The Soul in Depression: Dr. Anita Barrows on NPR
See Dr. Barrow's professional biography .
Depression and anxiety have a common duality in spirituality and the human experience. Is the melancholy of depression akin to the fervor of love? This week, NPR examined this question in its 鈥淥n Being鈥� radio show and podcast. Along with Andrew Solomon, author of National Book Award winner, Noonday Demon, and Parker Palmer, Quaker author and educator, 91精品 Clinical Psychology Program faculty member spoke with host Krista Tippett.
Dr. Barrows, a poet, psychologist, and Buddhist practitioner, 鈥渉ad her own first struggle with depression at 17, after she left home for college. Then, after the birth of her first, much-wanted child when she was 31, she suffered a major collapse." Dr Barrows 鈥渞emains marked by the presence of this illness in her life, and she embraces it actively.鈥� Dr. Barrows鈥� work as a poet and translator is one realm in which she explores depression as a kind of 鈥渕inor-key chord that is a constant accompaniment to one鈥檚 life.鈥� She honors the interplay between darkness and light as a commonplace feature of life, and hopes to redeem the idea of 鈥渄arkness鈥� from its solely negative medical and clinical connotations.
鈥淒epression is also spiritual territory. It is a shadow side of human vitality and as such teaches us about vitality.鈥� To hear the entirety of this thought-provoking podcast, or to read the transcript, .
If you or someone you know someone is depressed, please seek help. and The National Alliance on Mental Illness (1-800-950-NAMI) are helpful resources for those seeking support.
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