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Created For Lawyers
With Depression
By A Lawyer
With Depression


Helping Hands: How to build a strong support team


WHY I CREATED THIS SITE


headshot.dtl.colorDepression is often a very isolating experience—even when the depressed person has a supportive and loving group of people to rely on.

In my own life, I often found relief in reading books about depression, spirituality or health and trying to relate the wisdom in those books to my own life as a lawyer.

When I searched on-line for materials to read that would support me in my attempt to cope with depression and my law practice, what I found was sometimes helpful, but in the end, not sufficient.
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LWD IN THE NEWS


Lawyers And Depression: An Interview Wih Daniel Lukasik
Therese J. Borchard of BeliefNet interviews LWD creator Dan Lukasik for her column Beyond Blue.
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No Longer Their Golden Ticket
LWD creator Dan Lukasik participated in this article from The New York Times which explores the changes in job security and compensation in the field of law.
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Overcoming Depression
From the American Bar Association's GP Solo, LWD creator Dan Lukasik shares his story of overcoming depression.
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Reflections of a Lawyer at Midlife
LWD creator Dan Lukasik wrote this refelctive piece for LawyerAvenue.com. In it he reflects on entering the Fall of his life and finding satisfaction fulfilling his life's purpose in the second half of life.
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Employment Woes Fuel Uptick In Lawyer Depression
From The New York Law Journal, this article discusses how the current job market is affecting lawyers and the support systems that are springing up in response, including Lawyerswithdepression.com.
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Ten Blogs Every Lawyer Should Read
LWD creator Dan Lukasik recommends his top ten law blogs in this piece for Blogs.com.
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DEPRESSION IN THE NEWS


Attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings May Reduce Depression Symptoms
From Science Daily, a team of researchers has found that study participants who attended AA meetings more frequently had fewer symptoms of depression--along with less drinking--than did those with less AA participation
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Psychodynamic Therapy Brings Lasting Benefits
From Science Daily, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association, Psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective for a wide range of mental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, panic and stress-related physical ailments.
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Treating Depression By Stimulating The Brain's Pleasure Center
This article from Science Daily takes a look at Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a form of targeted electrical stimulation in the brain via implanted electrodes, is now undergoing careful testing to determine whether it could play a role in the treatment of patients who have not sufficiently improved during more traditional forms of treatment.
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See More Depression In The News


Depression Basics: Learn the fundamental facts about depression


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FEATURED ARTICLES


greglevoyCallings And Shoutings
There is a scene in an old Woody Allen movie called, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex in which a couple are about to make love for the first time when the man is suddenly struck with impotence. The camera takes us inside his head where two burly security guards come bursting through the doors of Command Central in the brain dragging a half-crazed priest who is shouting biblical injunctions and damnations about premarital sex. They tell their commanding officer that they found him hiding out in the subconscious.

The point is it is hard to perform when you have voices shouting mutinies inside your head, cross-examining the fundamental values and premises of what you’ve built—your career, your sense of mission, your clarity about whether you want to grow your practice, maintain it, scale it back or quit it altogether. Voices that undermine your resolve, undo your best-laid plans and make sure that the only law you end up practicing with any efficiency is Murphy’s law.
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craftonbarbaraWhat Comes Through The Door
Sometimes work is the only thing I can do, and I can’t seem to stop doing it. There’s something hamsterlike about me at those times: working, working, working but, at the same time, seeming not to accomplish much of anything. But not today; I seem to have used up all my consciousness, along with all the tissue in the house. I can't seem to lift even one thought. Frustrating—I mean, it would be frustrating, but frustration takes energy, and I can't seem to sustain a head of it for very long.

I used to imagine that the cognitive part of my brain stood alone—what difference should my threadbare feelings make in how I think? But no again. A sad-to-indifferent brain can’t think right. Mine is either too fast or too slow. I must be missing a gear.
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msushelskyLaw Practice
Do you have difficulty finding balance in your life? Do you neglect your own needs in the service of your work? Do your personal relationships take a backseat to obligations of the job? Do friends and family complain that conversations with you feel more like cross examination?

Lawyers, as a profession, are at a high risk for depression, suicide and substance abuse. The behaviors required for success in the law can be contrary to those that contribute to mental health, a sense of well-being and satisfying interpersonal relationships.
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Would You Like Us To Give A Presentation??


 For Buffalo Support Group Meeting Schedule, Click Here


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Listen
"Laughter Is The Best Medicine"

Synopsis: Laughter is the Best Medicine" features David Granirer—counselor, stand-up comic and author of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead To Happiness and Success. In his book, David challenges some very popular new-age thinking by proposing that negative, rather than positive thinking, is crucial for success. David is also the founder of Stand Up For Mental Health, a project teaching comedy to individuals living with mental illness as a way of building confidence and fighting public stigma.


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"Depression Therapies"


Synopsis: Dr. Reef Karim speaks to Dr. Melva Green about her show "Therapy Thursdays" on Baltimore's Big Phat Morning Show WERQ 92.3. The show discusses a number of topics that pertain to the urban community ranging from definitive psychiatric problems like suicide to the question of Hip Hop's impact on the psyche of young people.


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"The Dark Side Of The Sacred"

Synopsis:
Emotions live in the body. It is not enough simply to talk about them, to be a talking head. We need to focus our attention on emotions where they live. This willingness to be present allows the emotion to begin to shift of its own accord.



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BOOK OF THE MONTH

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FUNDING


Lawyers, judges and law students with depression may turn to the professional staff at the NYSBA's Lawyer Assistance  Program at (800) 255-0569 and the NYCBA's Lawyer Assistance Program at (212) 302-5787 to receive assessments, referrals and compassionate peer support. All calls are completely confidential. Hope lies in asking for help and getting treatment and support. If you live or work outside of NYS, you make contact the ABA's Commission on LAP's at (800) 238-2667 x5359 or by clicking here for the resources in your area.

This site is made possible by a grant from the New York Lawyers Assistance Trust. Click here to find out more about the Trust.