What is Depression?

How Do I Get Help for Depression?

Most people have felt sad or depressed at times. Feeling depressed can be a normal reaction to loss, life's struggles, or an injured self-esteem.

But when feelings of intense sadness -- including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless -- last for days to weeks and keep you from functioning normally, your depression may be something more than sadness. It may very well be clinical depression -- a treatable medical condition.

What is depression?

According to the DSM-IV, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, depression occurs when you have at least five of the following nine symptoms at the same time:

POM-Boozled: Do Health Drinks Live Up to Their Labels?

The makers of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice say that the drink improves blood flow and heart health, prevents and treats prostate cancer, and works 40% as well as Viagra (whatever that means). All for about four bucks a bottle.

Those impressive claims helped the company rack up $91 million in sales in 2009. They also earned the disapproval of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Last month, the agency sued POM Wonderful for making “false and unsubstantiated” health claims, and is asking the company to remove the claims from its ads.

A 100% juice drink that contains antioxidants (and no added sugar), POM is just one of many beverages that bill themselves as promoting better health. VitaminWater, kombucha tea, coconut water, and various brands of juice drinks made from acai, goji berry, and mangosteen have all used health claims in their marketing—and some, like POM, have been the subject of scrutiny and legal action.

5 Germiest Spots in Your Home

I've never really been a spring cleaner; I'm more of a winter cleaner. At the beginning of each year, I make sure to scour my apartment from top to bottom to get rid of "last year's" dirt. During this year's ritual cleaning, I noticed many places and items that I've neglected to clean. Here are five grimy things you may also overlook.

1: Vacuum Cleaner Brushes and Attachments You clean out the dust container or replace the bag routinely but when was the last time you cleaned the vacuum upholstery tool or brush roll? Check your manual for the how-to. Using scissors, cut off any carpet fibers or hair entangled around the brush.

5 Ways to De-Stress With Water

"I'm not a 'water' person," I tell my younger sister, who fantasizes about escapes to tropical beaches. "Then why are you always in the tub when I call?" she asks. "Why are you in the shower twice a day," I snap, continuing our habit of well-intentioned judgmental observation. "Because I like to be clean," she huffs, and then admits, "and worries roll off my back for a few minutes."

Exactly. I crave a bath when I'm anxious, depressed, or tired--and always emerge feeling better. It's my all-purpose remedy for stress. Why? Scientists have been studying water for centuries and are still trying to figure out its chemical properties. The fact is that water is a mystery. Maybe the most valid study of how water lifts your mood is finding out what works for you.

How to get back on the workout bandwagon

So you’re chugging along at a nice clip, running or skating or strength training or whatever you like to do, and then BAM! You catch the flu or pull a hamstring or just get totally enveloped in work craziness—and then you’re forced to hit the pause button on your workout routine. When you’re finally good to go once again, actually getting back into your routine seems as daunting as scaling Everest. Sound familiar?

It does to me. I recently had minor surgery on one toe; that put me out for a week. Then I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, upping my time on the sidelines to two weeks. Once I finally returned to fighting form, it was absurdly hard to get back into the groove—and I’m a fitness editor. I like working out!

5 Double-Duty Toning Moves for Your Body

When starting a new fitness regimen, half the battle is finding the time and energy to get to the gym. The other part is making your workout worth it, and that doesn't consist of just spending a half hour on the elliptical during Wheel of Fortune. Brett Hoebel, founder of Hoebel Fitness and creator of Rev Abs has a key philosophy that consists of "anaerobic exercises," which translates to "without air exercises," meaning you don't have to have a super cardio system to do these moves. The beauty of anaerobics is that they still get your heart pumping so you'll break a sweat. Here are five moves that will have you working at least two body parts at once so you can maximize your workout in half the time, plus burn more calories. Related: 7 Healthy Foods to Help You Lose Weight

Shopping for healthier juice: 3 things to zero in on

Juice labels are downright misleading, so we asked nutritionist Lauren Slayton of foodtrainers.net for tips on how to pick the good stuff.

Don’t be swayed by buzzwords. Claims like “heart-healthy” or “antioxidant-rich” are regulated by the FDA—but that doesn’t mean the juice isn’t packed with sugar or other additives. Scan the nutritional panel to see how a product stacks up (pay close attention to calories and sugar).

Make sure it’s pure. Steer clear of products with “natural flavors” (typically made with corn syrup), “concentrate” (highly processed juice that has more sugar than nutrients), artificial sweeteners and food coloring. If you want pure cranberry juice, the bottle should say “100 percent cranberry juice”—end of story.

Health Controversy: Is This Contraceptive Device Leaving Thousands of Women With Unwanted Pregnancies?

Imagine having your doctor put in a contraceptive device, like an IUD, that promises to keep you pregnancy-free for years, and then ... uh oh, you find out you're pregnant! This is what more than 500 women claim happened to them, and their surprise pregnancies are making other women wonder if these contraceptive devices are doing the job they promise to do.

Have you ever had a pregnancy scare? Imagine the shock (and horror, even) of thinking you're covered in the birth control department and then, bam, you're pregnant.

Scary, right? That's what nearly 600 women in the UK say happened to them after doctors implanted a device called Implanon, a toothpick-sized implant that delivers the synthetic progesterone etonogestrel. Product manufactures say the device is nearly foolproof, providing reliable contraception for as long as three years. (ABC News reports that nearly 500,000 of the devices have been implanted in women in the U.S. since 2006.)

Are You Ready for Bathing Suit Season? 6 Steps to Make It Happen!

Okay ladies. I know. I know it's cold outside and you ate more chocolate than you intended during the holidays. Your merriment probably included martinis, pumpkin pie and every other decadence that the holidays serve up. Damn that delicious Hickory Farms cheese and sausage box! It's the work of the devil. Now, I'm not getting on you. I just know what I go through with my clients around the beginning of April: the "Dreaded Bathing Suit Try-on."

Why am I bringing this up while you've just had visions of sugar plums dancing in your heads, laying on the sofa, wrapped up in your Christmas Snuggie (you know, the one that you thought was absolutely ridiculous until you used it one night while watching your latest Netflix selection and now don't want to take it off)? Don't worry. I'll keep your Snuggie-addiction a secret, but I'm bringing this topic up because with a little planning in January, those April bathing suit try-ons will be a little less traumatic.

8 psychological terms to help you strengthen your friendships

Ancient philosophers and modern scientists agree: the most essential key to happiness is strong relationships with other people.

We all have many kind of relationships that contribute to our happiness, and one of the most important is our friendships. My happiness-project resolutions aimed at friendship include “Cut people slack,” “Show up,” “Make three friends,” “Bring people together,” “Remember birthdays,” “No gossip,” and “Say hello.”

Here are eight psychological terms and principles that I’ve found helpful as I’ve been trying to build and strengthen my friendships.

1. Triadic closure. In a phenomenon called “triadic closure,” people tend to befriend the friends of their friends – and this is very satisfying. Friendships thrive on inter-connection, and it’s both energizing and comforting to feel that you’re building not just friendships, but a social network. I now make much more of an effort to help my friends become friends with each other, and to befriend friends’ friends. (Total non sequitur: “befriend friends’ friends” is quite a phrase! Bad writing, but I couldn’t resist.)