I’m coming to you on this fine Friday afternoon live from my friendly neighborhood Starbucks, as a wind storm seems to have knocked out electricity at my apartment, hopefully only temporarily. It’s good to have some time to blog, though, because there’s been a lot in the news lately that’s been on my mind.
First, remember […]

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Hello, folks!
Since it’s already March 2009 (and almost my 28th birthday!), I figured I should post a quick update on my post-Medill life.
I’m back in the great state of New York and back on the copy desk, working at the Times Herald-Record in Middletown (in Orange County in the Hudson Valley, about 90 minutes from […]

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Here in Chicago, the kids have off from school today to honor the great Polish Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski.
For me, it’s a good excuse to listen to one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs.
And of course, I get to share the latest batch of mental-health news with you.
- The always-reliable World of Psychology has […]

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Class was back in session at Northern Illinois University on Monday, 11 days after a former graduate student opened fire on a lecture hall, killing five students and then himself.
Grief counselors attended class along with students and faculty, speaking for five minutes and offering help to anyone who wanted it.
But Micky Sharma, director of NIU’s […]

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Could acupuncture or yoga replace antidepressants someday?
Maybe not, but people are turning to alternative medicine and practices to treat depression, either as a complement to mainstream psychology and psychiatry or as something that stands alone.
World of Psychology passes on a New York Times story about a type of acupuncture that uses “ear seeds” to help […]

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Stigma (noun) 1) a: archaic : a scar left by a hot iron : brand b: a mark of shame or discredit : stain c: an identifying mark or characteristic; specifically : a specific diagnostic sign of a disease
That definition from Merriam-Webster probably sums up how a lot of people view mental illness, whether […]

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Remember the “Zoloft defense“?
Now some people are making what I call the “Prozac excuse,” blaming the Northern Illinois University shooting on the fact that the gunman recently stopped taking that antidepressant (an SSRI).
But experts tell the Chicago Tribune that that idea is flawed.
They emphasize that going off antidepressants can be difficult and should be done […]

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It’s another plethora-of-news kind of day. (Doesn’t Thomas Jefferson look so excited?)
So, if you’re lucky enough to have today off (I’m not), here’s some follow-ups from items in previous posts to keep you busy.
- Beyond Blue celebrates the “melancholy Lincoln” in honor of Presidents Day. (Anyone know if George Washington had bouts […]

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To find out more about mental-health issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, I interviewed John Bair, a clinical psychologist at the North Chicago Veterans Hospital.
(Full disclosure: He also happens to be my cousin’s father-in-law.)
Click here to listen
Click on the button above to listen, or read the following transcript:
Q: What age groups do you mainly work […]

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As you probably know by now, a graduate of Northern Illinois University (65 miles from Chicago) opened fire on a campus lecture hall Thursday, killing five students and then himself and injuring 17 others.
So far, we don’t know a motive or any connection between the gunman and his victims. We do know that he was […]

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