Technology and Family Life

Do you rely on your daughter's status updates on Facebook or Twitter to know how she's feeling today?

We already know too much time spent on video games deprives a child the opportunities to develop crucial social skills. But are we setting enough limits on texting and other online activities for our kids? And, more importantly, how are we adults doing in modeling good behavior for our children?

In our quest to reach out to connect with the world through technology, must face-to-face interaction with those closest to us be sacrificed?

clipped from www.nytimes.com Technology has shaken up plenty of life’s routines, but for many people it has completely altered the once predictable rituals at the start of the day. This is morning in America in the Internet age. After six to eight hours of network deprivation — also known as sleep — people are increasingly waking up and lunging for cellphones and laptops, sometimes even before swinging their legs to the floor and tending to more biologically urgent activities. Mr. Gude, an instructor at Michigan State University, sends texts to his two sons to wake up. “We use texting as an in-house intercom,” he said. “I could just walk upstairs, but they always answer their texts.” Weekday mornings have long been frenetic, disjointed affairs. Now families that used to fight over the shower or the newspaper tussle over access to the lone household computer — or about whether they should be using gadgets at all, instead of communicating with one another.

Group Therapy for Women

What does it mean to be a working woman with a family?

You work hard in a job that may or may not pay you well, and you sometimes wonder if sexual discrimination/harassment is alive and well at your workplace. When you come home you've got to fulfill your roles as a mom and wife, fixing dinner for your husband/partner and reading to your children at bedtime. Every time when your mom/sibling calls to complain about their lives, you step into the role of a good daughter/sister and offer them your best support. When a friend is sick or going through a bad breakup, you run to their rescue.

You make sure every detail in others' lives is taken care of, even when you don't always get thanks.

Everyday, millions of working women in America are struggling to keep up with the demands of work and family. Symptoms of anxiety and depression often develop, along with feelings of "I'm not good enough" or "what is the purpose of my life?"

The good news is, you don't have to suffer alone. Come meet with a group of women who face challenges like yours. I am starting a therapy group for women in Bellevue, WA. You'll find strength from group bonding, practical advice on keeping your life together, skills to combat stress and negative emotions, and renewed energy so you can thrive and grow. I'm keeping the group size small (no more than 6) for maximum therapeutic benefits.

Details are as follows:

Finding Work-Life Balance - Group Therapy for Women
When: Fridays, 5pm to 6:30pm
Where: 9 Lake Bellevue Dr, Suite 217, Bellevue, WA 98005
Cost: $25 per session
Call (206) 280-3591 or email ling@passagescounseling.com for a free screening and consultation.

Depression: A Mistaken Disease

Is there a biological basis for depression? Certainly, according to Dr. Mark Rasenick, a professor of physiology, biophysics and psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago (an excerpt of his recent article follows). Even then, he contends that we know too little about the disease to even begin to treat it effectively, let alone stem its rising tide in the global population.

I share his sentiment that the medical professionals erroneously see medication the magic bullet to cure depression. Yet one needs to interpret with caution his assertion that depression is a "biological, medical problem" that often requires "long-term treatment." The relationship between biological and emotional aspects of depression remains a chicken-and-egg puzzle: does one feel depressed because of a chemical imbalance in the brain, or does feeling depressed lead to such imbalance?

clipped from www.chicagotribune.com Depression impairs 15 million Americans each year. That's more people than are affected by cancer, AIDS or coronary heart disease. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression. I study how the brain works on the molecular and cellular level, and I am especially focused on the biology of depression. I can tell you that depression is as real as any other disease. We still don't have a clear understanding of the biological basis of the causes of depression or the best ways to treat it, whether with medication or other methods. those with heart diseases are treated with compassion while those with psychiatric disease are ignored or scorned. Most people -- including far too many doctors -- don't fully understand it. They think you can just snap out of it with positive thinking or a couple of weeks' worth of medicine. It won't happen. Not for those with major depression. It is a biological, medical problem that can be helped only with well-managed and often long-term treatment.