So Much To Do: I Want To Go To Bed

You look around and see others being so productive. They seem to go to work, keep an immaculate home, read the latest bestseller, and still have time to go to the gym three days a week. Yet, you are overwhelmed trying to get out of bed, take a shower and get to work.

You compare yourself to others and conclude that you fall short. You must do more to measure up to what is expected! You resolve to set goals to improve your performance. You resolve to change your diet, your exercise, your use of free time...the list goes on.

Perhaps for a day or two you find that you have a burst of energy and are making progress, but then the bubble bursts. You find yourself sitting unable to muster the energy to tackle your goals. Is the problem that you are inferior to others? No!

It is important to know that you can improve and meet goals, but you must also recognize that a mood disorder makes achieving these goals more difficult. You must set smaller, more easily achieved goals. You can still aim high, but must be careful to take small steps.

As you set goals, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is my goal achievalble in a brief period of time?
2. Can I break this goal down into several more easily achievable goals?
3. Does this goal make an unreasonable demand on my time, energy, or skills?
4. Can I honestly predict a 75% chance of success for this goal?
5. Have I set a reasonable measure for success.
6. Can I tolerate falling short in my effort?
   

What Makes Depressed Folks Different?

Thursday, Mar 19 (Psych Centralhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2009/03/19/depressed-individuals-miss-out-on-good-things-in-life/4837.html) --

While depression is often linked to negative thoughts and emotions, a new study suggests the real problem may be a failure to appreciate positive experiences.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that depressed and nondepressed people were about equal in their ability to learn negative information that was presented to them.

But depressed people weren’t nearly as successful at learning positive information as were their non-depressed counterparts.

“Since depression is characterized by negative thinking, it is easy to assume that depressed people learn the negative lessons of life better than nondepressed people – but that’s not true,” said Laren Conklin, co-author of the study and a graduate student in psychology at Ohio State.

Drug Company Scandal

It may not be as big a scandal as Madoff's ponzi scheme, but it has affected many more people and involves more money.

A recent journal article paper by Eric Turner and others in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy," showed that drug companies were inflating claims of efficacy by not publishing all the results of the studies done on antidepressant medications.

Instead of 94% of the studies demonstrating effectiveness for the drugs, the rate is closer to 51%. This means that the consumer's doctor is mislead to believe that the drugs he or she is prescribing are more effective than they actually are. The doctor, in turn, sets unrealistic expectations for the patient receiving the medication. When the patient fails to respond, then the patient feels hopeless because he or she has been led to expect that everyone else is benefiting from the medication.

Such disappointment can, in turn, lead to greater self-doubt, hopelessness and a loss of motivation to battle the depression. Madoff will be held accountable for his behavior and will likely spend time in jail. What is the consequence when drug companies inflate the efficacy of their medicine?