Escitalopram (Lexapro)

Pros: An SSRI often prescribedl for anxiety and depressive symptoms. Along with other SSRIs, its considered a top choice by some for use during pregnancy and lactation.Cons: Potential for sexual dysfunction and weight gain.Possible side effects: nausea, headache, dry mouth, dizziness, weakness, excessive sweating

Sertraline (Zoloft)

Pros: An SSRI that is used to treat depressive symptoms and other mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder. Generally considered safe for use in pregnancy and lactation. Less expensive than other medications.Cons: Potential for sexual dysfunction.Possible common side effects: Nausea, sleep issues, headache, diarrhea, loss of appetite, dry mouth

Duloxetine (Cymbalta)

Pros: An SNRI used for anxiety and depression. It can also be used to treat pain from medical conditions like fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathy.Cons: Potential for severe drug interactions.Possible common side effects: sleepiness, headache, insomnia, dizziness, blurred vision, diarrhea, lack of energy, constipation

Venlafaxine (Effexor)

Pros: An SNRI prescribed for anxiety and depression, and generally well tolerated. May help reduce menopause-related hot flashes.Cons: Safety concerns to consider with pregnancy.Possible common side effects: nausea, sweating, headache, drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness

Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Aplenzin, Zyban)

Pros: An NDRI used for depression, seasonal affective disorder and smoking cessation. It may help improve focus, concentration and motivation, and help with coping with fatigue.Cons: May be too stimulating for some; may aggravate anxiety symptoms and insomnia. Not always suitable for those with an eating disorder or who are prone to seizures.Possible common side effects: agitation, drowsiness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, dry mouth, dizziness

Mirtazapine (Remeron)

Pros: A tetracyclic drug used to treat symptoms of depression and anxiety. Promotes sleep and improves insomnia with low reports of sexual dysfunction. It can also increase appetite, which is beneficial for individuals who are underweight.Cons: Its strong sedation effect causes excessive tiredness. Some experience unwanted weight gain. Can, on rare occasions, cause changes in menstrual cycle, which is considered to be a severe side effect.Possible common side effects: dry mouth, headache, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation

Vortioxetine (Trintellix)

Pros: An SSRI that also modulates serotonin receptors. Its used to treat major depressive disorder and has been shown to be helpful with improving cognitive impairment associated with depression. Low reports of sexual dysfunction and weight gain.Cons: It can be expensive compared to other antidepressants. Nausea is quite prevalent in the first two weeks of treatment.Possible common side effects: nausea, constipation, vomiting, dizziness, dry mouth, diarrhea, headacheNext: Frustrated Your Antidepressants Arent Working? Heres What You Need To Know

The post The Right Antidepressant for You, According to a Clinical Pharmacist appeared first on Best Health.

You write about what philosopher Ian Hacking calls the looping effect: a diagnosis can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as people adjust their behaviour to fit their illness. Did your age at the time of your diagnosis disrupt that loop?

That diagnosis meant nothing to me. Anorexia sounded like this big, fancy word, but it had no resonance. It wasnt ever used in my peer group. I left the hospital and it was a discrete experience that I saw as sort of this freak moment. I think because I was so young, it just didnt solidify as the problem with my life. I didnt have insight. I had no idea why I had done that. And I think I was allowed a degree of: well, six-year-olds dont have much power over anything in their lives. But one thing they do have power over is what they put in their mouth. That very simple, spare explanation was allowed to be it.

That notion of insight comes up again and again in the book. How does the medical profession understand insight?

There are two different ways of thinking about insight. One is more the psychoanalytic approach: If you have an awareness of whats causing your suffering or sort of family dynamics produced your sense of self, then you can have this epiphany, and that epiphany itself can be healing. That was the model 40, 50 years ago. And then, over time, what psychiatrists seek for patients to understand in the quick clinical encounter is more like: I have the insight to realize that my brain is not properly functioning, because I have a chemical imbalance and I need to take medications to help.

What context is missing from that model?

Theres one extreme, which is to assume that having insight into the dynamics that cause an illness is going to be healing. Then theres the other extreme, which is that were not even going to try to engage with the context of the family, the upbringing, the community, the ways all sorts of social and economic and political factors might have shaped your sense of being in crisis. Someone like Naomi, who I write about in the book, is very aware of the ways that discrimination, poverty, violence and death have shaped her life. And then to have a doctor say, all I want you to do here is acknowledge that you have a mental illness and you can help yourself if you take medications, it can feel really invalidating.

Is there something compelling about a biomedical explanation for mental illness, though? Does it offer a sense of neutrality?

Yeah, and it does this powerful thing of taking away parents sense of being at fault, or people blaming themselves. I think its interesting that its always assumed the biomedical explanation will reduce stigma, and that hasnt borne out. Theres a whole other set of stigmatized connotations that come from having this permanent biological illnessthat its in your bones, its in your body, and its going to mark you for life.

How can certain illnesses or medications get gendered? Im thinking of borderline personality disorder diagnosed more often in women, or prescriptions for an SSRI like Lexapro, which your friend memorably described as a pill to make the ambitious ladies more tolerable.

Pharmaceutical marketing campaigns are so interesting. Recently, white women are shown with a ring on their finger, the kids in one hand, their briefcase in the other. And the drugs are celebrated as the thing that will allow them to have their full working life and their full motherhood. But a common side effect for SSRIs is to take away peoples sex drives. Its interesting that we expect a lot of working mothers, but sexuality is not one of them. SSRIs have been widely accepted without much conversation about what it does to sexuality.

And there hasnt been much conversation aboutor even much research onpeople who try to come off those medications, either. You write about your own struggles to come off Lexapro.

I think seeing what happens when people go off their medications doesnt feel sexy and exciting as a research project. I also think theres some level of paternalistic thinkingwe dont want to study the difficulties that people have getting off medications, because were scared if we publicize it, people wont get on the medications. But that takes the decision out of peoples hands.

Could that also be influenced by the idea, as weve moved to a biomedical explanation for mental illness, that if this illness is chronic, we dont need to study the off-ramps for medication?

Rightthat if you are taking medication for a chemical imbalance, youre always going to have a chemical imbalance, and youre always going to need to fix it. So theres this sense of rewriting what your baseline is, as opposed to seeing mental health as something that ebbs and flows. Maybe you go through a hard phase and take that medication until youre in a better place.

How do we know what our baseline is?

Thats something Ive struggled with. I went on Lexapro in my late 20s. I was an adult, but I dont know, maybe I hadnt grown into my true self yet; your sense of self is always shifting. But if Lexapro allows me to interact with friends and family in a more loving and open and warm way, theres something sad about me saying, well, thats not my baseline selfmy baseline self is more rigid and inhibited. I dont like that idea.

There are ways our sense of self shifts as we get older, adding careers and families, but also as we navigate external events that act upon us. I feel the pandemic must have changed my baseline self.

Its interesting that, in the wake of the pandemic, people have called it a mental health epidemic. You could phrase it that way. But you could also phrase it as people responding to the grief and loneliness of the conditions of their lives. I think loneliness in the culture is talked about more, but I dont know thats its become more of a focus for psychiatry yet.

Yet all the people in your book found value and help in speaking with someonein alleviating their loneliness.

One of the things I was struck by with all the people I wrote about was how they felt seen by someone who had gone through a similar mental illness, or even someone who could understand how they were processing their illness. I think psychiatry generally thinks about people as individual brains with individual problems, and not as much about the ways in which problems emerge in the relation between a persons brain and their community. And then so too does recovery.Next: How a Mental Health Gym Can Transform Your Emotional Well-Being

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Have you ever been pigeonholed as the strong Black woman in your friendships?

I think a lot of us have been taught in so many different ways, directly and indirectly, to be the strong Black woman. For a long time, I thought being strong was not crying, not showing emotion, but still being able to show up for other people. It’s something that I think I’m consistently learning to unlearn, as well as trying to support other people in their journey of recognizing, Is this actually really serving me? Is this actually helpful way to, for me to live my life?

What do you think of the trope that Black women are always strong or resilient?

The emergence of the strong Black woman didn’t come from Black communities and I love the fact that over the last couple of years, [Black women have] been collectively resisting it. For the first time, were really seeing this ideathe idea that Black women are always strong and superhuman, that we don’t have emotions, that we can carry anythingwere seeing that its really deeply rooted in anti-Black racism.I always ask, What does [this trope] do structurally? And theres danger in what that strong Black woman trope does to us structurally. For example, it impacts our ability to get health care. In particular, when Black women seek mental health support, theyre often dismissed. Even in our own intimate lives, we don’t get the support that we need, or the care that we need, or we feel like we always have to show up for everybody else. But often, we’re not able to have the space for ourselves.

Do you think the strong Black woman trope promotes good mental health in Black women?

I don’t think that it does. The strong Black woman syndrome, the idea that we can struggle through anything, and we’ll make it through, is not rooted in our humanity. Its not rooted in the fact that Black women have feelings, that we need to be able to have our experiences heard and validated. That we have needs that we shouldn’t be sacrificing for other people. It doesn’t allow us to get our supports, or have our needs met.

I’ve often heard of Black women being labelled “superhuman.” Do you feel that label dehumanizes us?

I think it makes it seem like we’re indestructible. And if there’s the idea that Black women are indestructible, it means that anything can be tossed to Black women, and they’re going to deal with it because they know how to, and that’s the end of that. It’s forcing us to be strong against things that are oppressing us and are hurting us and are harming us in every facet of our liveswhich isn’t fair to us.

Have you ever had people rely on you to be their therapist, even before you got your certifications?

I’m somebody who dates men. So, naturally, it happens in my relationships with men. Its definitely complicated. There’s times where, of course, you want to support your partner. But at the same time, you also need that emotional support and labour to be reciprocated. It can become difficult when that person doesn’t necessarily know how to do that, or always have the capacity to do that, or is unwilling to know how to support you in that emotional sense and regard.

Has anyone ever told you, You’ve changed my life? Do you feel the same about those who say that?

There’s been times where there has been that definite mutual support, and the fact that I felt like I could rely on somebody else, I can trust them, and vice versa. And then there’s times where it doesn’t feel reciprocated in the same way. It can feel really depleting. You might put so much energy into trying to support this person, and they dont do the things that you would do for them. There are times where you begin to think, what’s the purpose of this relationship? Do I want this relationship? One of the things I’ve had to really figure out in my relationships is what is reciprocated and looks different? Maybe that person cant offer me the same exact things I offer them. But is there any value in this relationship? Is it making me feel good? Is it bringing me some sense of joy? Because I think that we can still have valuable relationships, even if they’re not always reciprocated in the same exact ways.(Related: Why Is It So Hard to Find a Therapist Who Gets Me?)

What effect can one-sided relationships can have on mental health?

You leave relationships or conversations feeling really resentful. There are times where you might be connected to a lot ofpeople, but do you actually feel like you can turn to them for support? No. Then, you might be in crisis, or really struggling and other people have no idea. Theres a real need for us to be able to trust and depend on people we have in our lives.

What are some boundaries you’ve created that ensures that you’re not always the strong Black woman doing the emotional labour?

For my friends, one of the things that we do is we check in. Asking, Do you have the capacity to talk about something that’s a bit deep right now? That has been helpful. One of the things that we need to be able to do is to make sure that person that you’re talking to is good [to talk as well]. But also, if you do have something that you want to share that’s difficult, that you’re getting consent from the person you want to talk to, to share something heavy. Something that’s also been really important is allowing my expectations to align with people’s actions. I really try to meet people where they are so that I’m not doing excessive emotional labour when I don’t need to.

How can Black women take care of themselves in a world that expects us to be strong and whole all the time?

One of the things that I think is really important for people to know is that we don’t need to be in crisis before we get the support that we need. Giving yourself permission to get help and support in whatever way that looks like is important. And also letting yourself know that you cannot be the saviour all the time. Sometimes that distracts us from really caring for ourselves. So really think about how you want to prioritize yourself, and remind yourself that that’s not selfish.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next: The Forces That Shape Health Care for Black Women

The post As a Black Woman, I’ve Been “The Rock” for All My Friends—But It’s Not Often Reciprocated appeared first on Best Health.

Loneliness and the Pandemic

Before the first lockdown, Id periodically travel to various major cities for work and tag on extra days to explore each place on my own. When my long-distance boyfriend and I would plan trips, Id head over a day or two early to enjoy the city solo, checking out must-see spots to revisit (or skip) with him. Berlin, Reykjavik, ParisI can tell you how to spend the most marvellous 24 hours alone there and never feel lonely. So, when the pandemic hit and I was by myself in my tiny Toronto apartment, I thought, I got this. All I had to do was keep busy.I did all the things that are proven to promote a positive mindset. I established a routine that included an early bedtime and early morning alarm. I got ready every day, complete with a spritz of Chlo Eau de Parfum. I read a book a week. I exercised twice a day and logged my 10,000 steps outside, snow or hail. I spent hours on the phone with my favourite people. I ate lots of vegetables and little to no packaged foods. I started taking online French lessons.After a few months, there was a shift. I began finding it difficult to absorb the words in my books. My daily walks felt like a chore. I lost my appetite and ran out of conversation topics. My French was going well, but only because my lunchtime lesson with my tutor had become a reprieve from a morning spent smothered by ruminating thoughts about not sharing memories with anyone, not making memories with anyone, not getting closer to my goals, not having a purpose. I felt heavy, suffocated by the thought that time was running away from me and I was fastened to the same place. Im lucky, I told myself. So many people have it so much worse, I repeated. But nothing I tried prevented the spells of self-pity.Its because Im alone, I assumed. But it turns out, singles arent the only people feeling lonely during the pandemic. According to a July 2021 CAMH survey, about a quarter of people living in households with children reported feeling lonely. You can be surrounded by a lot of people and still feel lonely, says Kamkar.

Who Loneliness Affects

Loneliness happens when we dont feel heard, understood or have a sense of belonging. Kate Mulligan, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, points to adults with kids under 18 navigating home-schooling last year: They may feel impacted by the isolation and loneliness of raising kids without their village, and that their needs arent being prioritized by governments or decision-makers. This type of experience is called epistemic injustice, which occurs when a persons views and experiences in the world arent valued. Theres that sort of existential loneliness of, Why is what Ive been doing not part of the broader conversation? says Mulligan.Epistemic injustice hits marginalized communities hardest. If youre Black, if youre LGBTQ2+, if youre Indigenous, youre more likely to experience feelings of loneliness, says Mulligan. This is often because theres not enough being done to effectively address the systemic issues marginalized people face.Alia Chan, a psychotherapist at Avery Therapy Centre in Vancouver, says she experienced this type of loneliness during a recent rise in anti-Asian hate, particularly in early 2021. To help herself and others in the Asian community, Chan led a free six-week therapy facilitation group. There was an authenticity behind it, she says. People were sharing their traumas, they were feeling seen and were in a safe space. Feelings of loneliness wont dissipate until theres justice for the collective, but support from others can help, says Chan.

The Loneliness Epidemic

Even before COVID came along, there was a loneliness epidemic, with studies indicating that one in five Canadians identified as lonely. Its an issue worldwide, too. In 2018, the United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness after noting the rates of loneliness had doubled since the 1980s. While technology has kept us more connected, we have fewer face-to-face interactions, which are much more meaningful. Japan recently followed the U.K.s lead, appointing a minister for loneliness in February 2021. Its a serious issuelong-term loneliness is associated with a host of physical health problems, including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia, and a range of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and suicide.

How to Cope With Loneliness

Kamkar says treating loneliness starts with self-awareness, reflection about our value system and asking ourselves: Why am I feeling this way? Is it because Im not surrounded by others or that my needs arent being met? Talking to a health care professional can be useful, she says, as mental health experts can help you recognize your feelings and form a treatment plan.In most cases, Kamkar explains that treating loneliness includes social prescribing, which is when doctors recommend health-promoting activities to patients. For many people, social prescribing is the only treatment for loneliness they need, says Mulligan. Whether someone is living alone or with a family, needing human interaction or to feel heard, these activities can help build a support network that makes an individual feel acceptedwhile also stimulating happy hormones. Certain activities, like playing a sport or taking an art class, naturally boost serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins. Sometimes we forget that we have that as a resource, says Chan.But I had already prescribed myself physical, playful and educational activitiesso how come I wasnt seeing the benefits? According to Mulligan, its because my activities didnt support my mental health in the optimal way. You need to feel a sense of autonomy to feel like you have choice in whats happening in your life, mastery to feel youre in control, belonging to feel seen in your community and beneficence to feel good about giving back, says Mulligan.Based on those four categories, I realized what was missing from my life was a sense of belonging and beneficence. My day job had gone remote, my night job had succumbed to lockdown, my barre studio had closed and I was tethered to my Toronto neighbourhoodI lost all the ways I used to connect and bond with others. My current situation wasnt working, so I knew I had to make a change in order to feel happy again and not sink into another bout of loneliness.

Nothing Changes Without Changes

As soon as it was safe to do so, I gave my landlord my notice. After eight years living on my own, I pushed my furniture, piece by piece, into the hallway, waited for some stranger on Facebook Marketplace to pick it up, and I left.With no permanent address, I split my time with loved ones. I spent time with my parents, comforted by the feeling of being doted on. I visited friends, soaking up old memories and meeting their pandemic babies. I reunited with my boyfriend, discussing plans for our future. I dropped in on my sister, helping her care for her little ones while my brother-in-law was out of town. The truth is, while being alone doesnt cause loneliness, not being alone can certainly help treat it. Emotions go through a cycle, says Chan. You need to feel it to heal it.Next: 10 Ways to Enrich Your Life and Beat Loneliness

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1. Download the drama

As we all know, the holidays can be an emotional roller coaster. For many people, the season is marked by some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Its a time for reflection on the past and big dreams for the future, and both can cause a lot of anxiety, fear and sadness. Mindfulness and meditation can help with all the ups and the downs. One of the things these practices can help with is emotional regulation, says Cameron. This relates to an overall feeling about the season, and it can get you through some of those sticky situations, too. Whether its a super tense dinner starring feuding relatives or an awkward phone conversation with an inebriated aunt, a little built-in chill goes a long way. You learn to find that pause between stimulus and reaction, she says. Its the ability to step back, reflect and respond as your best self, she says. And in family dynamics, says Cameron, thats key.

2. Let go of unrealistic expectations

The pursuit of perfection is a trap for many of us. Whether its the perfect family photo, perfectly cooked dinner or perfectly wrapped gift, we tend to set ourselves up for failureand loads of stresswith unrealistic expectations for creating joyful moments and lasting memories. This year, in particular, there may be pressure to make the holidays feel the same (or even extra special), despite celebrations being smaller and physically distanced. Mindfulness can help us reframe how we approach our holiday time and allow us to let go a little, says Cameron. Its that little bit of space to accept things for the way they are rather than wish they were different, she says.A mindfulness practice can also help you keep tabs on a runaway calendar and never-ending to-do list. Its being able to look at everything you have to do and assess whether or not its really having an impact on your life, she says. Is it nice to have or does it have to be done? Or is it something you think you have to do, like bake five kinds of shortbread when you dont even like shortbread? (Hint: If its not bringing you joy, dont do it!)

3. Enjoy all the moments

When asked, almost all of us say that the holidays are about family. But when it comes right down to it, we often find ourselves too hurried, stressed or focused on filling our social media feeds with images of holiday bliss to actually enjoy the time we have together. Coming back to the mindfulness principle of being present in the moment can be incredibly helpful, says Cameron. At your celebration (even if it’s virtual), stop and immerse yourself in what your aunt or grandfather has to say and forget about making everything perfect. Its a time for connection, she says. You want to really make sure youre connecting.Next: How Singing Can Raise Your Spirits During the Holiday Season

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Did you know?

• Womencry emotional tears on average 30 to 64 times a year, as compared with5 to 17times per year formen, according to a study of self-reports from more than 7,000 people in 37 countries.
• A 2011 cross-cultural study of adult crying across 37 countries found that individuals living in more affluent, democratic, extroverted, and individualistic countries tend to report to cry more often. The study showed a lot of criers follow distinct trends: Australian and American men cried the most, while Bulgarian, Nigerian and Malaysian males cried least. Countries with the greatest gender equality reported crying more overall.
• Tears are an essential communication tool for babies, and they may serve us well in adulthood, according to several studies. One showed participants images of faces dappled with tears and faces with tears digitally removed. Subjects judged the faces with tears as appearing sadder and rated the tearless faces ambiguously. Tears add valence and nuance to the perception of faces, says the studys lead author. They become a sort of social lubricant, he says, ensuring the smooth functioning of a community by helping people communicate.
• Tears help dogs, too. In a small 2022 study, researchers reported that dogs produce more tears when reunited with their owners than with other humans, and when dogs exhibit watery, shiny eyes, it facilitates human caregiving, according to Takefumi Kikusui, an animal behaviour and veterinary medicine specialist at Azabu University in Japan and one of the studys authors.
• The Japanese are such strong believers in the health benefits of a good sob that they have crying clubs. Rui-katsu (literally, tear-seeking) is where people come together to indulge in a communal weep. Hidefumi Yoshida holds workshops across the country, where he helps adults learn to cry. Hes also the subject of a sweet 2020 documentary, Tears Teacher. It may be just the thing to kick off your own sob fest.
• Researchers from the University of Queensland ran an experiment to test whether emotional crying facilitates coping and recovery from unhappy feelings. They showed sad videos to groups of criers and self-described non-criers: the non-criers breathing rates went up, whereas the criers tended to maintain theirs. Criers also, right before crying, experienced decreases intheir heart rates, seemingly in anticipation of the cry.

Next: Why Can Sad Music Help Us Feel Better?

The post Is Crying Actually Good for You? A Science-Backed, Data-Forward Guide appeared first on Best Health.

Relieve yourself from guilt

Changing our personal habitslike using paper straws over plastic onesis definitely worthwhile, but its a tremendously small fraction of the solution: The fossil fuel industry is responsible for at least 89 percent of global CO2 emissions. In fact, in the 1970s, after fossil fuel companies became aware their products would make up an outsized proportion of global emissions, they spread misinformation about the impacts of the greenhouse effect and created a PR campaign to pin global warming on individual consumers.Wray urges her readers to resist this blame game and remember that the climate crisis will not be solved by our consumer choices alonewe need wider-reaching, sweeping policy changes. Im not going to get trapped in their narratives about individual guilt, she says. We should all do what we can to align our values with our actions, but these are systemic issues. We need systemic responses and people coming together to change our systems through policy.

Dont judge others

It can be frustrating to feel like were making responsible choiceseating less meat, busting out reusable grocery bagswhile some people just cant be bothered. But its important to understand the social inequities that may prevent many people from making these lifestyle changes. Buying only locally grown, whole foods or avoiding fast fashion can be expensive and time-consumingmany people do not have the wiggle room in their budget, or the time in a stressful work week, to devote the money and extra effort required to change these ingrained, and often structural, habits.Were tied to systems of colonialism, capitalism and neoliberalism that puts people in complex, compromised positions of unlivable wages that minimize their capacity to make other changes, says Meghan Wise, an environmental activist and coordinator at the UBC Climate Hub.Make individual adjustments when you can, but have empathy for those who are unable to do so. If we can support each other and make powerful climate actions available to everybody, says Wise, we can move together, faster, in the direction we need to.An example? Make public transit more accessible, says Wise. Urge policymakers to create and support safe and affordable public transportation options, from more subway routes to more e-bikes in our cities. Studies indicate that if given the option and appropriate infrastructure, many people would take up e-bikes or public transit alternatives, which can have wonderful co-benefits to reduce community air pollution and increase collective mental health, says Wise.

Findand lean onyour community

We experience the climate crisis in different ways, depending on factors like where we live, our financial status and how educated we are about whats happening around the world. Wealthier Canadians can afford to escape soaring summer temps by fleeing to the cottage; Canadians living outside BC may not understand the very real fears of wildfires, drought and flooding; and not everyone is learning about the climate-change-related catastrophes that can feel far away, like this summers floods in Pakistan.When it seems like youre the only person you know paying attention, it can easily lead to feeling alone with your eco-anxiety. Finding a community can help alleviate the isolation, Wray says. Balance the hopelessness and fear with more positive emotions, like courageousness and connection, by fostering resilient communities that push for solutions.Wise suggests becoming an advocate in your community in a role that reflects your valuesand that doesnt mean it has to be directly linked to the climate crisis fight. Working on food justice in your community is climate action; working on housing injustice is climate action, she says. Community cohesion is a critical aspect of community resilience. Recognizing how youre already contributing to a community can help ease that eco-anxiety.Dont discount the seemingly smallbut significantways you can support climate-friendly organizations in your community and feel like youre making a difference. Join a tool library instead of driving to Home Depot (cities like Toronto and Vancouver already have them), or start a sharing hub. In my neighborhood, we share lawn equipment, garden tools, a ladder, power toolsthings like that, says Wise. Starting or joining your local Buy Nothing group (through an app, or via a Facebook group) instead of Amazoning everything you need to your house is another easy way to reduce your ecological impact and save money, while creating community bonds.

Employ healthy coping mechanisms

This is heavy stuff. Drowning your eco-anxiety with a bowl of ice cream or a glass of wine while scrolling TikTok can definitely provide temporary relief from the news cycle, but these forms of head-in-the-sand coping mechanisms may not be good for you in the long run. Suppression can take a real toll on our body, immune system and general wellbeing, says Wray.Lopes says the most effective coping mechanisms are taking realistic actiondoing what is within your meansand practising acceptance. You can take action against eco-anxiety by using emotion-focused coping and meaning-focused coping, which Wray outlines in her book. Emotion-focused coping helps manage negative emotions around a stressor thats out of your control through mind-soothing practices like meditation, journaling and engaging in other pleasurable activities. Meaning-focused therapy encourages finding purpose to transform feelings into actions. Its about being alive at this time, throwing ones talents at the problems and connecting with the community who can mirror these concerns and help support you, says Wray.As for the other coping mechanism, acceptance, Lopes says you need to come to terms with the reality of the situation. Theres only so much you can do, and you cant do it all alone, she says. Knowing whats in your control and whats not can help prevent negative self-talk and those paralyzing, ruminating thoughts.

Demand policy changesand vote

Look for campaigns pushing corporations to reassess the impacts of how they operate, and connect with your local political representative. We can actually create a policy that says, for example, no more fossil fuel infrastructure, says Wise. Recognize who in your community has the power to mobilize policy changes, and what encourages them to make those changes. Find out which candidates are fighting for the issues that matter most to you, write to your representatives, show up at meetings and make sure you vote.We also need to build resilience and devise adaptations to a climate-changed world, says Wray. We have to turn the ship around and reinvest in non-carbon intensive energyand help each other adapt to the warming were already experiencing.For a starting point, search out organizations like Indigenous Climate Action, Be the Change Earth Alliance and Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), suggests Wise.While managing eco-anxiety is important for our mental health, Wray wants more of us to be outraged, and more passionate, about the climate crisis. I expect to see the mass mobilization on climate really ramp up in the years to come, she says. That will affect and infiltrate all aspects of how we work, how we live, how we do business, what were inventing and our solutions. The more people get outraged and passionate about the climate crisis, the better off our trajectory will be.Next: How a Mental Health Gym Can Transform Your Emotional Well-Being

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As a child of the late 80s, I vividly remember the fried egg that was supposed to represent my brain on drugs. But what actually happens to our brains when we take psychedelics?

Molecularly, classic psychedelicslike LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushroomslook almost exactly like serotonin. So when you take them, they bind tightly to serotonin receptors in the brain, and they quiet something called the default mode network. That network can almost be thought of as the conductor of the brainit controls which parts communicate with each other. So when it quiets, parts of the brain that dont normally communicate start to connect, and there can be significant changes in perception, emotion and thinking. For example, you might hear colours or see things outside the range of normal waking consciousness.Psychedelics can also bring into your awareness stuff that may have been suppressed in your mind. So this could be past memories, past experiences, past traumasand it brings them up because some of the typical defensive structures of the mind have softened. That can be very challenging in the moment, but it has the potential to be quite healing.

What goes on when you take MDMA?

When you take MDMA, which is the active ingredient in ecstasy, it not only causes a massive release of your own supplies of serotonin, but it also releases dopamine, norepinephrine, cortisol and oxytocin. MDMA quiets the fear-processing centre of the brain, so it reduces fear while keeping the person alert at the same time, which is very conducive to processing trauma. Its also an empathogen, so it tends to increase feelings of empathy. Thats really helpful, because sometimes trauma survivors are stuck in a place that lacks self-forgiveness. MDMA really increases forgiveness and compassion for oneself and for others.

Do those feelings stick around even after the drug is out of your system?

For the trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD that Ive been involved with, we did three MDMA sessions over 18 weeks, and we found that at the end, 67 percent of people lost their diagnosis of PTSD. And when we followed up with people at the year mark, the same amount remained in remission.(Related: Why I Celebrate My Birthday With Therapy)

And what do the sessions involve?

Generally there are three preparatory sessions, which is an opportunity for the therapist to get to know the patient and connect with them, because trust is really crucial for a successful outcome. Then there are the medicine sessions, which usually last anywhere from six to eight hours. Usually, for each dosing session, there will be three integration sessions, the first of which is typically the next morning. Theyre really about making sense of what came up.

What if someone has a bad reaction?

I think its interesting to ask: How are we defining a bad reaction? With classic psychedelics, there can be an experience called ego dissolution, which is when your typical sense of self starts to dissolve. That can be quite scary for people because theyre losing control. But we do a lot of work to prepare them for that, and we coach them to continue to breatheand to trust that even if its scary, its actually part of the process of significant healing and change. Facing what theyre afraid of gives people a sense of mastery.

How is this sort of psychotherapy different from more traditional forms?

In some ways, theres an unlearning for therapists, because you are less active and you intervene less than in other forms of psychotherapy. Youre creating a safe space, but then you need to learn to sit back and allow self-healing.

So does the therapy amplify the effects of the drugs?

I really think about psychedelic healing as a triangle. At the top, we have the therapeutic modality, which is what you do in those preparation and integration sessions. On one side, we have the drug effects. And on the other side, we have the therapeutic relationship, which is incredibly important. They all work together. At the same time, were starting to see really interesting research about how you might combine different types of therapy with different psychedelics to treat different conditions.(Related: How to Find the Best Therapy App for You, According to Experts)

Maybe cognitive behavioural therapy goes really well with mushrooms?

Theres a study at Remedy Institute in Toronto combining a trauma-based CBT with MDMA. Theres another form of therapy called ACT, which is acceptance and commitment therapy, thats been studied at Yale where they combined it with psilocybin for depressed people. Were also seeing lots of emotion-focused therapy be combined with ketamine. But I think its too early to conclude anything. People have really high expectations for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, but I tell people its not a magic bullet. It catalyzes therapy for people who are ready to go deeper. But its ongoing work, and if people arent yet ready to do that work, it can set them up to be disappointed with the outcomes.

What is the state of psychedelic psychotherapy in Canada right now?

Its still very early days. There have only been a handful of clinical trials, but thats rapidly expanding. The Canadian Institute for Health Research put out a specific call for funding for psilocybin trials, so thats exciting. Were seeing much more research and training programs emerge in universities across the country. In terms of whats actually legal, its really mostly ketamine. There are private clinics that offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

Why is ketamine already allowed?

Its been previously approved by Health Canada as an anesthetic. So we know its safe, and its had this pretty strong effect in terms of treating depression and suicidality. Whats different, though, is that the effects of it might wear off, so some people need ongoing treatments. With MDMA, we have seen results continue in about two-thirds of patientsits been studied in veterans, who have this high burden from war. Theyre able to process a lot of it through MDMA therapy, and then they tend to get better and stay better. With psilocybin and depression, its much less clear, so we need more research on how we improve the integration period. Maybe people need occasional booster sessions.

Are there challenges in that research?

In typical clinical trials, you blind people, so they dont know if theyre getting the active drug or a placebo. With psychedelics, its really hard to do that, so our traditional double-blind randomized control trial model doesnt necessarily fit. Thats something were trying to figure out.

What else are you working on at the Nikean Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Centre?

We really envision that itll have three pillars. One is research, one is education, and then more clinical work down the line, once these medications become regulated. Were starting our first clinical trial soon for patients working through end-of-life distress, combining psilocybin and psychotherapy. Were also going to pilot that with caregivers, because they often have even higher levels of distress. And for people who have had complicated bereavement, were curious if psilocybin-assisted therapy would help. Thats one of our first big projects. And were working hard on launching a training program for therapists, with the first cohort launching in September 2022. People need really good training in order to be able to do this in a safe way. I do think, though, that the University Health Network being open to this research and work sends a signal to Health Canadaand to the general publicthat its an area worthy of rigorous scientific exploration.This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.Next: Magic Mushrooms for PTSD: Why Psychedelics May Help Heal Trauma

The post An Expert Shares Everything You Need to Know About Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy appeared first on Best Health.

Party favours to kick-start the festivities

Cake By Cry Baby Cakes

Cry Baby Cakes, a whimsical bakery run by Toronto-based Brooke Cowitz, specializes in buttercream creations.Each cake is unique and made-to-order.Cakes start at $65, order on Instagram @crybaby.cakes.

Donkey Piata

Gotta Piata is a Toronto-based husband-and-wife-owned business specializing in handmade piatas. Drawing on their Mexican heritage, Gotta Piata can make pretty much anything out of papier mch. Just stuff the piata with goodies to get the party going.$35, gottapinatato.com.

Singsation Star Burst All-in-One Karaoke Party System with Microphones

Nothing beats belting out My Heart Will Go On at your local karaoke bar, but this Bluetooth speaker meets LED light show will just about get you there.$100, bestbuy.ca.

Crying Out Loud Me Time Mini

This self-care package from Toronto-based Crying Out Loud contains goodies such as a chocolate bar, face mask and colourful hard candies, perfect for when you needto treat yourself after another ceaseless Zoom meeting.$50, cryingoutloud.ca.

Rainbow Eco Confetti

Transform your living room into party central with this 100-percent recycled paper confetti.$8, paperandparties.com.

Simply Eco-Friendly Plates

The worst part of every party is cleaning up. Cut out the dishes with these biodegradable paper plates that will still elevate your delivery-pizza-eating experience.$20/pack of 8, paperandparties.com

Classic Margarita Set

Nothing says a celebration like well-made cocktails. This set brings the beach to you with all the ingredients you need to make a killer margarita (including a pair of glasses with cactus-shaped stems).$68, cocktailemporium.com.Next: How a Mental Health Gym Can Transform Your Emotional Well-Being

The post Go Ahead and Celebrate the Small Things—It’ll Boost Your Mental Health appeared first on Best Health.

What is a mental health gym?

I dont think theres a single or widely accepted definition, but most are trying to rethink how mental health services are perceived and delivered. The entire process of seeking out psychological services is imbued with medical undertonesyoure a patient, youre seeking treatment for a disorder from a clinician. Can you imagine if those terms were being used at your local gym? Of course not.When I started my private practice, I wanted to do things differently. I wanted the concept of mental health support to be accessible, destigmatized and non-judgmental. I thought, what better way than to encourage people to think about mental health improvement the same way we think about our physical health improvement. So, at our practice we dont have clinicians, we have coaches. We dont have treatment plans, we have programs. We dont have appointments, we have workouts. We dont have patients, we have members. We embed that language into everything we do.

Rightso taking care of your mental health becomes as straightforward and reflexive as taking care of your physical health?

Exactly. We should be taking care of our mental health in the same way were taking care of, say, our dental health. Its acceptable to miss a day of work because youre feeling physically sick. Why is it not acceptable to miss a day of work because youre not feeling mentally well? People should be able to say, Im feeling terribly stressed. And I just need to go for a walk and connect with some friends and do some mindfulness today. But we are unfortunately far from that point.

Its fair to say most people seek psychological help when theyre already in crisis. How do we make the shift to think of mental wellness as something that deserves consistent attention and tending?

So, in the past, the field of psychology was very much focused on how to get people from a minus-five to a zeroi.e., from a state of anxiety, depression and stress to a neutral, normal state. But now we also ask, how do we get people to go from zero to a plus-five, a state where we flourish? Like with physical health, that takes ongoing effort. Sleep, diet, exercise for sure, but also mental fitness workouts, which are evidence-based practices like mindfulness, relaxation, realistic thinking and connecting with others.So, you could come to a mental health gym because you want to learn specific skills to continue to build resilience, and you want to learn strategies to cope with stress and face the challenges of the past couple years, which have been extremely difficult for all of us. You dont have to wait until youre at a minus-five to reach out for support.

And yet, many people pay attention only when their mental health is clearly deteriorating. Even then they dont always get help.

Listen, weve got a long way to go to reduce the stigma around addressing mental health. Having more places that are designed to be both accessible and offer time-limited treatments might help.Also, shifting our mindset. Most people prefer to take, say, vitamins rather than antibiotics to maintain health. There are strategies that I see as our [mental health] vitamins. Mindfulness and connecting with friends and doing yoga and movement and learning realistic thinking strategies and putting belly breathing in your lifethese are not strategies that take a long time to do, but theyre very effective.

And honestly, who doesnt want to be living in a plus-5 state?

Thats what positive psychology is all about. Dr. Martin Seligman launched a whole new way for us to explore which character strengths and virtues and values are universal. They transcend cultures, gender, socioeconomic status, and they allow people to thrive and live meaningful, resilient lives. Research shows that about 50 percent of the variance in your well-being is due to your genetics, and then theres another 10 percent thats due to your circumstances, like where you live, whether youre married or single, your age, your gender, all that kind of stuff. But that leaves about 40 percent variability. And so, well-being can be influenced by our everyday practices, like sleep, diet, exercise, mindfulness, realistic thinking and connecting with our friends. Even gratitude practices. You dont have to spend 10 hours a day focused on this stuff.

How are mental health gym workouts different from traditional therapy sessions?

We are essentially providing comprehensive psychological services, but were trying to do it in a destigmatized, accessible, compassionate and structured manner. They can be less time-intensive than traditional therapy sessions, and less costly. Its where people are learning skills and applying them to everyday life. We want people to leave our programs with a toolbox of strategies for getting and staying in emotional shape. And we want them to use those strategies, to embed them in their daily lives so they can learn to manage future obstacles.When treatment is unstructured, it can go on indefinitely, without clear goals or objectives. Theres definitely a place for long-term therapy for certain challenges and individuals. However, a lot of people would benefit from a short series of sessions to learn strategies and aim for results that are tangible and measurable.

Is it less daunting for people, too, if they know theres a beginning and an end?

Absolutely. I do a lot of work with kids and teens. And one of the things they really appreciate from the first time we meet is knowing that theres a structured plan and an end goal. They participate in about eight to 12 weekly sessions. And they leave with a binder of handouts, which becomes their toolbox of strategies and skills.

Its clear were living through a mental health crisis. How can mental health gyms help?

Resilience doesnt mean you never have stress or challenge in life. It means youre someone who is able to bounce back from a difficult situation. What mental health gyms are trying to do is boost our psychological immune system and give people the tools to be resilient. And then, when the next bump comes along, we have some strategies and ways to realistically think about and engage with the situation.Now that you know about mental health gyms in Canada, learn why one woman celebrates her birthday with therapy.

The post How a Mental Health Gym Can Transform Your Emotional Well-Being appeared first on Best Health.

Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible

Speed Skater Alyson Charles: I Consider Myself Lucky

Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect

Paralympian Brittany Hudak: I Didnt Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post “Fat Doesn’t Fly”: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating appeared first on Best Health.

“Fat Doesn’t Fly”: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating

Paralympian Brittany Hudak: I Didnt Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible

Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect

Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post Speed Skater Alyson Charles: “I Consider Myself Lucky” appeared first on Best Health.

“Fat Doesn’t Fly”: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating

Speed Skater Alyson Charles: I Consider Myself Lucky

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible

Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect

Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post Paralympian Brittany Hudak: “I Didn’t Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete” appeared first on Best Health.

Fat Doesnt Fly: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating

Paralympian Brittany Hudak: I Didnt Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete

Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect

Speed Skater Alyson Charles: I Consider Myself Lucky

Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: “I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible” appeared first on Best Health.

Fat Doesnt Fly: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating

Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career

Paralympian Brittany Hudak: I Didnt Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible

Speed Skater Alyson Charles: I Consider Myself Lucky

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: “I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect” appeared first on Best Health.

“Fat Doesn’t Fly”: Inside the Culture of Body Shaming in Figure Skating

Paralympian Brittany Hudak: I Didnt Think About Body Image Until I Became an Elite Athlete

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah: I Looked Phenomenal, but I Felt Absolutely Terrible

Alpine Skier Erin Mielzynski: I Was Just Trying To Be Perfect

Speed Skater Alyson Charles: I Consider Myself Lucky

Get more great stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Best Health Must-Reads newsletter. Subscribe here.

The post Olympic Legend Catriona Le May Doan: “I Worried About How People Viewed Me My Whole Career” appeared first on Best Health.

Booked a therapy appointment for my birthday. This is 32. pic.twitter.com/PD3JpkTcLd

Ishani Nath (She/Her) (@ishaninath) June 23, 2021

Radio host Jax Irwin had a similar realization. Theres a perception of therapy as heavy and problem-solving, she explains, but as someone who has been going regularly for years, therapy is part of her routine. So, when Irwins appointment happened to fall during a birthday trip with some friends, she didnt reschedule. Instead, with her friends still asleep, Irwin climbed atop the houseboat they had rented and started her birthday with a call to her therapist. She remembers it as a sort of private rooftop therapy oasis.Whether youre on top of a houseboat, on a video call or in an office, therapy is a space where you can be yourself. You dont have to be the birthday girl or mask how youre feeling. For the duration of the session, you get to talk about whatever is on your mind, whether or not it makes for socially acceptable conversation. It truly is your partyand you can cry if you want to.If Im a little bit sad after, thats OK, Irwin told her radio co-hosts when questioned about her unconventional tradition. Growth is growth is growth, and I want to go into the next year growing.It may not seem like a fun way to commemorate a new year or birthday, but having fun isnt the only way to mark a milestone. Therapy sessions can go so many different ways: They can be hard and a lot of heavy lifting, but they can also be just so freeing, says Irwin. She adds that after discussing this idea on the radio, the show heard from multiple listeners who have also integrated therapy as part of their birthday celebration, and even more people who were intrigued by the idea.To be clear, Im not saying that therapy is easy, let alone enjoyablethis especially depends on the type of therapy youre engaging in. Really, it can feel like the opposite of conventional self-care. Instead of escaping into your favourite TV show, therapy forces you to confront everything from harmful patterns to trauma. But while therapy may not feel good in the moment, it has the potential to help you feel good long-term.And just like your birthday is not like any other day, birthday therapy does not need to be like other sessions. Instead, a birthday therapy appointment can be used as a point of reflection and forward thinking. Irwin uses the time to set intentions for her next year. It feels exciting to look forward with somebody who knows the ins and outs of you like that.(Related: How to Find the Best Therapy App for You, According to Experts)I had met with a new counsellor for my birthday session, someone who didnt know me, but having them ask how I was doing and offer professional insight was healing. It was a designated time to discuss personal successes and struggles that dont appear on Instagram or my resum, like learning to set healthy boundaries or building self-esteem. My session didnt solve any of these issues, but I walked away with a greater awareness of myself, my strengths and struggles, than beforesomething I wouldnt have ever thought to put on my birthday wish list.Regardless of the occasion, making time to care for our mental health is becoming increasingly urgent. With pandemic-related job loss, isolation, anxiety and fear, Canadians are facing a mental health crisis. One in four Canadian adults experience symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and according to Statistics Canada, these rates are on the rise.(Related: 8 Women Share the Impact the Pandemic Has Had on Their Mental Health)While Wiggins is all for the idea of reframing therapy as a form of celebration, she notes that the cost of mental health services is still a barrier for many. Prices vary depending on the type of therapy, location and the provider. Treatment from a general practitioner is covered by public health insurance, but other providers prices vary widely and can depend on several factors, like the type of practitioner and location. For instance, prices range from $70 for one-on-one psychotherapy with a social worker to $200 per appointment with a psychologist. Prices can also vary based on the type of therapy, such as couples counselling versus trauma-informed individual sessions Canadians spend around $950 million per year on private-practice psychotherapists, services that one in three are paying for out of pocket. A Canadian study published in 2020 highlighted the cost of services not covered by private insurance plans as a major barrier to mental health care.I fall into that category. With my new health care plan, I will end up paying for the majority of my therapy sessions if I want to go regularly. Its a frustrating reality, and yet another reason why it makes sense to see a therapist on my birthdayits a way of treating myself.Wiggins tries to make her services accessible with sliding scale pricing and keeps a spot open for a pro bono client. But if its only feasible to go to therapy once or twice a year, she encourages clients to let the care provider know that, so that they can structure sessions accordingly. Even if you just have that one-off, you learn so much about yourself in that one session, she says. Do it.

How to access free mental health care

Canada is facing a mental health crisis, fuelled in part by the ongoing pandemic. Yet, in 2020, fewer than half of Canadians who wanted mental health support received services, according to the Commonwealth Funds annual International Health Policy survey. The price tag associated with care was a major barrier.If you or someone you know needs mental health care, here are some free resources:

eMentalHealth.ca

This website, run by the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), provides an extensive database of resources that can be narrowed down by the type of therapy, location, languages available and more. Users can also filter for no fee options.

Family doctors and psychiatrists

Getting mental health treatment from a family doctor or general practitioner (some of whom have training in mental health support) is covered by provincial and territorial health plans, such as RAMQ in Quebec or OHIP in Ontario. Family doctors can also provide assessments and referrals for a psychiatrist, who is a medical doctor specializing in mental illnesses. Psychiatrists are covered by public health insurance.

Wellness Together Canada

Created in response to the pandemic, with funding from the Government of Canada, Wellness Together Canada provides a range of educational and counselling resources, available 24/7 at no cost. Services include immediate text support, self-guided wellness programs and individual phone, video and text counselling. There are also free peer-support programs connecting Canadians with trained individuals who have personally experienced mental health and/or substance use challenges. Services are available to all Canadians, even those living abroad.Next: 14 Virtual Care Services in Canada You Need to Know About

The post Why I Celebrate My Birthday With Therapy appeared first on Best Health.

Guidance is lagging behind evidence

Lees family doctor told her to eat better but didnt really break down what that means or why. And thats a common experiencepeople arent generally given dietary tips as part of their mental health treatment plan. While a psychiatrist or therapist might ask if you have an appetite, its much less common that they ask what youre eating. Which is funny, considering that for physical ailments like heart disease, doctors usually advise patients to cut simple carbs and sugar and eat more fresh produce.Dr. Drew Ramsey, a nutritional psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, says one reason food isnt talked about at the doctors office in relation to mental health is that the evidence illuminating the importance of the gut-brain connection and its implications for mental health is relatively new.While there have been some exciting studies over the last decade showing a correlation between diet and mental health, they were often small, and not randomized control studiesthe gold standard in scientific inquiry. But a 2017 study changed that. The SMILES study out of Australia was a significant one, as it was the first randomized control trial seeking to answer the question, If I improve my diet, will my mental health improve?Led by Felice Jacka, director of the Food and Mood Centre at Australias Deakin University, the 12-week study followed 67 participants33 in the intervention group, and 34 in the control group. Those who participated were all over 18, all were experiencing a major depressive episode and scored low on a scale measuring diet qualitymeaning they werent eating much fibre, lean protein, or fruit and veggies, and their diet was high in sweets, processed meat and salty snacks.One group received dietary counselling from a clinical dietician over seven sessionsweekly during the first four weeks, then every other week. Those who were part of the dietary support group were given serving suggestions for 12 specific food groups, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish and eggs, and were asked to give up refined sugar, fried food and processed meats. The control group was also provided with a session of the same length and frequency, but the goal was stated to be social support, i.e., creating the feeling someone was befriending them.Both groups filled out a depression rating scale before and after the intervention, and participants scores after 12 weeks were compared to their baseline score. Almost a third, 32 percent, of those in the dietary group were in remission from their depression, compared to 8 percent in the social support, a difference the researchers found to be statistically significant. Its also a meaningful result because some participants were already being treated for their depression, says Ramsey.

The mind-gut connection

When Lee first spoke to her family doctor about how she was feeling, she was given prescriptions for an anti-depressant and three other medications to deal with the physical symptoms she was experiencing. She wanted to get her anxiety under control, and while Lee isnt anti-medication, she wanted to try something she felt was more natural first.Nutritional psychiatrists like Ramsey and Naidoo see diet as one more tool that can be used to manage mental health issuesthey each also provide psychotherapy and prescribe medication, which, in addition to dietary guidance, can be part of a treatment plan.Researchers are now exploring the implications of the gut-brain connection on our ability to treat disorders like depression. The vagus nerve connects the gut and the brain, delivering messages both ways, and is the main part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate your immune system, mood, digestion and more.Your gut microbiomethe trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi hanging out inside youis unique to you, which helps explain why people react differently to certain foods, and why something like a low-carb diet doesnt have the same effect on everyone. It turns out that the makeup of your microbiome may also have an impact on your mental health.And that might start before youre born. Our results suggest that, during pregnancy, maternal adherence to the Mediterranean dietrich in legumes, vegetables, fish, and healthy fatty acids, and lower in red meatmay promote behavioural and emotional well-being in children, reads a 2018 study of 325 mother-child pairs in the United States. And the inverse has also been found. A 2013 study by Jacka and others of over 23,000 mothers and children in Norway found that unhealthy diets during pregnancy were correlated with behavioural and emotional problems in their children.But evidence also suggests that your microbiome isnt static; you can influence the makeup of your microbiome with what you eat.While Naidoo is excited about further research on the gut-brain connection and the implications it may have for diet, she notes that nutritional science is very uniquely underfunded compared to pharmaceutical drug trials. She adds that collecting data on diet is difficult for a number of reasons, including that its hard to get people to accurately recall what they ate and compare it to a modified diet. And although the SMILES trial was encouraging, Naidoo notes it was still a pretty small number of subjects.While many of these findings still need more research to support them unequivocally, we have amassed enough evidence to encourage a move away from the typical North American diet, which is high in salt, sugar and saturated and trans fat.

The problem with the Western diet

People are eating things in packages instead of eating real food, says Bonnie Kaplan, a professor emerita at the University of Calgarys Cumming School of Medicine. By real food, Kaplan means the kind of food her parents and grandparents ate: fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and fish.There is evidence that a Western diet isnt just contributing to obesity and heart disease, but that its associated with increased likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depression and cognitive issues.A lot of folks are living in a brain-food desert, says Ramsey. Theres a lot of food and a lot of calories, but there arent the foods that are best for our health and our mental health.(Related: Canadas Dietitians Are Lacking in DiversityBut Things Are Changing)A 2020 review of the evidence in the journal Frontiers of Psychology in relation to the Western diet and brain function is clear: A [Western diet] rich in fats, sugar, and salt alters gut microbiota composition and is associated with obesity, chronic inflammation, allergies, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, depression, metabolic syndrome, and neuropsychiatric disorders.There is also evidence that a diet high in sugar and saturated fat contributes to inflammation, which may in turn contribute to both depression and anxiety. Inflammation is one way the body heals itself, like the swelling that occurs around a wound when you cut yourself. But sometimes the body can create chronic inflammation, which can lead to many different illnesses, including mood disorders. Inflammatory factors cause more depression, but as you get depressed your inflammatory factors go up, says Ramsey. But certain foods, such as leafy greens rich in folate, can reduce or regulate inflammation.A diet high in processed food is simply not giving the brain what it needs to perform optimally, write Kaplan and psychologist Julia Rucklidge in their book The Better Brain. They make the argument that the lack of nutrition in the Western diet has led to a lack of resilience. We arent more stressed or depressed than previous generations, but because of our lack of micronutrients, we arent able to withstand the impact of stressors as well as previous generations.

Theres no magic bullet

Research often focuses on one vitamin or minerals effect on one condition or disease, but Kaplan says thats where science has us tripped upits about a whole range of nutrients we need.When we talk about nutrition, were almost exclusively taking about macronutrients: carbs, proteins, fatsthe stuff you see on nutrition labels at the grocery store. Kaplan and Rucklidge argue we dont talk about micronutrients enough, which are another set of vitamins and minerals, like omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and folate. Evidence shows broad-spectrum multinutrients have more benefits for mental health conditions compared to multinutrients with limited vitamins and minerals. Kaplan and Rucklidge encourage broad-spectrum supplements in addition to dietary changes to stock up on these micronutrients we may not be getting in our diet.Ramsey takes a different approach, preferring that patients get their nutrients from foodwhich has elements to offer that a pill doesnt, like fibre, bacteria and phytonutrients.

What foods feed the brain

Along with Dr. Laura LaChance, a psychiatrist and lecturer at McGill University, Ramsey undertook a systematic review of research on nutrients that help prevent and treat depression by analyzing 213 studies to find which nutrients out of a list of 34 had clinical evidence that could support prevention of and recovery from depression. From this, they created the Antidepression Food Score. They found 12 nutrients were particularly important to brain health: folate, iron, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), magnesium, potassium, selenium, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C and zinc. And they also identified the top foods that contained these nutrients, including oysters, leafy greens and peppers.Researchersincluding Kaplan, and Naidoo and Ramseybroadly agree that the Mediterranean diet is not only great for your physical health, but also for brain health. This includes fish, nuts, seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and olive oil, among other food. These foods are rich in a number of the nutrients identified by Ramsey and LaChance, ranging from oysters high in iron, which helps produce serotonin and dopamine, to chickpeas high in vitamin B6, which can help prevent inflammation.In his book Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety, Ramsey offers a six-week plan for those who want to incorporate more of these nutrients into their diet. He suggests introducing one new category a weekthe first week is leafy greens, with suggestions for how to get things like kale, spinach and watercress into more meals, along with recipes like a green shakshuka. The second week moves to add more rainbows to mealsa variety of fruits and veggies like broccoli, bell peppers and eggplant. Week three is seafood, the following week tackles nuts, beans and seeds, and finishing with fermented food on week five. (Week six encourages readers to examine their food rootswhere does your food come from and what is your connection to it?)Kaplan and Rucklidge advise using the 80-20 rule: eat nourishing foods 80 percent of the time, and enjoy other foodswithout worrying about nutrientsfor the remainder.One concern that often comes up with moving towards fresh foods and away from processed food is that they cost more. But eating well doesnt have to be expensiveRamsey shopped at Walmart while writing his book to ensure the tips and recipes he included were accessible. He created a guide, on his website, on how to eat healthy on a budget, encouraging people to buy in bulk where it makes sense, and not to shy away from frozen items like fish, fruit and veggies. He also notes that one of the unexpected outcomes of the SMILES trial was that participants saved over $100 a month on food when they switched to a healthier diet.

What we dont know yet

A 2019 review of the existing literature on nutritional psychiatry found much of what has been observed is correlation, not causationnor do we have a deep understanding the underlying factors. Additionally, many of the studies have been too small or not randomized, so generalization isnt always appropriate until we have more randomized control trials.Further, personalized medicine, whereby a treatment plan is tailored to a patient based on unique factors like their genome sequence, is an exciting field of research and commercial possibility, but researchers say there isnt enough evidence for its application yet in this sphere. There also isnt enough evidence to know whether the companies offering to sequence your microbiome to provide an optimal custom diet might actually be effective, or even how to personalize diets or supplements yet (although studies have shown certain bacterial strains are present in those with ADHD or schizophrenia, and that certain microbes are missing in people who are depressed). Even if you got your own gut microbiome analyzed, its too soon to know which [bacterial] strains could correct any specific mental health problem, write Kaplan and Rucklidge in The Better Brain.(Related: How to Build a Strong Microbiome to Improve Your Gut Health)Kaplan points out that what she might need for optimal serotonin conversion might be different from anyone else. Theres no test in the world for that yet, says Kaplan, adding thats why she advocates the broad-spectrum approach to taking multinutrients as a second step to a whole-food-first approach. Its a shotgun approach, but its a safe shotgun approach.While personalized medicine isnt an option, food plans are slowly becoming part of mental health plansthe Food as Medicine program run by the Mood Disorders Association of B.C. is one example. Since 2016, psychiatrist Dr. Leslie Wicholas has used dietary interventions with her patients, working with about 450 people. She recently presented findings from 157 patients who participated in an eight-week program, 80 percent of whom had moderate to severe symptoms of depression. There were two groups, one with a primary diagnosis of depression, the other with fibromyalgia. After weekly two-hour sessions led by Wicholas and a naturopath, both groups had statistically significant improvement in their depressive symptoms.Positive treatment outcomes in depression were correlated to how closely people followed the dietary recommendationsthose who followed the directions completely tended to respond better, writes Wicholas in an email.For Ramsey, theres additional appeal in encouraging a patient who is feeling really low, if they can afford it, to just go ahead buy that $9 salad they love rather than trying to put a meal together themselves when they dont have the energy. Maybe the medication is going to take a month to work, maybe my interpretation about you and your family and relationship problems is going to take years, he says. But having a healthy meal is going to be immediately satisfying. At the end of that meal, youre like, I really like that and I know that these foods are good for my mental health.Next: 6 Microbiome-Boosting Skin Care Products You Never Knew You Needed

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Medical Astrology

The association between astrology, health and well-being isnt new. For centuries, health practitioners used medical astrology, a tradition also referred to as iatromathematics, as an integral tool. Lori Jones, a medical historian based in Ottawa, explains that medieval doctors, for example, were expected to have astrological knowledge, and referencing the stars was a regular part of life.What we see in medieval medicine is the idea that physicians were very often learned in astrology, because they had to understand what position the stars, moon and sun were in, in order to know what therapies they were going to use, says Jones. People often would use the alignment of stars and planetary constellations to decide when they were going to do things or when they shouldnt be doing things. Even the term influenza, from the Italian meaning influence of the stars, was coined because of the belief that certain constellations corrupted the air and caused the respiratory disease. And though the use of medical astrology declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, its influence can still be seen today.

The New Age Movement

Daily horoscopes began appearing in British newspapers in the 1930s and their popularity soon spread to North America. Then, in the 1970s, the New Age movement arrived. As the hit song from The 5th Dimension went, it was the dawning of the Age of Aquariusa time when practices like astrology, tarot readings and meditation were considered tools to help with personal transformation, appealing to those looking for alternatives to traditional medicine and psychotherapy. By the 1980s, a small study indicated people sought out astrologers when dealing with stressful situations but didnt continue to seek advice when the stress abated. Astrology, in this context, was a coping mechanism.More recently, a new generation of stargazers has started exploring astrology through social media and astrology apps. Co-Star, for example, is powered by a combination of artificial intelligence, data from NASA and input from astrologers and creative writers. There is also the Pattern, an app that promises in-depth insights into personality traits, or the Chani app, with horoscope and birth chart readings from Canadian astrologer Chani Nicholas. Each of these apps offers personalized readings for the user based on their birth information, and updates on planetary transits, like when Mercury goes into retrograde, a shift believed to bring on mishaps and miscommunication.Astrology recognizes the fundamental truth that we are intimately connected with our universe, says Nicholas Campion, director of the University of Wales Sophia Centre of the Study of Cosmology in Culture. He explains that astrology, much like spirituality, allows us to zoom out and find our place in the world.Learning about Western astrology using websites and apps gave meaning to aspects of my personality, like how my decision-making style could be related to the position of Mercury at the time of my birth. I didnt let my horoscope dictate my day-to-day life, but I appreciated having the gentle nudge to reflect on my strengths, challenges and the potentially deeper purpose of my life.(Related: What Is A Soul Coach? And Do You Need One?)

The Astrology Fad

Astrologys recent rise in popularity, especially among millennials like me, has been linked to people seeking out tools for their well-being.Emmanuella Kaputo, a 28-year-old living in Toronto, first started learning about astrology two years ago and found it to be a helpful tool for self-analysis. Astrology helped me analyze how, as a Capricorn, I can be controlling, and to try to rectify [that]. It drove more self-awareness in me, which allowed me to release things that werent serving me in relationships.More than one-third of Canadians believe in the concept of astrology, according to a 2019 Research Co. survey. Among Canadian millennials (aged 18 to 34), nearly half were believers. The mystical services market, comprising services like tarot and aura readings as well as astrology, is estimated to be worth $2.2 billion in the United States and astrology apps alone had a revenue of over $40 million, also in the U.S., in 2019.Historically, the popularity of the Western tradition of astrology ebbs and flows, and [now] astrology is having a moment, says Charm Torres, a Victoria-based professional astrologer, tarot reader and writer. Torres, who is also a millennial, founded a consultation practice in 2017 and has taken several astrology courses. Since the pandemic, shes been seeing her clients virtually, often fielding questions about moving, relationships and money.

When Astrology Became a Coping Mechanism

During the pandemic, the world was collapsing. A lot of people were losing their jobs and housing, and they were dying. People were dealing with grief, so I feel like, in that sense, people were needing a lot of guidance, says Torres, who saw an increase in people seeking consultation.In a recent Ipsos poll, 28 percent of Canadians said their mental health had deteriorated over the course of the pandemic, and 66 percent of Canadians felt as though there werent enough mental health supports available in their community. Researchers from De La Salle University in the Philippines looked into how the isolation and unpredictability of the pandemic might impact interest in astrology, especially for young people. They found that many university students used astrology as a way to cope and escape, providing a semblance of stability and reassurance that tomorrow will be better. Their study, published in 2021, noted that the more stressed a person is, the higher the consumption of astrology-related information on social media, an association that was even stronger among women.During the pandemic, this tool that I had been using for guidance and affirmation started to become an obsession. Eventually, it became a new source of stress. I didnt want to read a post telling me a new cycle was starting and that the conjunction of the planets that day was an optimal time to manifest. I deleted my astrology app and unfollowed astrology accounts on social media. I wanted to just beand wondered if I had started to ignore my own intuition in favour of astrological advice. Or worse, if looking to the stars for guidance was actually eroding my well-being.(Related: Why Words Like Grief and Languish Have Helped Us Cope with the Pandemic)

Astrology Addiction

Whether its food or sex or astrology, when we keep going outside of ourselves to find ourselves, we become addicted to something in a very unhealthy way, says Jennifer Freed, a California-based psychological astrologer who has been studying this field for more than 30 years.She emphasizes that horoscopes arent meant to be a one-stop shop for answers. Instead, theyre a starting point for working on your lifewhich is also why overloading on daily affirmations and social media posts wont help. If youre living your life by sound bites that some computers delivering to you, youre probably not honouring your inner wisdom, she says. In an effort to avoid dependency, Freed only gives clients one astrological reading per year.Not much has been researched on the effects astrology can have on mental health, says Freed, in part because its not taken seriously-an outlook that impacts research funding in this area. In addition, while different certificate programs exist to learn about the study of astrology, theres no formal accreditation process to become an astrologer in North America.Toronto-based psychologist Nicole McCance says while astrology can provide a short-term boost to mental wellness, it doesnt replace things like therapy, where you get personalized solutions and techniques to implement.In general, I feel like if youre not feeling good, you need therapy and not a horoscope, McCance says. She explains that with talk therapy, for instance, clients are able to delve into issues and then receive feedback from a trained mental health professional. None of that happens with astrology, she says.McCance warns users to be wary of the Barnum effect, a psychological phenomenon often associated with tarot, horoscopes and psychics, where individuals interpret vague personality descriptions as applying specifically to them. The De La Salle study found that the more stressed individuals were, the more susceptible they were to the Barnum effect. The risk, McCance explains, is that individuals will let information that isnt relevant to their personal situation influence their decision-making. While many people may be using astrology as a coping mechanism, McCance emphasizes that its important to consider where looking to the stars for answers falls short, and when it might be time to get mental health support instead.

Setting Boundaries

Keira Zikmanis, a registered clinical counsellor based in Victoria, B.C., says that although astrology can be used as a tool for self-reflection, its important to have boundaries. She encourages users to be intentional about the amount of astrology on their social media and set time limits when looking at websites or apps. Beyond that, she says its important for people to reflect on why they use astrology.Some questions you can ask yourself are, When do I open my astrology app? or What am I feeling before or after I look at them? What value is astrology adding to my life? she says. Doing this can help identify which needs youre trying to fulfill using astrology and then encourage you to consider if there are other ways to address those needs. If theres a fear of uncertainty of what might happen, you might want, in addition to looking at astrology, to reach out to a friend and talk about how youre feeling anxious about the pandemic or feeling afraid.For now, millennial astrology aficionado Emmanuella Kaputo says horoscopes and star charts add value to her life, though she says everything has to be in moderation. Shes eager to explore her own birth chart and learn from astrologers on social media. Im not sure if Ill download an astrology app again, but I plan to find an astrologer for a yearly reading to guide my personal growth.As I write this, the full moon is in Taurus, meaning the moon will appear within the V-shaped constellation representing the face of the bull, directly opposite the sun. For the uninitiated, full moons are emblematic of shining light into the darkness, and offer a time to reflectan optimal moment to check in with our feelings, especially as we head into 2022.As a Libra, Im always trying to balance astrologys health benefits with its risks. For me, the verdict is still out, but until then, I plan to keep my feet on the ground while cautiously letting my mind wander the cosmos.Next: Why You Should Reframe Your Goals

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Avoid thinking Ill be happy when

This is a sign your happiness in life depends on certain achievements. Thinking Ill be happy when [I get a new job, move to a new city, get married] poses a threat to your mental health because youre associating the goal with happiness, says Macdonald. The problem with that is happiness isnt a guarantee, nor is it a constant state. Instead, it would be best if you ask yourself what makes me happy now? and concentrate on that.

Enjoy the journey instead of wishing for the outcome

Focusing on the process of the goal as opposed to the end result is your best bet, says Macdonald. He gives the example of a weight loss objective: The idea of [collecting pictures of] things Ill wear when I’m skinny carries a significant amount of judgment about body image, he says. The belief that skinny is somehow the pinnacle of physical desirability is deeply problematic and really concerning. In this case, shift your focus to the presentwhat would make you happy to wear right now?

Be realistic

Arrival fallacy comes into play when we set up goals for ourselves that are kind of unrealistic, says Macdonald. For example, many of us had unrealistic expectations of how the COVID vaccine would change our lives and everything would return to pre-COVID functioning. But that couldn’t have happened, and so we set ourselves up for disappointment. Instead, Macdonald recommends creating goals you have control over, including smaller wins like meditating every day, which youre more likely to achieve.

Take inventory of the positives in your life

“Were allowed to not experience joy 100 percent of the time, says Macdonald. Keep your eye on what makes you happy in the moment. The most effective way to do this, and what I recommend to my clients, is to take a deep breath and think about one positive thing that’s happening in your life, he says. Sometimes even just that deep breath, that moment of calm, is in itself the positive.

Concentrate on your relationships

The number one predictor of happiness[is the] quality time we spend with people we care about and who care about us, says Ben-Shahar. Macdonald agrees: Developing better relationships and building those relationships will help us feel better. The benefits of supportive relationships far outweigh any other positive aspect in life, including money, status, and education. Everything is superseded by relationships, says Macdonald. So if your goal is to develop better relationships, youre probably not going to have to deal with arrival fallacy.Next: 9 Lessons from Yale Universitys Popular Course on Happiness

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Light therapy lamps for SAD

Winter weather can come with many frustrationsthe need to layer up, increased risk of cold and flu symptoms, and also this list ofweird things that happen to your body in the winter.But the effects of seasonal affective disorder or SAD can be among the most debilitating. “SAD is a type of depression that’s related to a change in seasons,” says Nina Maisterra, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician at the University of Washington in Seattle. “If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.” The symptoms may start out mild but become more severe as the season progresses, she says.While SAD shares some of the indicators of depression like sadness, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, and withdrawing from family and friends,there are unique symptoms of SAD,says Norman Rosenthal, MD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School in Washington, D.C., and the doctor who first described the condition. “People get low energy and have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning; they need more sleep and when awake they are fatigued; and they eat more, especially sweets and starches,” he explains.One of the first, and most effective, treatment options is a light therapy box, Dr. Rosenthal says. “It’s very time-efficient, cost-effective, and has low side effects,” he says. An analysis of 19 studies of light therapy treating SAD, published in the journalPsychotherapy and Psychosomatics, found light boxes can be regarded as an effective treatment for SAD. And light therapy may be so effective that it has the potential in treating other types of depression, compared with Prozac, according to a 2016 peer-reviewed study inJAMA Psychiatry.The light appears to activate connections between the retina and the brain involved in emotional and chemical regulation, Dr. Rosenthal explains. “It seems as though the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is the chemical some antidepressants work on, are also influenced and activated by light.” He says that in the darker months the pathways between the eye and the brain don’t register as powerfully because there isn’t enough light to trigger them, so supplementing light intake in individuals with SAD will help activate the pathway which is connected to key mood-regulating neurotransmitters.Here are the best light therapy lamps to help alleviate symptoms of SAD, according to reviews on Amazon.Note: Before trying light therapy, Dr. Maisterra warns that you should speak to a doctor because the lamps can induce manic episodes in those with bipolar episodes.

Carex Day-Light Classic Plus

Designed similar to the models university researchers use to study the effectiveness of light therapy lamps, this full-spectrum light is easily adjustable in terms of height and angle. Mounted on a pedestal stand, the light projects downward, an angle that light-therapy experts recommend. This light is multi-functional with two settings, therapy and task, so it’s also a useful work lamp. Tip:Dr. Rosenthal advises looking for a light therapy device that gives off 10,000 lux of light, which is the intensity that has been studied in the research.Carex Day-Light Classic Plus Bright Light Therapy Lamp, $190, amazon.ca

Northern Light Technologies Flamingo

A 46-inch-tall floor lamp, the stylish Flamingo is fashionably at home in any dcor, brightening reading areas or workspaces. The novel Northern Light Technology design enables the light to be used while on an exercise bike or treadmill. The extra-long power cord allows you to position the Flamingo wherever you need the rejuvenating light.Dr. Rosenthal advisesto make sure the lamp has an illuminated surface area of at least a square foot so you are absorbing enough light for a therapeutic dose. And make sure the device has a UV screen so you are not exposing yourself to damaging rays, he cautions.Northern Light Technologies Flamingo 10,000 Lux Bright Light Therapy Floor Lamp, $250, amazon.ca

Carex Theralite Aura

This light can be used as a desk lamp and for light therapy, and the height and angle of light are easily adjustable. The lamp has four light settings and includes 168 energy-efficient LED lights for light therapy or work at a desk. Using a light box means the weather doesn’t have to get the best of you.TheraLite Aura Bright Light Therapy Lamp, $127, amazon.ca

Aura Daylight Lamp

With over 200 five-star reviews, the sleekly designed, the Aura Daylight Lamp is an Amazon favourite. It allows light output to be set between 3,500 lux and 10,000 lux. For a comfortable position, the light can be tilted at a 70- or 85-degree angle and easily mounts to a wall in addition to setting on a table. An internal timer can be set at 10-minute intervals and can be set to automatically turn off at the end of a session.Aura Daylight Therapy Lamp, $283, amazon.ca

Northern Light Technologies BOXelite Desk Lamp

This delivers 10,000 lux at 14 inches distance from the screen, making it easier to receive the SAD-busting lights. With classic, understated styling, this lamp is ideal for the office or home. This lamp is also handy to have for any other work or home tasks that require additional lighting.Your eyes should be open so your retina is absorbing light, so you can read or eat breakfast while taking advantage of your light therapy box, Dr. Maisterra suggests.Northern Light Technologies Boxelite Lux Bright Light Therapy Light Box, $211, amazon.caNext: The Awesome Health Benefits of Awe Walking

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