depression – Kenneth S. Arfa, MD

An antidepressant diet?

September 23, 2019October 1, 2019 by Kenneth S. Arfa MD

Is there an antidepressant diet? How can you can eat to lower the risk for depression by one-third, and improve cognition similarly? The antidepressant diet comes from Felice Jacka, MD, director of the Food and Mood Center of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. Dr. Jacka notes that a healthy diet fights inflammation, a … Continue reading An antidepressant diet?

Choosing the best light therapy

September 3, 2019August 31, 2019 by Kenneth S. Arfa MD

While it’s hard to believe in early September in Houston, fall will eventually arrive. Fewer hours of sunshine means seasonal depression for some people. Light therapy, under a doctor’s care, may offer great help. Wirecutter, a NY Times site that reviews all sorts of consumer products, offers a new and useful shopping comparison: “The Best … Continue reading Choosing the best light therapy

Stopping SSRI antidepressants

August 15, 2019August 31, 2019 by Kenneth S. Arfa MD

I’m not sure who coined the phrase “discontinuation symptoms” for what many patients feel when they go off antidepressants. “Withdrawal” seems to better describe the feeling that as many as a third of patients get: Agitation, anxiety, chills, sweating, dizziness, feeling down, fatigue, headache, insomnia, irritability, muscle aches, nausea, numbness, runny nose, and tremor, as … Continue reading Stopping SSRI antidepressants