Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 6: Holistic Mental Health @TheHighCalling

When my son first began exhibiting symptoms of anxiety and depression as a sophomore in high school, my husband and I both worked at a California mega-church whose leaders openly preached against psychiatry and psychology. The message reached… Read More

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 5: Social Supports & Storytelling @TheHighCalling

Stories help us make sense of the world. True stories told by our elderly relatives help us understand ourselves, and the telling also helps the storytellers make sense of their lives, says Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Dan… Read More

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 4: Geriatric Depression @TheHighCalling

Depression causes more disability than any other psychiatric disorder,” Laity Leadership Institute senior fellow Dan Blazer, M.D. said his 2005 book The Age of Melancholy: Major Depression and Its Social Origins.  In fact, depression is as disabling or more… Read More

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 3: The Role of Perception in Geriatric Health @TheHighCalling

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV). When it comes to geriatric health, this statement has repeatedly proven true. “Self-perceptions of older adults about their health and well-being may be at… Read More

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 2: Successful Aging @TheHighCalling

In his 2002 book, Depression in Late Life, Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Dan Blazer, M.D. retells a story from the life of Siddhārtha, who would come to be known as the Supreme Buddha. The young prince left his palace… Read More

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 1 @TheHighCalling

Laity Leadership Institute senior fellow Dan Blazer, M.D., PhD. describes himself as a “prototypical academic psychiatrist,” but the path to his specialty in geriatric psychiatry was anything but typical. Blazer spent two years as a young medical missionary in Cameroun and… Read More

Thoughts on Getting Through Thanksgiving After Suicide @NJShorePatch @HuffPost

How gratitude, a change of scenery and sharing stories have helped me face the Thanksgiving holiday after my son’s suicide. My son Gabriel was a Thanksgiving baby. His birthday didn’t fall on the actual holiday until his second… Read More

Integrating Faith &Psychiatry: A Summary

Psychiatry and faith offer complimentary insights into the human condition and can help us to lead healthier and more satisfying lives, we learned in our seven-part series with Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow, Allan Josephson, M.D. … To… Read More

Integrating Faith and Psychiatry, Part 7: Managing Technology @TheHighCalling

I don’t need the test at the Center for Internet Addiction website to tell me that I spend too much time online. I know I do. But for a web journalist like me, disconnecting for any length of time is… Read More

Allan Josephson: Integrating Faith & Psychiatry, Part 6: Finding Balance Between Work & Family @TheHighCalling

The United States is known for its fast-paced, hard hitting business culture. Many careers demand 60 hour weeks or more if we’re going to succeed and provide for our families. Inherent in this climate is the temptation to… Read More

Allan Josephson: Integrating Faith & Psychiatry, Part 5: Narcissism & Relationships @TheHighCalling

Dealing with the narcissists in our lives is never easy, but there is hope for improving these difficult relationships, says Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow AllanJosephson, M.D. Narcissism develops out of early relationships and is sustained by subsequent ones, so… Read More

Tom Davis: ‘A Legacy of Madness’ @NJShorePatch

Jersey Shore Patch Regional Editor Tom Davis, a Point Pleasant Boro native who is appearing at a Manasquan bookstore, talks about recovering himself and his family from generations of mental illness. Tom Davis is not only regional editor… Read More