byWriting a short column about how to have good mental health is a challenge. Each reader who may benefit sees his or her problem from a different perspective. These different perspectives reflect the multi-faceted nature of a problem like depression. Depression is a disease that is physical, emotional, and spiritual. If I am suffering from […]
Depression and Suicide: One Bar’s Story
Posted byIn the years between 1984 and 1993, the Mecklenburg County Bar Association in Charlotte, NC lost eight members to suicide. Put in the context of my arrival as the bar’s first executive director in 1984, this translates to eight suicides in nine years. Seven men and one woman took their lives in that span of […]
Exorcising Your Depression Through Exercise
Posted byIn a recent column, I mentioned the results of Mary Howerton’s doctoral research. Mary is the former director of the Mecklenburg County Bar and a member of the Lawyer Assistance Program Board. Her doctoral research, concerning the quality of well-being of lawyers in North Carolina, revealed that over 27% of the lawyers in her study […]
Seven States of Being Stuck
Posted byKeith Yamashita is the hot item right now in advising corporations that have hit a brick wall. He is a 37-year-old principal in a business consulting firm on the West Coast known as Stone Yamashita Partners. His skill has been in identifying structural and systemic problems in a company or its leaders. His firm has […]
Suicide in the Legal Profession
Posted bySuicide recently received national attention of the President of the United States, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Surgeon General, the Center for Disease Control and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA). The amplified concern related to the increased prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors resulted in the aforementioned […]
Depression and the Placebo Effect
Posted byThe headline on the May 7, 2002, edition of The Charlotte Observer was: “Depression Study: Placebos Work, Too.” The story went on to say that after millions of prescriptions for Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft and tens of billons of dollars spent on these prescriptions that treat depression, the jury was finally in. Anti-depressant medications work; and so […]
The Unhappiness Paradox
Posted byThe unhappiness paradox is one lawyers share, as much or more, than any other group in our culture. The richer we have grown as a society, the more dissatisfied we have become. The 1950’s were the happiest decade of the century. Since then the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has tripled, recorded […]
There’s No Shame In Being Treated for Mental Illness
Posted byOne out of five Americans experiences mental illness each year; however, the majority of those who need treatment do not get it. This is the conclusion of the first-ever US Surgeon General’s report on mental health which was released by Surgeon General David Satcher in December 1999. That there are so many of our nation’s […]