This iconic photo speaks volumes and still resonates today.

Rates of depression on the rise during the current financial recession.

More Americans commit suicide each year than die in motor vehicle accidents. Every year, more than 500,000 people attempt to take their own lives in the US and 30,000 of those attempts are successful. Of course correlation and causation aren’t the same thing, but there seems to be strong evidence that those who are being most hurt in the current economic crisis are killing themselves in ever greater numbers.

There is free help and counseling for those struggling with depression.

Risk factors for stroke are strong predictors of future mental impairment.

Maintaining cognitive health is important for everyone as they age but for those who are already at risk for stroke the need is more urgent.

The volunteers were followed for an average of more than four years. After eliminating from consideration any who had had a stroke, the researchers found 1,907 who were cognitively impaired. After controlling for age, sex, race and education, researchers found that high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy independently predicted cognitive impairment, and the more risk factors a person had, the greater the risk for mental problems.

Feelings of nostalgia at Thanksgiving time are nothing to be ashamed of.

In fact, celebrate your natural tendency to over sentimentalize everything and even cry at the site of mom’s pecan pie.

That’s why this time of year, TV and radio ads are filled with smiling families sitting around a large table in holiday sweaters, passing the dinner rolls. Even if you’re far away from home, companies want you to believe that buying those same dinner rolls will fill your heart with holiday joy. Turns out, it works.

Thanksgiving foods trigger memories of time spent with family and loved ones. And given the way our memories work we really edit out the bad and focus on the good.

Scent memory is very strong and can transport us to a simpler carefree time.

So just sit back and enjoy; soak it all in for one big day of feasting and a walk down memory lane.

1 in 5 American adults is on some kind of mood altering drug.

Antidepressants are the psychiatric medications used to treat mood disorders that are defined by having depressive symptoms.

The most widely used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of drugs that includes medications such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline) and Lexapro (escitalopram). Less used, but a popular alternative to SSRIs are serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs); some of the commonly used medications in this drug class include Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (duloxetine).

Women 45 and older are the most frequent users of anti-depressants.

Two major factors to help older women overcome depression.

Less time watching television and more physical activity are the best cures for depression.

The women who exercised the most were about 20 percent less likely to exhibit the signs of depression. However, their risk of depression increased the more hours they spent watching TV each week.