I’d like to talk in this article about a specific kind of depression, linked with the stresses of growing up in the shadow of narcissistic parents. As I wrote in my last article “What is Narcissism”, a narcissistic parent is akin to Geocentrism: they have an insistent need for the Universe to revolve around them, and a concurrent, linked need …
Narcissist Survivors' Club – What is Narcissism?
A couple of years ago, I wrote a small article with this title, and it must have found a home somewhere on the internet, because I regularly receive enquiries about it. I decided it was high time I followed it up, so here goes. The concept of narcissism has moved mainstream, which can only be good news in my opinion. …
Seniors and Depression
Until recently, in our society, we seemed to equate getting older and retiring as slowing down. We expected that as a person would age, they would slow down, sleep more, go into retirement and just fade into the background. That is not the reality today. Seniors are living longer, are in better health, and seem to be able to conquer …
The Narcissist Survivors' Club
This is the phrase I sometimes have in my mind when I think about my practice, and about therapy in general. It doesn’t describe everyone who comes to therapy, but both the incidence and the suffering involved are considerable. It is deeply instructive to me that so many people facing struggles in life have suffered at the hands of narcissistic …
Depression: Is it Really a Disease?
Melancholia, the word written in the engraving by Durer shown here (1514), is an old name for what we now call Depression. The word originates from the Greek, meaning “Black bile”. People thought that this “bile” was the bodily cause of depressive states. But bile was not the only supposed cause of this mysterious disease (Disease is from the old …
It's 2015, Where's My Happiness?
There’s plenty to say about Freud’s mistakes. He was as faulty and confused a pioneer as any. We do, of course, also owe him a great debt, and do not dismiss the totality of him lightly. One of his better works, brilliant in many ways, is “Civilization and its Discontents”. Written in 1930, it is as relevant today as it …
Depression, Medication & Situation
As you probably already know, there is a mental health crisis happening at the moment. Unfortunately for the people who are suffering, and seeking help, there is also a deeply divided and confusing landscape of professionals, with often opposing viewpoints. One of the biggest bones of contention within the mental health field is in how best to treat depression. Here …
Robin Williams: Genius and Depression from the Same Well?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychologically-minded/201408/robin-williams-genius-and-depression-the-same-well
1 in 3 Canadians suffered some form of child abuse; linked to mental disorders
http://www.canada.com/health/Canadians+suffered+some+form+child+abuse+linked+mental+disorders/9763094/story.html