mental health

The Statement: “On antidepressants but still in a funk? Try hitting the gym. (A new study) has found that exercise is just as good as a second antidepressant in conquering the blues.” — Toronto Star, August 25, 2011

Empowered patient: If you've never really experienced depression, it's hard to understand what it's like. Tobin Levy shares her downward spiral from thriving magazine writer to suicidal wreck — and how she's navigating her way to a brighter tomorrow.

There are some bad things associated with exercise. For one, the amount of laundry you have to do goes up. Yucky, sweaty, stinky laundry. Also, you may need to start leaving your running shoes outside and blasting them with a bacteria-killing spray.

There are a lot of people making claims to know the secret to lasting happiness, from Oprah Winfrey and her various gurus to Deepak Chopra. Now, Reuters reports ("Switch off, chip in, be happy, say activists" by Olesya Dmitracova) that a new "global movement for happiness" — Action for Happiness, apparently endorsed by the Dalai Lama and British Psychological Society — is on the scene and has decided to weigh in.

You know how it goes—nights of bad sleeps lead to snapping at a co-worker/yelling-at-kids/nit-picking-at-partner/this-day-just-sucks kind of days. And so further proves a new report from the UK-based Mental Health Foundation, which published a report, Sleep Matters, examining the link between poor sleep and our general health and happiness.