How Trauma Can Turn Into Depression: 5 Examples
Depression has many origins, but trauma is one of the major categories. People suffer from all kinds of traumatic experiences, but here are a few examples of how trauma could have caused you to become depressed.
1. You got bullied in school and you concluded from the experience that you were a social misfit, weak, shameful. You carried that belief into adulthood, practicing it in your mind every day. You gave up on standing up for yourself or expecting to get what you want. You focus on trying to please other people to prove your worth, and very narcissistic people who need an adoring... Read More
Individuals who struggle with 
What if the state of our economy is not due solely to some harmful people making some horribly destructive moves with their wallets and ours?
Evocative question, I know.
It is not intended to, nor does it, let off the hook those who did purposefully seduce and scam people into buying houses, investing their money, spending money they didn’t have or couldn’t afford to spend. Nor does it give a free pass to Ponzi schemers and others like them.
However … what if the real cause of the world economy right now is broader and deeper than most people realize? What if the real cause is... 
While vacationing in Rincon, a beautiful beach town in Puerto Rico, I fell into a seven-foot hole. There were no streetlights in the tiny village and I was out in the dark night… The fall, the pain, and being stuck in a remote place traumatized me; I was left in a cast for 7 months with a severely shattered heel. Having no choice in the matter, the time I spent recovering left me feeling trapped in my body. But, eventually, I began to listen to what it was saying.
Previously, I wrote about my challenge with cancer and how the experience of a healer aligning my energy helped me transform what... 
Rumination is a common symptom of depression. Individuals with 
Foster care providers face challenges that most caregivers never experience. Children placed in their care come with a history of negative experiences that can include neglect, sexual abuse, violence, emotional unavailability, mental abuse, verbal abuse, exposure to drug and alcohol use, and other traumatic events. These children often lack the basic skills necessary to develop healthy relationships with caregivers and cannot interact in empathetic and understanding ways with peers and others. Because these children had impaired 
Whether or not we believe we should talk about sex with our therapist in treatment may have something to do with what we believe therapy is for or what the expected outcome is.
Are you going to therapy for a relationship issue? For a mental disorder such as depression or anxiety? To overcome trauma? Or because you are having a difficult time adjusting to a new situation? Therapy is useful for a multitude of issues, and no, sex may not be the most significant thing affected by a particular issue, but it definitely doesn’t hurt for the therapist to ask about it, to allow for the conversation... 
We know very little about the effects of environmental toxicity on the developing brain, but toxicity is a suspected cause, or maybe one of several causes, of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Less than 50 of the 3,000 chemicals common in our everyday lives have been sufficiently tested for safety. The recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism makes all research related to this disorder, including the effects of toxicity, seem urgent. A problem this prevalent, and one that requires long-term medical and social services... 
Religion has been shown to be a protective factor against many negative behaviors. For adolescents who are at increased risk for engaging in destructive coping mechanisms, such as drug and alcohol use, risky sexual activity, and self-harm, strong religious affiliation can serve as a shield against such pressures. But for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) teens, religion can increase the risk for hazardous behaviors. According to a new study conducted by Mark L. Hatzenbuehler of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York, teens that live in communities... 
This article is the second installment in a two-part series. To read the first article, please click 
Suicide hotlines are available throughout the United States and many other countries. They provide a lifeline for individuals who are contemplating 
Sexually risky behavior can lead to many negative outcomes, including violence, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, and unwanted pregnancies. Women who engage in sexually risky behavior are at increased risk for all of these situations. Therefore, identifying the factors that influence a woman’s sexual risk taking is essential for communities and health experts. Previous research has suggested a link between a woman’s childhood maltreatment (CM) and adult sexual risk taking. Additionally, some evidence exists that indicates a woman who has experienced intimate partner violence (IPV)... 
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”
-Dalai Lama
In life we encounter many different experiences. Some are joyful and uplifting, and others are painful and challenging. When we encounter joy, there is a yearning to have it last forever, but when there’s pain our first reaction is to avoid, ignore, or push it away. When we react to joy or pain with any form of resistance (i.e., clinging to joy, avoiding, pushing away, or ignoring pain) we suffer. What helps us walk through our suffering and the suffering of others is to become aware... 
Healthy conflict resolution is essential to maintaining positive and constructive adult relationships. Individuals usually learn how to handle conflict in childhood. Children watch the way adults work through disagreements and model those patterns of behavior as they develop into adults and begin to form relationships with others. The bonds that children have with their caregivers also influence the way in which they address conflicts. People who have secure attachments with their parents and caregivers are often able to work through challenges with other people in respectful, affectionate, and... 
