How I Dealt With My Depression At Christmas

Last year, I had to put my beloved dog Sophie down on Christmas Day 2018. 

Christmas has never been the same since my brother passed away tragically in 1990 at the age of 25. 

And for me, Christmas has been a hollow shell of itself since my...

Has Depression Robbed You of Your Social Life?

Three common complaints that I see in social media, from depressed people, is that they have no friends, no social life, or no support group.  In fact, quite often they feel abandoned by their friends and family.

What if I were to tell...

How to Support a Friend or Family Member Dealing?

Great progress has been made in raising awareness about mental health and fighting the stigma, work still needs to be done.

One area that certainly could use some work is educating people on how to support and be friends with a person who...

Editorial

Let Us Define Cancer

I know my title choice has probably raised an eyebrow, or perhaps even made you upset.. but please bear with me as I draw an analogy between cancer and depression.

Dictionary.com defines cancer as:

Allow me to draw your attention to that last definition: "a...

The other night, I caught up with a friend over dinner.  We ended up at Barberian's Steak House in downtown Toronto.  They had a wine list that was 108 pages long!  Great food, excellent service.

During our conversation, of course we talked about my work here at Defying...

"If there is something wrong, those of us who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action."

-- Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Gates, in the film National Treasure.

Perhaps you saw National Treasure and remember that line, as Ben and Riley decide that they must steal the...

"Some days the battle isn't hard, ... and then there are the days from hell"

When you fight anxiety and/or depression day in and day out, taking care of yourself isn't something we can take for granted.  In fact, it makes caring for yourself much more difficult than for the average...

I have struggled with depression and anxiety issues for most of my adult life and late teens.  I am intimately familiar with depression's vice-like grip on your mind.  The grip it has seems to be invincible.

The amount of energy you needed to expend just to try to feel normal, on...