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NEUROPLASTICITY AND DEPRESSION (“A GUIDE TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION” by Marina Oppenheimer

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As per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3. Major Depression disorder affects more than 16.1 million American adults, or about 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Although the precise genetic make-up of depression is unknown, there are many theories that try to explain the role of the brain in the etiology of this disorder. Most probably however depression is a multifactorial syndrome where not only genetics but also environmental factors play a role. This is where neuroplasticity plays an important role in the treatment of depression. If we are able to transform our negative thoughts into thoughts that are more resourceful, we will be able to rewire our brain connections; in other words, by changing our thoughts we can feel and behave differently. Those thoughts that fuel our despondency by focusing on what we have lost can be replaced by thoughts that generate ou...
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CUANDO LOS HIJOS SE VAN

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Ayer mientras me deleitaba con las fotos de Instagram, un video me llamó la atención de inmediato: la foto mostraba una bellísima águila al tope de un cerro empujando suavemente a su aguilucho para que empezara a volar. Y cuando así lo hizo, su madre se lanzó detrás de él para felicitarlo con sus alas abiertas. Como nunca había visto nada parecido, la ternura de la imagen me emocionó profundamente. Pero al terminar de ver el video no pude menos que preguntarme si mis lágrimas se debían a la belleza del momento, o más bien al recuerdo de esa etapa compleja de mi vida cuando mi hijo también abrió las alas de su nueva vida. Como para muchos otros, ese fue uno de mis momentos más penosos. Al tener un hijo único, mi relación con él se había convertido poco a poco en el significado de mi vida. Me acordé entonces de una frase del psiquiatra Americano M. Scott Peck cuando dice que si supiéramos lo que significa tener hijos nadie los tendría, y me dije que, en momentos como ése, era muy probabl...
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CAN WE FIND REAL FRIENDS AFTER RETIRING?

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When I woke up this morning, as usual I turned on the iPad and set out to check the bad news of the day. However, YouTube quickly moved away from politics and took me to the video of a French psychologist whose topic was the elderly. His theory about a happy old age was well-known: the importance of having friends with whom to share a drink and chat. The presenter argued that it can even be said that our need to have friends has a genetic component. If we analyze the life of human beings in general, nothing sounds truer: from a very young age, one of our most important concerns is to have as many friends as possible. So much so that those of us who did not have them felt different throughout their young lives. Yet, that is the story of our youth; when we reach old age things change. Although in our young years we were strong enough to tolerate those friendships that were not sincere, as soon as we set foot in our last life stage, we are only able to endure sharing our time with p...
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TRAVELLING ALONE? NOT REALLY.

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This year, as on the last four years, I took a trip to the Argentine Patagonia, this time to the province of Chubut. I booked a hotel in the city of Esquel with the project of visiting National Park Los Alerces, which besides being of a magnificent beauty was designated a world’s heritage site in 2017 due to being home to 2000-year-old trees. Since I am divorced and I don’t know of anybody with whom I would like to share a three weeks trip, I always travel alone; perhaps because at this age I only go to places that invite meditation and reflection, I have never felt alone in any of my expeditions. On the contrary, when people seem surprised to see me flying alone to the end of the world, I say to myself that they have probably never felt the joy of looking at a majestic mountain from the shore of a crystal-clear lake… alone. The best description for this feeling of awe is just that: the awe of being at the end of the world looking at what is greater than ourselves. However, it is also...
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"EACH ONE OF US ACTS FROM AN UNRESOLVED PAIN." Rafael Santandreu, psychologist

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The other day, I heard from Rafael Santandreu one of the wisest phrases I had ever heard: "Each one of us acts from an unresolved pain." This brings to mind the saying of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung when he states that the deep problems of our life do not have to be solved but overcome through our personal growth. By not overcoming them, these problems will continue controlling our lives. I tried to apply these ideas to my personal life, and I began to realize how much truth they hold. When I use my own life story as an example, one of the situations that disturbed me the most was when someone walked away from me for no reason. On those occasions when I lost a friendship without any possible explanation, I always convinced myself that it was surely my fault. However, I now understand how much more complicated the situation was. If that friend didn't feel comfortable with me because of something I had done, she would have told me openly. By not explaining to me the reason...
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DO WE MARRY THE PERSON WE LOVE? ( "The Family Crucible"" - Augustus Y. Napier Ph.D, with Carl Whitaker, MD.)

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Nineteen years after my 30-year marriage broke down, I still wonder why I chose a spouse with whom I have very little in common. While the marriage lasted many years, our time together was not a time of love and companionship; on the contrary, ours were times of coldness and distance. If we lasted 30 years together it was because our common concern was that our only son could grow up with the both of us. One day I read in The Family Crucible a phrase I never forgot: "We do not marry the person we love but the person we need". If this is true, the question for me is then what did I need from the man I married that made me choose him? Since my love for my chosen one lasted very little, it is obvious that these words were telling me something important. If I analyze the personality of my ex-husband, he is a man focused on his work and who always dreamed of bigger horizons. He had a lot of plans, but I guess that the idea of going alone didn't convince him. As for me, when ...
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THE DAY OF THE BAR EXAM - UN ANGEL VESTIDO DE MUJER - CUENTOS DEL MÁS ACÁ Y DEL MÁS ALLÁ - MARINA OPPENHEIMER (Amazon)

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El año en que mi hijo tenía que tomar el examen jurídico estatal, yo había invitado a una prima a ir de vacaciones a Hernando Beach, una playa al norte de la Florida. Como pensaba ir manejando, una semana antes me puse a mirar en el mapa para ver qué ruta tomar y fue allí que me di cuenta de que, para ir a Hernando Beach, tenía que pasar por Tampa, ciudad donde mi hijo daba el examen. Una vez más me regocijé de tener un inconsciente tan previsor y lo llamé para decirle que, en nuestro viaje hacia el norte, mi prima y yo pasaríamos con él la noche anterior al examen. De más está decir que se puso muy contento con la noticia ya que la prueba es tan difícil y las historias de horror tantas que estar solo durante las horas previas no es agradable. Llegamos a Tampa bajo una lluvia torrencial y después de habernos perdido ya que el parabrisas del coche estaba totalmente inutilizado por el agua. Para colmo de males, en la entrada de la ciudad estaban construyendo un puente y el agua que ...
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