esperanza Magazine for Anxiety & Depression Summer 2019

the glory of our habits

It takes a habit. Or two or more to build the foundation of our lives. What we value forms our pillars-of-purpose that drive our “good” or “bad” habits. It seems so simple, so logical. So easy. The Father of Western Philosophy, Aristotle, takes it one step further. “You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit.” Ah ha, there you have it in a nutshell. Our daily activities reflect our personal aspirations and dreams. They make an immediate difference in our lifestyle and help us achieve our goals. Turns out that 40 percent of what we “repeatedly do” is automatic. Letʼs take a pause to stop and think—what exactly do we do every day? And are those behaviors working for us or against us? So when…

letters to the editor

HUGS TO WENDI OMG! I didn’t think I could love you more as an actress, but to know I have something in common with you and that you’ve opened up about your own personal struggle (“Wendi McLendon-Covey: Make ʼEm Laugh,” Spring 2019) makes me admire you all the more! Keep on keeping on and fighting the good fight. You keep me in stitches! —S.P.V. via Twitter I’M GLAD to see “celebrities” (A.K.A. regular people who have a broad platform to communicate) speak about mental health issues. It helps reduce the negative stigma and gets people talking. Thank you for being brave and honest about your journey. —Sammy via Twitter WONDERFUL ARTICLE about you and your career, I’ve loved your work for years!! Thank you for being so transparent about your struggles, it makes…

anxiety & depression: the fraternal twins of mood disorders

ANXIETY Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation. But when it becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder. Who is affected? Anxiety disorders affect approximately 12% of adults in a given year. Types of anxiety disorders Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry, and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke it. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): recurrent, unwanted thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors. Panic Disorder: unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): persistent frightening thoughts and memories of a terrifying ordeal. Social Phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder: overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. Signs and symptoms All symptoms cluster around excessive, irrational fear and dread, but each disorder has different symptoms. GAD: worries accompanied by fatigue, headaches, muscle…

keith

AGE: 45 LOCATION: CHICAGO, IL OCCUPATION: ASSISTANT MANAGER DIAGNOSES: MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER, GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER YEAR DIAGNOSED: 2000 * * * TOP OF MY PLAYLIST: Live in Love by Times of Grace. I'M INSPIRED BY: My grandmother was, and will always be, my biggest inspiration. BOOK I'VE GIFTED THE MOST: Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. MOST UNUSUAL TALENT: I’m great at Halloween costume design. FOR EXERCISE, I LIKE TO: Snowboard, bike, hike, play drums, and do yoga. I'M MOTIVATED BY: A constant need to get better, whether it’s health related, personal growth related, or hobby related. GREATEST LESSON I'VE LEARNED: To sit with my emotions, good or bad, and know that they will always pass. BIGGEST CHALLENGE I'VE OVERCOME: Somewhat coming to terms with the bullying at school and abuse at home and how…

mental health news

Tackling mental health in England June 17, 2019, LONDON, England—Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that every new teacher will be trained in how to spot mental health problems in children, pledging better access to education, help, and support as part of a push for tackling mental health. The next revolution in mental health should be in prevention, she said. Ugandan youth mental health concerns June 17, 2019, KAMPALA, Uganda—Health experts have raised concerns over the increasing number of mental health disorder cases among youth in the past three years. A lack of mental health services in the community is leading to higher mental health hospital caseloads. Social media impact in Indonesia June 17, 2019, JAKARTA, Indonesia—Social media, immensely popular in Indonesia, is contributing to residents’ poor mental health. Rising inequalities in the developing…

new research in mental health

Emotion regulation in teens impacts depression August 1, 2019, FAIRFAX, VA—Difficulty with regulating their emotions appears to put young people at greater risk of higher depressive symptoms, a new study suggests. American researchers looked at 245 young people ages 11 to 14 and followed them over a couple of years. The study found that higher overall emotion regulation difficulties predicted higher depressive symptoms. The authors said the findings suggest that depression prevention efforts should promote adaptive emotion regulation in early adolescence, particularly for girls, in order to prevent increases in depressive symptoms seen into middle adolescence. The study, which appeared in the journal Child Psychiatry & Human Development, was entitled “Difficulties in emotion regulation predict depressive symptom trajectory from early to middle adolescence.” Fathers’ depression impacts home-learning literacy August 1, 2019, EAST LANSING, MI—Fathers’ depressive symptoms…