Black Dog Pie: a blog about depression

Articles, images, videos and other snippets to help on the journey.

[blackdogpie]

Police officers and mental health: Would you take a bullet for a stranger?

Police officers and mental health: Would you take a bullet for a stranger?

It is easy to criticize our police forces. I speak as an American ex-pat living in Ireland. Everywhere you go, cops get a hard time.

By: Scott Davidson

The flack that police officers get is sometimes well earned. They are the one group in society who, charged with enforcing the law, are most at risk of breaking it.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? What guards the guardians of law and order?

There…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Is Mental Illness More Common in Comedians?

Is Mental Illness More Common in Comedians?

What is a joke? A joke may be thought of as the creation of deliberate and intentional misunderstanding.

By: Paul Stevenson

It is deliberate in that it is planned. It is intentional in that the creator hopes to provoke laughter. The creator has a definite goal in mind, and a plan for getting there.

Planned deception is at the heart of another art: the murder mystery.

A good murder yarn is built…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

What Causes Depression? 5 New Theories

What Causes Depression? 5 New Theories

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, we now have (at least!) five new important theories about what causes depression.

By: Paul Downey

All kidding aside, I am truly intrigued, as this opens up new therapeutic vistas for those unfortunate enough to have so-called “treatment resistant” depression.

Huge numbers of people suffer with depression to some degree. Many of those…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Depression, Bipolar and the U.S. Mail

Depression, Bipolar and the U.S. Mail

Would you stick your head into a mailbox if it would help with your depression or bipolar?

By: slgckgc

Maybe you should.

New research seems to show that help from such quarters may be available in the not-too-distant future. Fast results may be available through the use of very, very low intensity electromagnetism. The level of exposure is so low that even the FDA has given a blessing to this…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Can We Now Predict Suicide Risk? It's Looking Possible

Can We Now Predict Suicide Risk? It’s Looking Possible

One of the enduring problems of suicide is why some people do it at all, and others do not.

By: Kevin Dooley

I have never attempted suicide, but I have spent many dark hours thinking about it. On any objective reckoning, I would have had every reason to look forward to a long and success-filled life. I would have had no motivation to walk through that door from which there is no returning.

Meanwh…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Is Bipolar I Easier to Live with Than Type II? Both and Neither

Is Bipolar I Easier to Live with Than Type II? Both and Neither

The wider public tends to be unaware of the critical difference between bipolar I and bipolar II. While the difference between them can be a bit fuzzy, it appears that there are quite different long-term experiences associated with these two types.

By: Casey Fleser

In short, BP I can be quite disabling, whereas type II tends to be not so extreme. BP I is associated with episodes of mania that…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

The bright side of sadness

The bright side of sadness

Sadness is not the same as depression. Sadness and depression reside on a spectrum of experience. Occasional and proportionate sadness is normal and healthy. Sadness that is constant and disproportionate is malignant.

(On that note, Lewis Wolpert’s Malignant Sadness was key recovery reading for me. Haven’t read it? Get a copy!)

By: Edward.rhys

But is sadness not only normal, but healthy?

Some…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

“Everytime I Work up the Nerve to Swallow the Pills…”

“Everytime I Work up the Nerve to Swallow the Pills…”

Compassion changes everything. Compassion also saves lives.

Consider the image below. What do you consider to be the number one cause of suicide?

A broken heart? Grief? Loss of community esteem? Bullying?

How about a lack– no, a loss— of kindness. The inability or unwillingness we have to say to each other: “Brother, sister, I salute you on the journey.”

Today I was talking to someone who…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Suicide in Older Adults: It's Not Just Depression

Suicide in Older Adults: It’s Not Just Depression

At the heart of suicide lies a mystery. There is a ton of research on why people have contemplated suicide. There is no research on

By: Jundy Tiu

why people who have succeeded in killing themselves have done so. The reason is obvious.

As a man of older years, I am quite interested in why those in my age bracket and up think about doing away with themselves. Quite honestly, you could not pay me to…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Postpartum Depression: It Could Be You

Postpartum Depression: It Could Be You

If you are a woman preparing for a new birth, ask yourself how you feel about postpartum depression.

By: elisasizzle

Do you think that you are immune to it? Perhaps you have already experienced it and hope you’ll have an easier ride this time.

Or perhaps you think PPD cannot touch you. Maybe your previous birth(s) were happy, joyous experiences. I sincerely hope they were!

Well, this experienced…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Your Bipolar "Secret": When is the Right Time to Share It?

Your Bipolar “Secret”: When is the Right Time to Share It?

When is the right time to tell your new girlfriend, boyfriend, roommate, or in-law that you have bipolar disorder? Let’s compare

By: ElizaC3

that to: when is the right time to tell them you have a prison record?

Which is worse in this scenario: a prison record, or mental disorder? Much depends on your own attitude.

I have never done jail time, nor do I have bipolar. But lots of people know I have…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Physical Fitness can Reduce Children’s Depression Risk

Physical Fitness can Reduce Children’s Depression Risk

Well, it is not news that depression can be alleviated by a regular exercise regimen. I have experienced the benefits of exercise

By: Jenni C

myself, and can attest to it. But surely it cannot be news that kids’ mental health is also helped by exercise?

The challenge for parenting nowadays is that the outside world is somewhat more hazardous than it was when some of us grew up in decades past.

Th…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

7 Steps to Defeat Money Depression

7 Steps to Defeat Money Depression

The emphasis on the pathology of depression may lead us to forget that, quite often, we have very good reasons for being

By: Dan Moyle

depressed. One of the biggest reasons we can feel truly down is relationship or marriage problems. And the other biggie is: money.

No one gets depressed from having too much of it; we angst over not having enough.

Put another, and perhaps more accurate way: we…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Preschoolers and Depression: Is It Ever Too Early to Care?

Preschoolers and Depression: Is It Ever Too Early to Care?

Can young children suffer from depression? I could have answered that by the time I was seven with a resounding yes.

By: Cuito Cuanavale

The view of previous generations of clinicians was that young kids did not or could not be clinically depressed. That view has changed, thank God.

One of the reasons I am so very glad that there has been a change of attitude is that depression sticks with you…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Fast-acting Antidepressants: The Price of Getting What We Ask For

Fast-acting Antidepressants: The Price of Getting What We Ask For

Historically, even the most successful antidepressants were slow to take effect. The SSRI revolution of the 1980’s did not address this issue; the virtue of SSRI’s were their low side effects relative to older tricyclics, not their speed.

By: Nathaniel Zumbach

The problem remained: what to do for someone who is in a deep crisis and may not have weeks or months to mess around with slow acting…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Do lab animals suffer from depression?

Do lab animals suffer from depression?

Do animals ever suffer from depression? Can they ever suffer ill psychological effects from their experiences as laboratory

By: woodleywonderworks

subjects?

This is quite a live issue among those charged with the welfare of lab animals, and something all of us should be concerned about.

If you have ever kept a dog, you’ll know that they are certainly appear capable of pleasure, fear, anxiety,…

View On WordPress

[blackdogpie]

Is Insomnia a Healthy Response to Depression?

Is Insomnia a Healthy Response to Depression?

Depression has been talked about since Biblical times. (Remember Job.) So it is not terribly often when someone says something

By: Pittaya Sroilong

new.

And here is something new: the insomnia you may be experiencing during periods of depression is the body trying to heal you.

The tradition view: insomnia is a symptom of depression. Recent research has shown that the connection between the two is…

View On WordPress