depression

Do you know about the Health Quality Ontario (HQO) quality standards related to opioid prescribing, opioid use disorder, and mental health? HQO wants to hear from you!

Quality standards outline for clinicians and patients what quality care looks like. They focus on conditions or topics where there are large variations across Ontario in how care is delivered. In some cases, there are large gaps between the care patients should receive and the care patients are actually getting—quality standards can help bridge these gaps.

The New Moon Monthly Men's Group meets in South Etobicoke one Sunday afternoon, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, each month. There is no fee for the first group, October 27th, to give participants a chance to experience the group setting and determine their comfort before committing. For those continuing, the ongoing monthly session fee is $45 + hst.

For more information, go to

Research has yielded mixed findings about the relationship between hormonal contraceptive use and depression. The largest study to date on this topic — which included over one million women living in Denmark — concluded that women who are using the pill or other hormonal contraceptives are at an increased risk for depression.

As a family physician for over three decades, there are many times when our family practice patients require psychological support and are reluctant to see someone new.  Often, these patients would ask, can't I see you and talk about these issues?  As my family doctor, you know me, my family and I already trust you.  So it makes sense for family doctors to learn to do more counselling in our practice over issues that we see daily such as managing stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia, grief, anger, relationship and parenting issues.  The Department of Family and Communit

You may have seen one of the following headlines over the past few days:

• Suffering from depression? Eat dark chocolates
• People who eat dark chocolate less likely to be depressed
• Eating lots of dark chocolate 'lowers the risk of depression'
• Depression, Memory Loss, Heart Problems? Try Chocolate Therapy!

Does this mean therapists should recommend dark chocolate to their clients?

Not quite.

Need someone to talk to or know someone who does?

Drop by the West-End Peer Support Group (Drop-in)! This group is a general mood support group facilitated by trained peer volunteers from the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario,  and it’s free of charge and completely anonymous. This group is open to anyone 14-65 years of age and meets of the 2^nd Tuesday of each month at the Jane Street Hub (starting September 2019).

Topics discussed include: depression, anxiety, low mood ETC

1541 Jane Street

Toronto, ON M9N 2R3

Mental Health First Aid Basic is a 12-hour course that discusses a variety of mental disorders. Crisis first aid skills for the following situations are learned: Substance overdose, Suicidal behaviour, Panic attack, Acute stress reaction, Psychotic episode. Explanations of mental health, mental illness and mental health problems are discussed.

APPLIED SUICIDE INTERVENTION SKILLS TRAINING - ASIST 11

SEPTEMBER 12 AND 13, 2019

This highly interactive, practice-dominated 2 day workshop is intended for anyone 16 years or older who wish to be better prepared to aid individuals at risk of suicide

Overcoming addiction and depression Michelle has co-founded The Drive Foundation in support for Mental health # hashtag#mentalhealth and Addiction

The common belief among medical professionals is that depression only happens in western countries.  Now, researchers have found strong evidence that depression is "a fundamental human experience."

My Ramadan Diary: Fasting for 18 hours with depression and anxiety

The long hours of fasting for Ramadan can be challenging but what's it like when you're doing it with mental health issues?

Not eating food or drinking water makes each hour of the day harder for Maryam, who also writes as Maz Halima. But something else adds to the struggle - her depression and anxiety.

So what does a day look like for her during Ramadan? We wake up with Maryam at 2am, meet an imam, and find out why she thinks it's worth it.

Twitter users with depression and anxiety were found to be more likely to post pictures with lower aesthetic values and less vivid colors, particularly images in grayscale, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn Medicine. Additionally, they found that users tended to suppress positive emotions rather than outwardly display more negative emotions, such as keeping a straight face instead of outright frowning, in their profile pictures. 

Check out The Agenda last night for a timely discussion of the potential impact of proposed alcohol policy changes in Ontario. As Pegeen Walsh, OPHA's Executive Director shared, we need to work together to ensure the health impacts are part of the conversation.

Please like, comment, and share this tweet from @AlcoholPolicyON (OPHA Alcohol WG):

Recently, many medical researchers have pushed for a greater understanding of poop, and have made some startling discoveries. Many of our health problems are related to damaged or missing gut bacteria; the solution may lie in transplanting healthy bacteria into a "sick" person. Listen to this podcast to learn more about fecal transplants (20 minutes)!

A machine learning algorithm can detect signs of anxiety and depression in the speech patterns of young children, potentially providing a fast and easy way of diagnosing conditions that are difficult to spot and often overlooked in young people. If undiagnosed, they can lead to an increased risk of substance abuse and suicide later in life.

People who don't give up on their goals (or who get better over time at not giving up on their goals) and who have a positive outlook appear to have less anxiety and depression and fewer panic attacks, according to a study of thousands of Americans over the course of 18 years. Surprisingly, a sense of control did not have an effect on the mental health of participants across time.

You’re Invited!

You’re Invited!

The CBT Group for anxiety and depression is a short-term treatment approach. Its goal is to helps individuals become aware of their depressive or anxious thought patterns and behaviours.  In each session, participants learn specific skills to help themselves feel better, cope with and manage their difficulties and decrease the risk of future relapse.

Participants of this CBT group for anxiety and depression will learn how to:

Learn the fundamentals of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for depression and suicidality through an experiential workshop delivered by the Beck Institute, a leading international source for training, therapy and resources in CBT.