MIT scientist have identified and treated the biochemical mechanism of fear.

MIT biochemists have identified a molecular mechanism behind fear, and successfully cured it in mice, according to an article in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Researchers from MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory hope that their work could lead to the first drug to treat the millions of adults who suffer each year from persistent, debilitating fears - including hundreds of soldiers returning from conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Years ago while browsing the shelves in my library I stumbled upon a gem of a book by noted psychologist Albert Ellis, A Guide to Rational Living.

This was my first exposure to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (R.E.B.T.) and I was hooked. For the first time I was presented with a clear way out of my “crooked thinking” that had kept me down for so long and for which talk therapy had done little except add to my financial stress.

Sadly Albert Ellis passed away July 24.

There was a bumper sticker on a friend’s SUV that said, “GET OUTSIDE”. In a town that has more than its share of political bumper stickers, it was refreshing to see just this one sticker encouraging us with a simple message to go outside.

One thing that has become apparent to me over the years is that the way I think, colors my world. In fact I would say that the way we think is our world. To paraphrase Buddhism, “All things are created by mind alone.”

Well, I was going to write something just like this, but someone beat me to it!

Let’s face it, when you’re depressed everything seems like a chore. Even getting out of bed is hard some days so what can you do that’s easy? The answer is start taking a good multi-vitamin and Omega-3 Fish Oil.

Omega-3 fatty acid is in a lot of foods (primarily fish but also free range chicken, beef, eggs & plants) and your body uses it in building & maintaining efficient brain functioning that help to prevent depression. It also helps your cardiovascular system.

is now. Don’t wait until you feel better or your situation has improved. The perfect time to start is this moment. It doesn’t take much to get going, in fact just making up your mind to start taking care of yourself is the first step.

Start by doing one new thing a week, that way you’re less likely to feel overwhelmed.

When I had my first visit with a counselor and filled her in with what was going on in my life, the first thing she said was, “Have you contemplated suicide?” Now I know that counselors are suppose to screen their clients and make sure they don’t need more help than a once every week or two visit to talk, but still it struck me . . . maybe I really had been through a lot and it wasn’t a personal weakness but more of a reasonable response to a lot of loss and bad situations in my life.

I remember wondering what exactly was it that I was feeling and why. An overcast day wasn’t just overcast anymore, it felt like an external manifestation of what was going on inside of me. A nagging feeling that something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t nail down what it was that was wrong, just that a storm was coming and it was inside of me.

Like a lot of people I wanted things to be different than they were. One of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism states that life is suffering unsatisfactory. I was feeling that and then some.