As if the start of January wasn't depressing enough, this year is predicted to be tougher than most because of the looming recession. To help lift the gloom, we asked five commentators to each contribute an original, simple idea to give a much needed boost to the feelgood factor.

A survey suggests young people are "increasingly vulnerable", with many often feeling down or depressed.

One in 10 young people in Scotland find life meaningless, according to a survey by The Prince's Trust.

How a text programme is helping those with bipolar manic depression.

One in five people recovering from a heart attack is still having chest pain a year afterwards, a US study suggests.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative and irreversible brain disorder that causes intellectual impairment, disorientation and eventually death and is the most common cause of dementia.

A Devon woman discovers her mother's shopping list, showing the cost of feeding a family of 11 in the 1930s

Why economists are going back in time for inspiration from the late great British economist, John Maynard Keynes.

Unemployment is back in the headlines. But for millions it never went away. As part of a series on Britain's jobless, one man explains how and why lack of work has touched his life.

US oil prices fall to a four-year low after figures in the US show that half a million people lost their jobs last month.

It is too late to panic about the state of the markets, so instead it might be time to start looking for investment opportunities, says portfolio managers during a seminar in London.

A UK palliative care expert says Oregon's experience has shown the flaws in allowing physician-assisted suicide.

The United Nations says the world economy faces its worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Group-taught meditation is as effective as staying on drug treatments for stopping people slipping back into depression, say scientists.

An explanation and lesson in history about deflation.

Concerns are raised about the safety of a "wonder drug" which is used to help people quit smoking.

It may bring a telegram from the Queen but reaching 100 is no guarantee of happy old age, US research suggests.

A chronology of key events

The price of oil drifts below $55 a barrel, amid increasing worries over falling demand and slowing global growth.

A husband was depressed when he tried to kill himself and his wife, a court hears.