You know how I’ve written about how social media and phones can cause depression? Well, it turns out, your phone can also tell if you are depressed. The study, from the University of Stanford, shows that face and speech software on your phone can detect depression based on your facial expressions and speech patterns: The … Continue reading Your smartphone can tell if you’re depressed
As part of my legislative work, I just finished reading a technical package from the Centers for Disease Control. The topic was suicide. It was some pretty heavy reading. At the same time, it was informative for many reasons, as it included a wide array of programs that people in government and the non-profit world … Continue reading The next time there’s a high profile suicide, don’t just tweet a phone number. Do this instead.
Frequently readers of this blog will note that I have repeatedly discussed the extremely damaging effects that technology, social media and overuse on your smartphone can have on your mental health. Last week, in a blog entry entitled “Put Down The Damn Phone,” I suggested that you…well, put down the damn phone. That entry was … Continue reading Author Interview: Catherine Price, How To Break Up With Your Phone
The above picture was taken the other day. My wife and I were lucky enough to go see Haim (my favorite group!) at Radio City Music Hall. I’ve been reading this fascinating book lately: How To Break Up With Your Phone, by Catherine Price. It is, as the name says, all about learning to live your life … Continue reading Put down the damn phone
As I’ve written before, social media can be really, really, really bad for your mental health. This is for a variety of reasons, including: It inspires unrealistic comparisons between yourself and others. It creates unrealistic and unhealthy expectations of how someone should be living their life. It can lead to increased feelings of isolation. It can inspire … Continue reading How to look at social media and not want to throw your phone out a window
I remember catching this story ages ago: A study found that the more time you spend on your iPhone, the more likely you are to be depressed. Then, yesterday, a friend was kind enough to send me this article about how the University of Berkeley was offering students “counseling” in response to a conservative speaker … Continue reading Your smartphone may be making you depressed
When it comes to mental illness, one of the things I have struggles to come to terms with is that it is always there, always lurking, even when it isn’t “active”…sort of like an app on your iPhone. Alright, some background. In my last blog entry, I discussed how mental illness/depression/anxiety can make it very … Continue reading Depression is like Facebook on your iPhone
“Hey, something’s up with Molly. She’s not right.” On Monday, April 8, we were getting ready in my house like any other day. I was going to Harrisburg, my wife was getting ready for school and the kids were eating breakfast. It was around 6:45am. Molly, our ten year old German Sheppard, was having trouble … Continue reading How to cope with losing the pet you love
This Pew study. Wow. According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, a whopping 96% of teens view depression and anxiety as a major or minor problem among their peers, far outpacing literally every other societal problem, including bullying, alcohol, poverty, teen pregnancy and more. And the numbers aren’t even close. Per the … Continue reading American Teenagers: Depression is our biggest problem
I came across this article in The Guardian: Scientists are apparently working on a pill for loneliness. The article does a great job of noting a fundamental truth about humans: We are social creatures. When we are denied social interaction with others, we become depressed and lose our ability to function. As a result of … Continue reading Why the idea of a “pill for loneliness” has me nervous
