Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Sleep as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder

If you have bipolar disorder, getting the right amount of sleep at the right time of day is absolutely critical in achieving and maintaining mood stability. Good sleep at night clearly exerts mood-stabilizing benefits. This article addresses several strategies for improving mood stability in bipolar disorder and discusses the tradeoffs faced in regulating your activities and schedule.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Never Delay Dealing with Depression

Some people avoid dealing with their depression only to find out that they waited too long. This article addresses the reasons for dealing with depression immediately. Depression can become a pattern in the brain, so doing activities that alleviate depression and getting rid of your depression as quickly as possible will give you the best outcomes.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

How Good is Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT)?

Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) is a computerized version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that is delivered over the internet. This article addresses hard questions critics have about iCBT, research supporting its benefit, the impact it can have in communities and who can benefit from the treatment.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Supportive Psychotherapy: How Good is “Treatment as Usual”?

Supportive psychotherapy is commonly used as a comparison intervention or “treatment as usual” in mental health research studies. While it is often expected by the scientific elite to be less effective than newer, manualized therapies, it has been proven to be an effective intervention for many conditions. This article covers basic approaches in supportive psychotherapy and who might benefit from the treatment.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Helping Depressed Friends and Family

Helping someone you care about who is depressed can be a challenge, but your informed persistence can make all the difference. This article addresses ways of supporting the people you care about in their fight against depression.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

What to Do When You Know Why You Are Depressed

Some people have severe depression despite having a relatively good life. Others know exactly why they are depressed and can identify the specific cause or situation that is worsening their mood. This article focuses on depressive symptoms caused by maladaptive patterns and life toxicities and what to do about them.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Depression Rating Scales – Getting Unstuck

Rating scales for depression are being used routinely in primary care, but not all psychiatrists and therapists are using them. The use of depression rating scales shines a bright spotlight on your current mood and the progress you are making toward full freedom from depression. This article addresses how rating scales can help get you unstuck in your depression treatment.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

How Does Yoga Help Depression?

There is growing evidence showing that yoga is beneficial for depression. Researchers are looking at biological mechanisms, but are there other factors involved? Yoga practices vary, which makes determining the mechanism of its benefit difficult. However, observing yoga from a holistic perspective, rather than only from a neurobiological standpoint, may lead to insights into how yoga helps depression.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Your Safety Plan for Suicide Prevention

Everyone needs a safety plan. Death by suicide is usually attributable to depression, yet even people who have no depression at all are at risk of suicide at times of extreme stress and vulnerability. This article describes the nature of suicidal thoughts and how to develop a safety plan to prevent suicide.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

The Surprising Results of Exercise for Depression

Regular exercise is a strategy that not only helps major depression but also helps prevent mental illness. There is an abundance of research on the positive effects of exercise on mental and physical health and the results for depression are amazing. This article explains the effects of exercise on depression and how to make it work for you.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Acting on Anxiety – Knowing When to Confront It or Avoid It

Anxiety can block us from doing the activities we love and can make our lives miserable, unproductive and inefficient. Making a proactive plan about how and when you will deal with your anxiety will immediately reduce your anxiety. The best and most durable solution for anxiety is confronting it at the right moment and at a rate that you can tolerate.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Mindfulness – How to Chill Out and Stop Beating Yourself Up

Anxious and self-critical thoughts steal joy from life, even from our favorite activities and greatest accomplishments. Practicing mindfulness will result in decreased overall anxiety and help you to be kinder to yourself as you develop the ability to calm your mind and let go of the need to judge yourself for every mistake, real or perceived. This article provides an introduction to mindfulness.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Behavioral Activation for Depression

Behavioral Activation is a strategy that not only helps major depression but also helps prevent mental illness. The activities and structure of behavioral activation encourage us to have a routine of healthy, uplifting and prosocial behavior. This article explains behavioral activation and how it works.

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Wellness Len Lantz, MD Wellness Len Lantz, MD

Sexual Desire – 15 Natural Ways to Increase Libido

A low libido can cause people and their partners a fair amount of stress. Putting libido into perspective in the larger picture of living life and taking some steps to reduce stress and change things for the better is a great place to start. This article explains 15 natural ways to improve libido that can be considered in enhancing libido.

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Wellness Krista David, MD Wellness Krista David, MD

Accepting Insomnia and Other Ways to Improve Your Sleep

Sleep problems are one of the most challenging and frustrating things that many people deal with on a regular basis. Accepting insomnia is a critical component of improving your sleep and not letting it control your emotions. This article explains 16 ways to improve your sleep and several backup strategies if healthy sleep habits are not enough.

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