Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, After I recovered from depression, I wanted to understand the causes. This was the second time that I had a run-in with depression, but the reasons behind this episode were very different from the first. So I wanted to figure it out. What is the true cause of depression? Is there even one? And I’ve written about this many times before, but it’s worth saying again: There isn’t one universal cause for depression. There can be many causes (and there often are...
23 days ago • 5 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, On sunday I announced that I'm finally publishing my mental health journal on Substack. Since day one, I've known that the journal entries that helped me heal from depression weren't meant just for me (I actually announce it to myself in the first entry). At least for me, my journal is an integral part of my mission: Helping people overcome anxiety and depression. It has been, and still is, the mission I’m working on, and I’m sure it’s the path I am meant to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve had to ditch everything I’m doing and just be still, relax and collect my thoughts. What the “gurus” and experts out there don’t usually tell you is that everyone has setbacks. Even the ones who’ve seemingly “made it” go through tough times mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I don’t want to be one of those guys who always presents a polished facade. I value honesty, and this is my honest opinion....
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Whether I’m writing for my website or talking with people, the same question keeps popping up over and over again: "Is there a practical 'how-to' guide for making our way out of depression?" My answer is, that if there were a simple, universal guide to healing depression, I would give it to you in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. Our minds and histories are entirely unique, meaning your path to recovery will be uniquely yours. Now, that...
2 months ago • 7 min read
Happiness On Demand Read the article on the blog Hello Reader, I recently came across an interesting study about major life changes following psychedelic use*. Basically, It looked at individuals who use psychedelics naturalistically, and found that 83% of the participants had experienced at least on major life change. But what's interesting about the study isn't really the effects of psychedelics (though they remain a fascinating subject for ongoing psychological research) or the results per...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, I recently posted this idea on Facebook, and I've wanted to explain it in detail ever since. (It's only fitting that I just struggled with a viral infection.) The way our society works is much like a virus. It hijacks our minds and wants to use us for its own purposes. Our body/mind/spirit system then fights back against this "virus" by giving us a "fever" of anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are not the real enemies (even though they are...
3 months ago • 7 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Please excuse my absence. I was away on a short vacation, and shortly after returning, I came down with a particularly nasty flu. So nasty that it knocked me out for nearly a week. Haven’t had anything like that in years. But I’m almost back to normal now and slowly getting back into writing. And as often happens in my case, a bit of distance has helped me see the experience and the lessons that came with it more clearly. I know life isn’t really about...
4 months ago • 6 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Lately, I’ve been thinking about all the things I’ve had to do just to “maintain my sanity.” I’ve gone through depression twice in my life. I dealt with anxiety for years. And during most of my career in banking, I was under constant stress. For the longest time, I thought that was just normal. That this is simply how life is supposed to feel. But it’s not. Depression, anxiety, and chronic stress are not meant to be the default. I just didn’t know any better...
4 months ago • 6 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Depression is one of the most talked-about mental health topics today for a good reason. It affects millions of people around the world, and unfortunately, the numbers just keep rising. But even though we talk about it a lot, it’s still pretty misunderstood. We tend to think of depression as one condition with one clear cause. In reality, it can show up for many different reasons and the causes and symptoms vary from person to person. And more oftet than not,...
4 months ago • 4 min read