We need new ways of treating depression

March 4, 2018

The World Health Organization, the leading medical body in the world, explained in 2011: “Mental health is produced socially: The presence or absence of mental health is above all a social indicator and therefore requires social, as well as individual, solutions.” The United Nations’ special rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras — one of the leading experts in the world on mental health — explained last April that “the dominant biomedical narrative of depression” is based on “biased and selective use of research outcomes.”

Experts are now looking to the social and environmental causes of the disorder affecting millions.

Source: We need new kinds of antidepressants, in addition to pills – Vox

A Basic Meditation to Tame Your Inner Critic 

March 3, 2018

An in-the-moment exercise for confronting the nagging voice in your head.

Source: A Basic Meditation to Tame Your Inner Critic – Mindful

How to Meditate 

March 3, 2018

Learning how to meditate is straightforward, and the benefits can come quickly. Here, we offer basic tips to get you started on a path towards greater equanimity, acceptance and joy.

Source: How to Meditate – Well Guides – The New York Times

Mindfulness of breathing meditation

March 3, 2018

A SIMPLE, SHORT ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO MEDITATION.
Let your mind be as vast as space. This guide takes you through mindful breathing, noticing feelings and sensations in the moment, and not punishing yourself when your thoughts wander. You will be mindful as you read.

Source: Mindfulness of breathing meditation – Medium

Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices

March 3, 2018

4 GUIDED MEDITATION PRACTICES (on SoundCloud): Body Scan. Compassion. Breath Awareness. Body Scan for Kids.

Guided mindfulness practices from Mark Bertin, MD, author of Mindful Parenting for ADHD.

Source: Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices – Mindful

How to Be Creative

January 11, 2018

Everyone – adults and children alike – has a creative streak. But while most of us have a spirit of invention, major or minor, for too many of us it lies dormant even though it can be awakened with the simplest of acts. Follow these steps to find your inner writer, composer, finger painter, chef, lyricist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, comedian, politician or professional Tweeter.

Source: How to Be Creative – A year of living better Guides – The New York Times

The Danger of Putting Youth on Antidepressants

January 1, 2018

Why medication shouldn’t be the default treatment for our kids’ mental health.

On World Health Day this year, Dainius Pūras, a doctor and a representative for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, made a powerful statement. By focusing so intently on the biomedical model of treating depression, he argued, we are diverting resources from the “social and underlying determinants” that may have a larger and more lasting effect on mental health: economic injustice, political oppression, social violence. “Mental health services, policymakers, medical students,

Source: The Danger of Putting Youth on Antidepressants · The Walrus

Why post-sex cuddles and pillowtalk count for more than orgasm

December 30, 2017

Afterglow

The intensity of orgasm is sublime, but the gentle love cocktail that follows is what helps relationships to endure

Source: Why post-sex cuddles and pillowtalk count for more than orgasm | Aeon Essays