For a long time it was assumed that children lacked the emotional maturity to experience depression, even though most children feel down at times. Today, children are the fastest growing group diagnosed with depression. It is estimated that two percent of children under 12 struggle with depressive symptoms, and that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) can occur in children as young as three. Depression is feelings of sadness so extreme or persistent that they get in the way of normal activities, an... [Read more] →

After graduating high school, many adolescents are itching for independence, yet over half of Canadian twenty-somethings are still bunking with their parents. Called the boomerang generation, today’s young adults face many challenges that can send them back to the stability of their childhood home, but putting them up again can be a challenge for parents as well. While the adolescent is moved out, both parents and children grow accustomed to a new lifestyle and new freedoms that can be hard t... [Read more] →

New Year’s Eve ends the holidays with a bang, and  recognizing the effects of holiday indulgences can hit pretty hard. People who assess their reflection and find a disconnect between what they look like and what they feel they “should” look like are experiencing body image issues. And dropping those extra pounds is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Body image is a mental construct of what people think they look like; it can be grounded in reality or it can be very differe... [Read more] →

Those feelings of sadness when your children leave home are commonly referred to as empty nest syndrome. Women are often affected by this stage of life, which coincides with menopause and other stressors. When children no longer need consistent attention, many women find themselves having to care for their elderly parents. Children leaving home can bring up conflicted feelings of happiness, pride and grief.  After raising children who can go out into the world independently, it can be hard to ... [Read more] →

In the last few years, watching the economy whip through its roller-coaster-like up and downs taught us that people don’t always make the most rational decisions about their money. We know that people can be irrational, but it’s harder to accept that this effects important decisions about money and investing. In fact, behavioural economist Dan Ariely says that the recession in 2008 was caused by a build-up of all our small irrational thoughts. Money is a motivator but it’s also a stressor... [Read more] →

North American women now spend more of their adult lives unmarried than married and in general many more adults are deciding to stay single. In the Atlantic’s November cover story, author Kate Bolick attributes her singleness to a scarcity of appropriate men in 2011. In comparison to women, men’s income, educational attainment and employment prospects are rapidly dropping off.  Last year, 55 percent of all college graduates ages 25 to 29 were women. Bolick says her choice to stay single wa... [Read more] →

The struggle with sexual identity involves discovering who you are, what you want and learning how or if you could fit into a couple. Regardless of age when you’re ready for dating it is a way of coming out to yourself about what you truly need. The average coming out for gay teens is now 16 years old,  but by that age many straight teenagers have already rolled through a relationship or two with training wheels on. When the openly gay community grew up in the 1970s, dating was something str... [Read more] →

It’s highly uncommon to leave a marriage revelling in new found freedom; instead most people find themselves wrestling with difficult losses. Not only is the person you loved lost but also your life’s direction has been drastically derailed. Many people leave a lot of who they were at the door when they enter into married life. The relationship engulfs their time and when they leave that structured environment it can be very daunting to fill the void. Clinical psychologist Judith Sills refe... [Read more] →