Depression Killed David Foster Wallace

(NEWSER) - David Foster Wallace declared war on depression and addiction in writing his last, unfinished novel, D. T. Max writes in the New Yorker. The writer's suicide by hanging last year was the culmination of a struggle to live normally, to achieve what he called “adult sanity," without antidepressants or the labyrinthine writing style he had developed in Infinite Jest. His last testament to that struggle, The Pale King, will be published next year. More»

In Pale King , deceased writer 'didn't want to do the old tricks'

(NEWSER) - David Foster Wallace fans can get a glimpse of the deceased writer’s unfinished novel tomorrow, when the New Yorker publishes an excerpt from The Pale King, the Washington Post reports. Wallace, who killed himself last fall, had been working on the book for years. The magazine will also run an article tracing The Pale King’s saga. More»

Tracking Google searches shows low point before, not after, holidays

(NEWSER) - Unless you're a Giants fan, it's likely you woke up this morning feeling a bit more than the usual Monday blahs. The third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year, says a Cardiff University researcher. He bases his annual predictions on weather, holiday debt, and broken New Year's resolutions, Time's Bill Tancer notes. But Tancer has a better formula. More»

Do troubled people smoke, or does it work in reverse?

(NEWSER) - Young smokers think about suicide at higher rates than non-smokers, researchers have discovered. Nearly 15% of non-smokers reported suicidal thoughts, compared with 20% of casual smokers and 30% of addicted smokers, according to the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Researchers could not determine whether smoking was a cause or effect of suicidal thoughts. Nobody committed suicide during the four-year study. More»

Rate rises most sharply among teen girls

(NEWSER) - Suicide rates among America's children and young adults surged by 8% between 2003 and 2004, the most significant increase over the past 15 years, a new Centers for Disease Control report shows. The hike coincides with a 22% decrease in antidepressant use, but it could be related to changes in methodology and risk factors, the Psychiatric Times reports. More»