According to a new study, women who drink caffeinated coffee showed a 20% lower risk of depression than non-coffee drinkers. [More]
depression
Study: Bad Food May Spur Depression
By 1.28.11
While the idea of a giant, greasy fast food burger and a plate full of fries may put a smile on your face, actually ingesting the meal may damage your psyche. Spanish researchers who tracked the dining habits of more than 12,000 people over six years found that those who ate the most trans fats — which are found in some fast food and pastries — were 48 percent more likely to become depressed. [More]
Bank Of America Is Having A Hard Time Accepting This Whole Death Thing
By 8.18.10
Dave can’t get Bank of America to accept that his parents are gone, even after sending over the death certificates. He keeps telling the bank to take the house, because nobody in his family wants it and the mortgage is underwater. Bank of America keeps threatening his parents with letters about how behind they are on payments. Oh sure, everything about this story is funny on the surface, but not when Bank of America tries to extract money from a closed account you once shared with your dad, forcing it to re-open and siphon funds from your real accounts. [More]
Savings Rate Goes Up, But Spending Doesn't
By 6.29.10
As a nation, we saved more of our paychecks last month than any time since last September–nearly 4% of income went unspent. That worries economists, because it means we’re not spending at a high enough rate to support an economic recovery. But as the Washington Post notes, since unemployment remains high and most of the recent wage growth came from the government, consumers aren’t exactly comfortable with buying something shiny and new just because it’s on sale. [More]
Study: Depressed People Eat 50% More Chocolate
By 4.27.10
Having a bit of chocolate when you’re down is something just about everyone has done at some point in their life. But a new study shows that those people who demonstrate signs of depression tend to eat 50% more chocolate than those who don’t. [More]
Depressed Lady Loses Benefits Because Of Her Facebook Photos
By 11.20.09
A depressed woman has lost her benefits because her insurance agent found Facebook photos where she appears to be having fun.
Lexapro's Marketing Plan Shows How Drug Maker Pushes New Drugs
By 9.3.09
The Senate just released 88 pages of a confidential 270+ page marketing plan by Forest Laboratories, created in 2004 and focused on how to get doctors to prescribe the antidepressant Lexapro over similar but cheaper alternatives such as Celexa. The New York Times notes that the line between marketing and education seems to be heavily blurred, which may not surprise you. There are, however, two interesting notes for consumers who may be taking Lexapro.
By 3.8.09
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Fox News reports that there are now bread lines in Southern California. Still no word yet on the reappearance of tin can fires. [Fox News]
Sharing Restaurant Dishes Is Becoming Slightly More Acceptable
By 2.28.09
Good news thrifty diners, you’re not the only ones asking to share dishes at restaurants these days. Thanks to the recession, it’s becoming acceptable for everyone to split their dishes, and restaurants aren’t complaining. “Now all bets are off,” said David Pogrebin, manager of the snazzy French restaurant Brasserie. “People are not ashamed of being frugal.”
Don't Miss Frontline's "Inside The Meltdown" Tonight
By 2.17.09
Tonight at 9 eastern Frontline’s new documentary “Inside The Meltdown” will debut on PBS and online. We’ve only seen the trailer, but the press release makes it sound like the scariest documentary in the history of the universe.
What Is A Depression And Are We In One?
By 1.30.09
Yes, we’re saying the “D” word. Now that we’ve officially entered a recession — it’s time to wonder if we’re in a depression. We’d love to be able to give you a yes or no answer, but according to Marketplace’s personal finance guy, Chris Farrell, nobody agrees about what makes a depression different from a recession.
The Poverty-Stricken Masses Are Flocking To Libraries
By 1.11.09
Why waste precious cash at Borders and Barnes & Noble when you can go to the library for free? It’s a simple question that is causing traffic local libraries to spike as flocks of new patrons register for library cards. We’ve praised libraries before, but it takes a depressing recession to convince people that yes, even they could use an extra buck in their wallet.
Half Of Doctors Routinely Prescribe Placebos
By 10.27.08
The New York Times says that half of doctors responding to a nationwide survey admitted to routinely prescribing placebos.
Global Financial Panic: At Least We're Not Iceland…
By 10.24.08
Floyd Norris at the New York Times is live blogging the global financial panic today, and has compiled a list of how the world’s markets have performed in October. Compared to some countries, our situation doesn’t seem that bad. Which is scary.
New Ideas For Kids' Books About The Lean Times Ahead
By 10.13.08
Last week, Slate published a list of children’s books about poverty, unemployment, shoe-eating, dust bowls, depressions, and recessions. From a late-19th century series called The Five Little Peppers through to 2007’s How To Steal a Dog, the list captures over 100 years of poverty-level slice of life–what we might call the Plight of the Raggedy Children.
Don't Keep Your Money In A Shoebox, Or At Least Don't Pose For A Photo With It
By 10.9.08
Thanks to the New York Post, we know there’s a 48-year-old man named Richard Cruz somewhere in Manhattan who’s hoarding his daughter’s college fund in a shoebox. We even know what he looks like, because in the photo that accompanies the article, Cruz is posing on the sidewalk with his withdrawn cash like he just won the shoebox lottery. “‘No one hides their money under a mattress any more,’ he said. ‘That’s the first place people would look.'” Good thinking.
Sadness Makes You Spend More
By 8.18.08
Is [it] a biologically driven disease of the brain, a learned habit run amok, an addiction in its own right or a symptom of the other dysfunctions—most notably depression—that so often accompany it?
By 2.8.08
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Sad people spend more money. Must be why so many commercials seem designed to induce feelings of anxiety and insecurity, even if they’re delivered within a “humorous” context. [CNN]
