Pages

.

National Depression Screening Day



National Depression Screening Day is Thursday, October 10th. Each year, more than half a million children and adults are screened for depression with this campaign.

Depression affects more than 120 million people worldwide and is the one of the leading causes of disability across the globe. 

Why Screen for Depression?

  • Depression is a serious, but treatable illness.
  • Depression can lead to suicide.
  • Sometimes people with depression mistakenly believe that the symptoms of depression are a "normal part of life."
  • Depression affects men and women of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups.
  • One in four women and one in 10 men will experience depression at some point during their lifetimes.
  • 1 out of 40 babies, 4% of preschoolers, 5% of school aged children and 11% of adolescents meet the criteria for major depression.
  • Depression can complicate other medical conditions.
  • More than 80 percent of all cases of clinical depression can be effectively treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both.
  • Screenings are often the first step in getting help.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or unable to do the things you once enjoyed, it may be time to assess your emotional health. If you are concerned about yourself or someone you love, take a few minutes to complete an anonymous self-assessment here at HelpYourselfHelpOthers.org

For Help or Guidance, please consider calling:

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Use Imposter Syndrome to become an excellent grad student

Let's talk about Aristotle for a minute.

School of Athens Aristotle is the one in blue.

Many people mis-attribute this quote to him:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit." -Will Durant
But really this quote is from someone summarizing Aristotle. It's a great summary and it seems to say what Aristotle means, just more concisely.

Aristotle does say:
"For these reasons the virtues are not capacities either; for we are neither called good nor called bad, nor are we praised or blamed, insofar as we are simply capable of feelings. Further, while we have capacities by nature, we do not become good or bad by nature." Nicomachean Ethics Book II 5.5
Ok, so what does this have to do with grad school?

Well lots of people are starting grad school right now with lots of potential. Tons of potential probably, it's what got them into grad school in the first place.

But here's the thing, your potential doesn't mean anything unless you live up to it (or at least come close). Basically Aristotle says that your feelings and intentions and capabilities do not make you excellent, your actions do.

The real lesson here is that you ARE what you DO. if you want to be a good person think 'what would a good person do in this situation?' and then do that thing. Simple really. So in grad school this translates to:

Make Imposter Syndrome work in your favor.

Imposter Syndrome is when someone thinks 'I'm not good enough to be where I am, and I'm just minutes away from the moment my colleagues find out' and it is apparently a plague of many grad students and there are plenty of blog posts around on how to combat it.

But guess what? Playing dress up can make you smarter. People wearing a white coat called a lab coat did better on focus tasks that people wearing the same white coat called an painter's coat (Adam and Galinsky 2012). These are the same people who did the perspective taking experiments showing that when you pretend to be something you become more like it. (See item number 4 on this post.)

Pretending to be what you want to be is actually a completely valid and useful way to become what you want to be. This doesn't mean go into class and pretend you are the professor (that's not a good idea). It means go into class and pretend you are the BEST student in that class. 

So go put on those 'smart person clothes' and make believe that you are the best student that school has ever seen. If you run into a dilemma think to yourself 'what would an excellent grad student do in this situation?' or better yet think 'what would an excellent scientist do in this situation?' and then do that thing.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org
Adam and Galinsky (2012). Enclothed Cognition Journal of experimental social psychology DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.008

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Moving Through A Difficult Anniversary Date



"Anniversary Effect", sometimes called Anniversary Reaction, is defined as a unique set of unsettling feelings, thoughts or memories that occur on the anniversary of a significant experience.

Sometimes you can trace the reason why you're feeling sad, irritable or anxious. One look at the calendar and you connect the dots from your current emotional state to the traumatic event. For example, the birthday of someone who's no longer alive, the date of an accident, a natural disaster or a miscarriage, just to name a few.

Sometimes finding the Anniversary Effect isn't as easy to trace because the event doesn't have a time-specific relationship. It may be more of a seasonal experience. For example, Autumn reminds you of when your child left for college, or a hot humid day reminds you of the time you signed your divorce papers. Or for me, the sounds of Christmas music on the radio takes me back to the trauma of a botched robbery that nearly took my life.

Anniversary Reactions signal that you are still working on moving through the trauma of your experience. It is often a normal part of the grieving process.


What You Can Do


1. Make sure you take time to glance at a calendar each month - and explore dates and memories attached to such dates. This framework can help prepare you for the possibility of an Anniversary Reaction.

2. The anniversary date is not the only day that you might feel out of sorts. Remind yourself that days or weeks leading up to an anniversary date - and even ones after, may be tough ones for you.

3. Anniversaries of public trauma, crises or disasters receive significant media coverage. Often, media outlets revisit distressing imagery. Limit your watching of TV, reading of newspapers and visiting Internet news sites around those dates.

4. Express your memories and feelings when an Anniversary Effect happens. You can do this by talking with a family member or friend, journaling, blogging or finding creative ways to express your inner experiences.

5. Make sure you take good care of yourself during these times. Self-care, support and comfort will help ground you as you move through trauma.

6. If you find that you're struggling with your trauma, remember that you're not alone. Loss affects each of us differently, so don't put a time limit on your grief. If you feel overwhelmed or cannot navigate successfully through your Anniversary Reaction, consider seeking the counsel of a trauma specialist.


reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Depression and Your Child: The Virtual Book Tour




I'm happy to announce that I'll be on a virtual book publicity tour for the next two months for my new book "Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers." Thanks to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book. I can't wait to visit all these great blogs, magazines and websites!

Monday, September 2 – Book Trailer of the Week at Pump Up Your Book
Tuesday, September 3 – Interview at Blogcritics
Wednesday, September 4 – Interview at The Writer’s Life
Friday, September 6 – Book Review & Guest Blogging at Dragonflower and Books
Friday, September 6 – Book Featured at Confessions of a Reader
——————-
Monday, September 9 – Book Feature at Cindy’s Love of Books
Tuesday, September 10 – Interview at Raven Reviews
Tuesday, September 10 – Book Review at 2  Kids and Tired Books
Wednesday, September 11 – Book Feature at My Devotional Thoughts
Thursday, September 12 – Book Review at Just One More Thing…
——————-
Monday, September 16 – Book Feature at Parenting 101
Tuesday, September 17 – Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
Wednesday, September 18 – Interview at Literarily Speaking
Thursday, September 19 – Interview at Review From Here
——————-
Tuesday, September 24 – Book Review at Bookworm Lisa
Thursday, September 26 – Interview at Straight From the Author’s Mouth
——————-
Monday, October 7 – Book Review at The Dark Phantom
Tuesday, October 8 – Guest Blogging at The Writer’s Life
Wednesday, October 9 – Interview at Examiner
Thursday, October 10 – Interview at I’m Shelf-ish
Friday, October 11 – Guest Blogging at Literal Exposure
——————-
Monday, October 14 – Book Trailer Reveal at If Books Could Talk
Tuesday, October 15 – Interview at Between the Covers
Wednesday,  October 16 – Interview at Blogger News
Thursday, October 17 – Guest Blogging at The Story Behind the Book
Friday, October 18 – Book Review & Interview at Impressions in Ink
——————-
Monday, October 21 – Guest Blogging at Parenting 101
Tuesday, October 22 – Book Review at Deal Sharing Aunt
Wednesday, October 23 – Interview at Blogger News
Thursday, October 24 – Book Featured at SheWrites
Friday, October 25 – Book Review at Melissa’s Midnight Musings
——————-
Monday, October 28 – Book Review at  Create With Joy
Tuesday, October 29 – Guest Blogging at The Book Faery Reviews
Wednesday, October 30 – Book Review at Library of Clean Reads
Thursday, October 31 – Book Featured at Plug Your Book


reade more... Résuméabuiyad