It’s Brain Awareness Week, the global campaign to increase public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. In recognition, we’d like to share with you an excerpt from Dr. Gregory Jantz’s new book on depression — Turning Your Down Into Up: A Realistic Plan for Healing From Depression.

What New Brain Science Tells Us About Depression

The more we learn about depression from a scientific approach, the more encouraging the possibilities for innovative treatments.

The latest in brain science shows that people with a history of depression have a smaller hippocampus than those who have no such history. As noted by WebMD, this is notable because:

“A smaller hippocampus has fewer serotonin receptors. Serotonin is a calming brain chemical known as a neurotransmitter that allows communication between nerves in the brain and the body. It’s also thought that the neurotransmitter norepinephrine may be involved in depression.”

In his SPECT imaging research (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography), Dr. Daniel Amen has been able to identify 7 types of anxiety and depression:

- Pure Anxiety
- Pure Depression
- Mixed Anxiety and Depression
- Over-Focused Anxiety and Depression
- Temporal Lobe Anxiety and Depression
- Cyclic Anxiety and Depression
- “Lights Are Low” Anxiety and Depression

Specifically, these SPECT images are able to identify three areas of activity in the brain:

- areas that are working well
- areas of low activity
- areas of high activity

It’s based on these images that doctors can more accurately prescribe treatment. For instance, if the SPECT scan reveals low activity, the last thing needed is a prescription anti-depressant that lowers brain activity.

Dr. Jantz is the founder of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, and author of more than two dozen books on topics ranging from anxiety and depression, to addiction and eating disorders. Scheduled for release July 16, 2013, you can pre-order your copy of Turning Your Down Into Up today.

Competition is healthy when it stays within its proper boundaries and does not venture into the realm of compulsion. It includes honest effort and a fair use of skill. Anything less than honest effort and fair use of skill turns competition into the realm of the unhealthy.

In unhealthy competition, the goal is not to find a way for you to be better but to find a way for others to be worse.

There are generally two reasons a man turns competition into a compulsion:

He develops a reliance on the zing, the sheer physical thrill that happens during competition. There is a physiological reaction that takes place while doing something risky or dangerous. And for competition to be truly competitive, there needs to be an element of risk and possible danger, even if it’s simply getting your pride hurt or getting knocked on your butt.

He sees competition as a way to satisfy a need for dominance. Yes, it’s fun and exciting to play, but it can be even more fun and exciting to win. For some men, it’s not enough just to play the game and let the chips fall where they may. For these men, it’s not about the playing; they are obsessed with winning. They want to be the best at everything.

Types of compulsive competitors include:

The Cheater. This is the man who, quite simply, cheats. He is not a man of his word, yet he portrays himself as a man of integrity.

The Constant Competitor. This is the man who constantly competes about seemingly everything. He’s playing the odds that if he keeps at it long enough, he’ll either win at the next random wager or you’ll just get tired of the whole thing and just move on.

The Backstabber. This is the man who engage in all-out competition but never out int he open. Instead, he maneuvers behind your back, looking for advantages, sniffing out weaknesses, planning the best time for him and the worst time for you to strike.

Think of two personal situations:

A time when you were unfair to someone else

A time when someone was unfair to you

What can you learn about yourself, the other person, and life in general through these situations? If you had each to do over again, what would you do differently?

The above is excerpted from chapter 8 in Battles Men Face: Strategies To Win the War Within by Dr. Gregory Jantz.

Generally, I love to watch football, but as a therapist, I find a part of football difficult to watch. It’s hard to watch kickers who miss, especially kickers who miss on the final play of the game or at the end of a must-make drive. It doesn’t matter if the snap was bad or the kick was long or the angle was off; kickers are expected to make it. When they don’t, I getd a drop-to-the-bottom jolt in my gut because I know that guy’s going to beat himself up for days.

Each of us is an amalgamation of our experiences. Because we live in a less-than-ideal world, many of those experiences produce pain. The goal in life should be not to avoid pain – that is not possible. The goal in life should be to use the pain that happens to power something better. The goal in life should be to use that pain to power what’s next.

Do you remember game 6 of the 2011 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers? I do, and not only because our division of rivals, the Rangers, somehow managed to get into the World Series. I remember that game because there was a “missed kick” moment in the fifth inning. David Freese, the Cardinals’ third baseman, was playing in front of a hometown crowd, having grown up in St. Louis. At the start of the fifth inning, Freese inexplicably dropped a routine fly ball hit by the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton, who went in to score, putting Texas up by one. I can still see the bobble in my mind. There was absolutely no reason why Freese should have let that ball pop out of his mitt. He missed the “kick” and had no one to blame but himself. The fifth inning of game 6 was a painful one for David Freese. Hometown kid drops a routine pop-up, allowing the dread Josh Hamilton to score and the other team to go ahead and possibly win the Series. So, what’s next?

Bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals are down by two runs. David Freese is still in the game and up to bat with two outs. Freese is sitting on two strikes against Ranger closer Naftali Felix when he hits a two-RBI triple and ties the game 7-7. Pandemonium breaks out in St. Louis and in my living room. The game goes into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Josh Hamilton hita two-run homer to give Texas the lead. The Cardinals manage to tie it up in the bottom of the tenth, and the game goes into the eleventh inning. With the Rangers scoreless through their at bat, it’s time for the Cardinals to be up. Once again, enter David Freese, who goes on to hit only the fourth walk-off home run in a game of 6 of a World Series. After this amazing win, the Cardinals go on to take game 7 and the Series. David Freese goes on to be named to the 2011 World Series MVP. Game 6 was quite possibly the most exciting game of baseball I’ve ever watched. One of the best things about that game was the redemption of David Freese.

Do you think that when David Freese was up to bat in the ninth inning, with two outs and two strikes, he was thinking about that dropped ball? I can almost guarantee it. But I’ll bet he wasn’t thinking about it to immobilize himself. I’ll bet he was thinking about it to movtivate himself.

What motivates you when you miss the kick or drop the ball? Are you even motivated to do anything after such an event? David Freese didn’t slump in the dugout, eating sunflower seeds and kicking himself for very long. I’m sure he did for a bit, but he was ready to meet the challenge when it came up in the ninth. He stayed in the game.

Too many men spend their lives stuck at the point of the dropped ball and staying stuck isn’t the answer. The real answer is to learn everything you can from it so you’re better prepared to catch the next one.

The above is excerpted from chapter 14 in Battles Men Face: Strategies to Win the War Within by Dr. Gregory Jantz.

We live in a world inundated by visual and emotional stimuli. People, events, and technology all clamor for our attention. Look over here! Look over there! Buy this! Buy that! Change this! Change that! Stop this! Start that! We listen to talk all day long – from the people around us, from the media, from the voices inside our heads. These voices constantly jab and poke at us, prodding us into action or reaction. We can feel deluged in al that chatter. We can feel goaded into responding before we’re ready.

All of this activity produces stress. From getting out the door so we can get to work on time, to completing the project at work, to communicating with co-workers about that project, to keeping track of the myriad of ways people have to demand our attention, you can feel very overwhelmed. Add to that the stress of realistic and unrealistic expectations about who you are and who you’re supposed to be from yourself, your family, and others, and each day can be a sort of assault on a man’s sense of competency and worth.

Don’t get me wrong — for all of that, I’m generally up for the challenge. If it’s me against the world, I say “Look out, world!” But I have to admit there are days when it seems like the world has the upper hand. On those days, I find myself needing to “get away from it all” in order to have some space to think and plan and recharge.

It was in John Gray’s book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus where I first heard the term “cave dwell.” According to Gray, men cave dwell; they withdraw in order to process actions and reactions, for emotional safety and protection. Men withdraw for a variety of reasons, and they also have a variety of ways to withdraw.

I’d like you to think of the “caves” you’ve created – places where you can go and be alone. With those visuals in mind, answer these questions:

1) What’s the first cave you can remember?
2) What sent you there in the first place?
3 How often do you find yourself withdrawing into your cave of choice?
4) How long do you need to be “offline” before you’re ready to get back in the game?
5) What stresses today trigger you to head into the cave?
6) Is there a particular time of the day or day of the week when you’re more tempted to check out?
7) When you’re in your cave, how do you react when asked to leave?
8) What’s the longest you’ve spent truly alone in your life?
9) Of all the secrets you hold close, which is the one that frightens you the most?
10) Of all the secrets you hold close, which one do you make sure you never reveal?
11) When was the last time you were completely honest with someone? Who was it and why did you share what you did?
12) Who are the people you hide from the most?
13) Who are the people you love the most? Compare and contrast your answers above.
14) In order to open up to another person, what do you need in place first?
15) Are you someone who is able to hear the secrets of others?
16) Are you someone who is trustworthy with the secrets of others?
17) What is more important to you – to be respected or to be known for who you are?
18) Do you think it’s impossible for people to love you (or respect you, like you, trust you) if they know who you really are and what you really think? Complete the questions using each of the words in parentheses.
19) What is your definition of courage?
20) Are you a strong enough person to let others see your faults?

The above is excerpted from chapter 4 in Battles Men Face: Strategies to Win the War Within by Dr. Gregory Jantz.

There are four ways people experience disconnect anxiety:

1) Safety: People can feel anxiety where a cell phone is perceived as a “lifeline” or a “safety net.”

2) Work: People can feel anxious when out of “the flow” (both the flow of work and general information), which must be monitored in order to stay current, valued, and competitive.

3) Social: People can feel anxious, fearful of missing out on social events or missing access to insider tidbits of information that constitute the new “social currency.”

4) Navigation: People can feel anxious being without the device that tells you where you should be and what you should be doing and that holds all your personal data.

As we connect ourselves with more technological tethers, we increasingly anchor them to our sense of safety, self-worth, social connection, and security. It used to be the word disconnect had two common meanings: you were disconnected from a phone call, or you disconnected from reality. Who would have thought those two definitions would merge? Now, being disconnected form your phone is being disconnected from reality – at least, we’ve allowed it to feel that way.

Here are a few of the words and phrases used to describe what being disconnected feels like: feeling lost, half a voice, disoriented, panic, tense, empty, inadequate, dazed, getting behind info flow, loss of freedom. One of those terms stands out to me: disoriented.

Why would being disconnected from a physical device make you feel disoriented? Disorientation is caused when you lose your bearings, when you are displaced form your normal position or relationship. Thus, if your sense of self is tethered to one of these devices, disconnecting will be disorienting. If your normal position in daily life is to rely on these devices for safety, work, social, and navigation purposes, even the thought of being without is going to produce anxiety. If you have placed a priority on the relationship you have with technology, being without that primary relationship, even for a little while, will make you feel deprived.

Disorientation can also mean losing your sense of time, place, or identity. It’s almost as if we’ve invested a significant portion of ourselves inside these devices. When we’re separated from our gadgets, we become disoriented and lose the sense of where and who we are. It is no wonder, then, we become anxious, apprehensive, and insecure when forced to disconnect.

The above is excerpted from #Hooked: The Pitfalls of Media, Technology and Social Networking by Dr. Gregory Jantz.

The number one thing I see people bring into the new year year  – and it’s usually not on any resolution list – is the whole thing of unforgiveness, of others or maybe even of yourself.

One in four adults are diagnosed with depression and anxiety. And I think we’re onto something when we see people come in and they’re depressed and they’re anxious and don’t know the real source of it. It’s buried in their history, and the roots of bitterness have taken a strong hold. And they don’t realize it’s this area of unforgiveness that needs attention. Well, its time to talk about setting yourself free.

There are three things that can destroy us: 1) anger and hurt (untreated), 2) pride – and pride takes many different forms, 3) and unforgivness. That’s coming from me, a counselor who has been working with people for 27 years.

Through forgiveness, I’ve seen lives change and people have been set free.

I think of a gal who, for 40 years, suffered with an eating disorder. She was in and out of treatment facilities, struggling with anorexia one month, bulimia the next. And after four decades of living this way it was at The Center where she had a revelation.

She said her father told her, since she was a little girl, that she was never going to amount to much. That she was a chubby little baby and would always live that way. She identified that root, that seed, that poison in her life, and by understanding that root – and coming from a place of forgiveness of a father who is long deceased – she was able to let that go.

Are you struggling with forgiveness, of yourself or others? If so, please share your story and/or question in the comments section of this post.

The above is an edited transcript of Dr. Gregory Jantz’s podcast on Unforgiveness (1-13-12), as heard on his Monday radio show, Overcoming. It airs every Monday at 1pm (PT) on www.kcisradio.com. Click here to subscribe.

How do you know when you’re depressed? How do you know if what you’re feeling is the normal consequence of your current circumstances in life? How do you know if it’s more than just having a string of lousy days?

Depression isn’t like a sprained ankle. With a sprained ankle, you are very much aware the moment it happens. People see you limping and ask you what’s wrong, and you think, “Isn’t it obvious? I sprained my ankle.”

It would be nice if depression were like a sprained ankle. Fixing a sprained ankle is pretty straightforward – bind it up to support it, and stay off it until it heals. But what do you do with depression when it’s hard for you to pinpoint where it really hurts and your life isn’t really something you can “stay off” of until you feel better.

Most people who experience symptoms of depression but keep powering on anyway get used to the feeling of walking around with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I means, it’s not the end of the world. The sun still comes up every morning, and so do they, in a manner of speaking. They’re still walking around, functioning at some level, even though walking feels like its through really thick sand that clings to their feet and makes each step an effort. They get used to thinking “This is just the way life is.” They stopped looking for happiness a long time ago. They’re just trying to make it through the detour of depression, who cares about the destination?

Here are the signs and symptoms of depression as outlined by the National Institutes of Mental Health:

- persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
- feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
- feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
- loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
- decreased energy, fatigue, being “slowed down”
- difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
- appetite and/or weight changes
- thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
- restlessness, irritability
- persistent physical symptoms

If you believe you are suffering from depression, take our depression survey, and know there is hope. I know because I’ve been through the valley myself.

This might be the greatest challenge of your life, but it is one that will renew your strength so that you will be able to “soar on wings like eagles…run and not grow weary…walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

The above is a compilation of excerpts from Dr. Gregory Jantz’s Moving Beyond Depression: A Whole-Person Approach, Happy for the Rest of Your Life, and Overcoming Anxiety, Worry and Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace.

Over twenty years ago, there was an amazingly effective public service announcement by a group called Partnership for a Drug-Free America. It was effective – not so much because it caused a dramatic decrease in the use of drugs, but because this one short ad seared itself into the collective cultural consciousness. I remember the ad vividly. There was a man in a kitchen. He held up an egg and said, “This is your brain.” He picked up a pan and said, “This is drugs,” and put the pan on the stove. Cracking open the egg, he dropped it in the pan while saying, “This is your brain on drugs,” as the egg fried and bubbled. He looked at the camera and said, “Any questions?” Fade to black.

It was a graphic representation of a complex and difficult reality – the effect of drug use on the health of your brain. Up to that point, I’m not sure people had given much thought, as a whole, to what drugs actually did to a person’s brain. Sure, they could see the physical effects on a person’s body, on their demeanor and behavior, but the brain was sort of a mysterious, shrouded object that most people didn’t truly understand unless they were in a medical or research profession. That ad brought into focus drugs and what their use was doing to the brains of thousands of people. And the message was simple – drugs fry your brain. Easy to grasp. Easy to remember.

Fast-forward to today. You, as a parent, can see the physical effects of adolescence on your teen. You observe their demeanor and behaviors; you remember your own. But puberty and adolescence have been sort of mysterious, shrouded by a process you don’t really understand unless you’re in a medical or research profession. Frankly, it’s a process many of us tried very hard to just survive as teens and then to hunker down and survive when it’s our kid’s turn.

But reverting to this hunker-down-and-just-survive-it mode for adolescence is a cheat. Surviving isn’t really experiencing life to the fullest, and there are parts of this time of life you’ll want to fully experience. Remember – the slimy pupa morphs into a beautiful butterfly in time. You wouldn’t want to be hunkered down so much you miss it.

Do you remember the discussion in chapter 3 about the research breakthroughs regarding imaging of the brain? And about how different adolescent brains are from even young adult brains? There is so much going on in the body of your teen directly connected to that brain. While you may become focused on the physical changes you can see and experience every day, don’t forget there’s a lot going on “upstairs” as well.

The above is excerpted from Chapter 5 of my new book, The Stranger in Your House. I’ll be posting more excerpts from it here in the weeks to come, but you can receive a FREE copy of the book itself between now and December 15, 2011. To participate in this book giveaway, simply share some of your own thoughts or experiences about raising teenagers – in the comments section of this or future blog posts, or on the Facebook or Twitter pages linked to below.