Close to 800,000 people die from suicide every year. That is one person every 40 seconds. Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan. But here’s a hope, a silver lining: we are not predetermined at birth. Nothing is fixed, not at birth, not during childhood. It's how we think, behave, adapt and change that determines how we get on in life. Our brains are constantly changing, we are constantly evolving. We can change every second, minute, day.
Read MoreIn this sixth article I’m writing on the topic of the rise of loneliness and depression as a societal malaise and proposing solutions for it, I highlight outstanding individuals who have lived through and triumphed over depression to achieve great successes in life, often to the bewilderment of their closest friends and kin who wonder, how do you do that with depressive disorder? This is so we are aware that our demons don’t always win. We always have an upper hand when we take control of our situations, no matter how dark and bleak.
Read MoreOne too many failed attempts in making friendships or relationships work doesn’t mean we stop trying. A toddler learning to walk knows not to give up trying - he takes a couple of baby step, fumbles and tumbles, gets back up on his feet, takes more steps forward, fumbles and tumbles some more, gets back up again, and keeps at it until he’s walking steadily. A baby doesn’t give up - why should we, as adults, give up when we fail in one or more areas of our life?
In this fifth installment on the topic of the rise of depression and loneliness and what we can do about it, I draw from personal experience to present this point: if we view life setbacks as mere temporal stops, that could just be the breakthrough we need in battling our lowest moments.
Read MoreIt’s easy to talk the talk, it ain’t easy to walk the walk. This is especially so for a depressed person to get out of the funk - it’s so much easier to say, oh you can do it, just get out of it, but for the sufferer, it’s a real debilitating issue which he or she has little control over.
In this fourth installment, I propose certain foods to eat and activities to do to boost a downcast spirit but the real butt-kicker is this, you gotta hit rock bottom and be so desperate you can’t help but to move out of your current predicament into a position of change.
Read MoreDepression and loneliness is on the rise. What can we do about this malady?
Does lifelong connection to our tribe reduce or eliminate depression or does it not? How much does nature or nurture contribute to depression?
When we move away from our birth family and form our own, can we engage new tribes with shared values that we could proudly belong to and continue to thrive individually and collectively?
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