The six weeks encompassing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s—collectively called “the holidays”—are for most a magically unique time of year, filled with holiday carols, reunions, displays of colorful lights, love, and affection, often expressed through gift giving. But for some, the holidays bring hurt. Caused by factors including the weather, separation, death, stress, unrealistic expectations,...Continue reading
I’ll be 75 years old this year. My wife, Carlin, will be 80. Even our 5 children are rushing past mid-life. We’ve all had health challenges that we talk about with family, friends, and our health-care providers. But there’s one problem that remains hidden. It’s depression and bipolar disorder. My father suffered from them for...Continue reading
We’ve bought into the greatest con job in human history. We’ve been taught that civilization is the pinnacle of human achievement and saved us from a life that was solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish as the philosopher Thomas Hobbs described it. In fact, it is civilization that is solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish. We’ve been...Continue reading
Derrick, a 28-year-old Richmond, Ca., man with an associate’s degree, loves his job doing after-school mentoring, tutoring, and coaching sports with elementary students in west Oakland, but with only 21 hours at work each week at $12.50 per hour, he struggles to pay his $1,400 rent and take care of his 1-year-old daughter. “I like...
Steven Wilkerson, a former Marine who fought in Iraq and a father of three, makes $8 an hour at a Tampa fast-food restaurant. He usually gets off work and takes the bus home at 10 p.m., too late to see his kids before they go to bed. Wilkerson, 28, is just one of millions of...
Like millions of others in the U.S. and throughout the world, I’ve been depressed a lot in my life and I’ve taken medications to help relieve the hopelessness, irritability, and lack of energy that plagued me. In 2004, I wrote a book, The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression that gathered...Continue reading
I was five years old when my uncle drove me to the mental hospital. He was taking me to see my father who had suffered “a nervous breakdown.” Later I learned that he had become increasingly depressed because he couldn’t make a living supporting his family. Like me, he was a writer, and found it...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: A few years ago, you wrote about the benefits of meditation for children. I honestly thought you were joking. But a counselor at my son’s school just recommended it, saying it could help my son’s severe anxiety. When I asked how to do it, he handed me a copy of your article!...Continue reading
You found the love of your life early on and feel lucky compared to others who remain single around you. And, then suddenly, you notice subtle and then drastic changes in your relationship. There are many reasons a relationship can fall apart. Lifestyle changes like a loss of a job, or a lack of communication...Continue reading
It’s January and once again I begin thinking about losing weight. I keep track of my weight and keep losing and gaining the same 20 pounds. I eat pretty well, but I eat too much. Like most people, there are a million reasons why I weigh more than I want to weigh. I’ve always been...Continue reading