The Depression Cure

How to beat depression without drugs.

Dr. Ilardi, author of The Depression Cure and associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, is a clinical researcher specializing in the treatment of depression. See full bio

August 10, 2009

Got Chemical Imbalance? What Big Pharma Doesn't Advertise

A prospective patient recently asked me if her depression might involve some form of chemical imbalance. Like most Americans, she had seen hundreds of drug ads trumpeting the idea, but they filled her with a deep sense of helplessness. "I really don't want to take antidepressants," she explained. Read More

July 23, 2009

Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link

Noted British psychiatric researcher Malcolm Peet has conducted a provocative cross-cultural analysis of the relationship between diet and mental illness. His primary finding may surprise you: a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia. Read More

July 20, 2009

OCD Treatment: As Good As It Gets?

Fortunately, during my grad school training at Duke, instructors and supervisors emphasized the importance of asking, for each form of mental illness: which of the hundreds of possible treatments for this disorder is most strongly supported by the research evidence?

For OCD, this is a no-brainer: a form of behavior therapy called exposure and ritual prevention has outperformed other treatments (including meds) in virtually every relevant outcome trial ever published.

July 13, 2009

Social Isolation: A Modern Plague

The best research confirms it: Americans are now perilously isolated. In a recent comprehensive study by scientists at Duke University, researchers have observed a sharp decline in social connectedness over the past 20 years. Read More

July 5, 2009

Depression: Tragically Misunderstood

Depression is one of the most tragically misunderstood words in the English language. Why? The term has two starkly different meanings, depending upon the context. Read More

Books by Stephen Ilardi, Ph.D.

The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs

Depression Basics

Some 15 million Americans struggle with depression—an illness that comes in many forms—from major depression and seasonal affective disorder, to dysthymia and bipolar disorder.

Go to the Depression Basics page for more on Depression including:

Current Issue

Everyday Creativity

How to start living creatively and reap the benefits.