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Beyond Blue

Both David Burns (bestselling author of “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy” and Abraham Low (founder of Recovery, Inc.) teach techniques to analyze negative thoughts (or identify distorted thinking) so to be able to disarm and defeat them. Since Low’s language is a bit out-dated, I list below Burns’ “Ten Forms of Twisted Thinking,” (adapted…

There is such a thing as having too much self-esteem. I would like to have that problem, just as I would like to say, “I must have a high metabolism or something, because I just can’t seem to gain weight. Please pass the brownies.” Jean Twenge, Associate Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University,…

Each summer I pick a project. Last year’s was to develop my self-esteem. According to David Burns, that should only take ten days. But nine months later, I’m still not there. From June to August last year, this was the routine: load up the double stroller with any floatable object in our house (wings, inner-tubes,…

Abandoning your self-esteem in an act of freedom–letting go of the false ego to find the true self–is what an Indian holy man and a pioneer in the dialogue between Christianity and eastern religions named Swami Abhishiktananda (Can you imagine making a dinner reservation under that name?) describes in his writing: The Spirit blows where…

Consider these words by Henri Nouwen: “There is a deep hole in your being, like an abyss. You will never succeed in filling that hole, because your needs are inexhaustible. You have to work around it so that gradually the abyss closes. “Since the hole is so enormous and your anguish so deep, you will…

Now that I have mocked the meditation of one of the most prominent Catholic theologians of our time, let me say that I adore Henri Nouwen’s stuff. Because it is so raw and real. A friend of mine told me to take my time with Nouwen’s “The Inner Voice of Love,” to sit with each…

Speaking of pain, I love what Kahlil Gibran writes about pain in “The Prophet“: “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. “Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. “And could you keep your heart in…

Thank God I’m self-employed, because I just read an article by Michele Himmelberg that says it’s uncool to cry at work. During the year of my depression, that would have been like saying I wasn’t allowed to pee at work. No, it would actually be worse. I cried every hour. I peed every other hour.…

Awhile back, we discussed whether or not a person should disclose depression or another mood disorder to a prospective employer. Amy Joyce wrote an excellent article on this topic in the Washington Post. She discusses several things to consider before spilling the beans about a mental illness. Her research and compassionate synthesis of this dilemma…

Talia reprints an excerpt from her book, “The Art of Calm,” on her blog today that describes how to keep a “life balance journal.” Using the four categories of diet, recreation, nurturing, and relaxation, Talia helps people avoid burnout, depression, and health problems that result from stress or being out of balance in one of…
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