The last few months of any year, with deadlines and holidays, often create a harried pace. The beginning of a new year can give you a chance to exhale. But even if you experience a few serene days or weeks, tight shoulders and tension are never far off. Family stress. Work stress. Daily life stress. Self-induced stress brought on by scrolling through the news. As it turns out, stress is almost impossible to avoid. So this year, instead of waiting … [Read more...]
Exercise matters to health and well-being, regardless of your size
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc in our daily lives. Regardless of who you are, your life has been impacted in some way. Stress is mounting, and you may need to find a way to decompress while social distancing. Enter stage left my favorite pastime: exercise! All right, I know what you are thinking: She’s one of those exercise fanatics who is going to tell me that I need to exercise several hours every day. Well, no. … [Read more...]
Choosing joy during difficult times
Feeling good may be in short supply these days. The pandemic is on the upswing again, and many of us anticipate spending the colder months ahead cooped up in our homes with computer screens as our only windows into the world. Meanwhile, climate-related natural disasters are driving thousands of people out of their homes. Millions of jobs are being lost. I won’t even mention politics. It is as if the whole universe has conspired to take the joy … [Read more...]
How to give yourself — and others — a break
Be kind to yourself. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Few would disagree that this advice would lead to a life filled with less fighting and more empathy. So, why don’t we always practice compassion? American culture can promote and celebrate competitiveness, where it’s easy to never be satisfied and think that we should be doing more. We set high standards for ourselves, and sometimes put similar expectations on others, and believe that, … [Read more...]
Gender fluidity: What it means and why support matters
Take a moment — yes, right now — to consider your gender. Do you identify as a woman, man, or another gender: essentially, how would you describe your gender identity? How do you show your gender to other people through how you look or act — in other words, your gender expression? And has your gender identity or gender expression changed or stayed the same over time? Questions like these can be especially valuable if you’re wondering about how … [Read more...]
How to avoid a relapse when things seem out of control
There is no one who would deny that this has been a stressful year. As the Grateful Dead said, “If the thunder don’t get you, the lightning will.” If you manage to avoid catching COVID, then you are probably at least contending with some mixture of financial and childcare stress, the nail-biting political divisions we see daily on television and social media, and a constricted social universe. Our society already suffers from an epidemic of … [Read more...]
Coping With IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be painful, annoying, and embarrassing. There is currently no cure for this complex condition, and managing its symptoms and flare-ups is tricky. So, coping mechanisms are a constant need. What are the symptoms of IBS? IBS is a gastrointestinal disorder in which your gut becomes more sensitive, and the muscles of your digestive system have abnormal contractions. People with IBS usually have abdominal pain along … [Read more...]
Coping with the loss of smell and taste
As I cut a slice of lemon for my tea one morning last March, I found that I could not detect the familiar zing of citrus. Nor, it turned out, could I taste the peach jam on my toast. Overnight, my senses of smell and taste seemed to have disappeared. In the days prior to that I’d had body aches and chills, which I ascribed to a late-winter cold — nothing, I thought, an analgesic and some down time couldn’t take care of. But later that day I saw a … [Read more...]
Why is music good for the brain?
Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? A recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: Music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall. Of survey respondents who currently go to … [Read more...]
Cultivating joy as a family
The pandemic has been hard on families. There has been so much loss, so much hardship, so much stress, and so much change. What makes it even harder is that there is so much uncertainty about when and how it will end; our lives, and the lives of our children, are going to be disrupted for the foreseeable future. There is so much we cannot control in all of this that it’s easy to lose sight of what we can control. One thing we absolutely can do is … [Read more...]
As family well-being declines, so does children’s behavior
The COVID-19 pandemic is bad not only for our physical health, but our mental health as well. It has killed thousands of people and disrupted our lives in terrible ways. So it’s not surprising that a recent survey finds that parents in the US are having a hard time. Researchers did a national survey in June of 2020 of more than 1,000 parents with children under the age of 18, asking questions about mental health, insurance coverage, food … [Read more...]
Staying positive during difficult times
To say we’re living through challenging times sounds like both a cliché and an understatement. In recent months, news about the pandemic, economic woes, and bitter political debates have triggered tremendous anxiety and sadness for many Americans. But when people look back on their lives, it is usually the most difficult challenges that gave them a new perspective or caused them to grow the most. Of course, in the midst of a crisis, it doesn’t … [Read more...]
Managing the new normal: Actively help your family weather the pandemic
When the pandemic first began earlier this year, it seemed like if we could just hunker down until perhaps summer, things would get better and we’d be able to get back to life as usual (or at least something similar to life as usual). We were in survival mode: we cut corners and made do, broke some parenting rules, and otherwise made choices we would never usually make. Because that’s what you do when you are in survival mode. It’s now very clear … [Read more...]
How to Prioritize Your Mental Health During COVID-19
As a fitness professional, your job is dedicated to helping others reach their potential. From personal training to facility management and wellness program development, the work you do helps people of all kinds get healthy – mentally and physically. Now, it’s time to turn the tables and prioritize your wellbeing. Between inconsistent direction from local […] SOURCE: Exercise.com - Read entire story here. … [Read more...]
How can you help a loved one suffering from loneliness?
You are worried about your mother. Before the pandemic, you would visit her every week with your young children. They loved playing in her garden and eating homemade cookies together. You would take your mother to medical appointments and on small excursions. However, due to her chronic lung disease, you made the difficult decision in March not to continue in-person family visits. You call her daily, but she sounds increasingly sad and worried. … [Read more...]
Limiting COVID chaos during the school year
Child: “Will I go back to school this fall? Parent: “I’m not sure yet.” Child: “Do you know when we’ll find out?” Parent: “I also don’t know that yet.” Child: “Will school be the same for the whole year?” Parent: “I don’t know that either.” Sound familiar? If the only thing you do know is that plans are in flux, you’re not alone. School plans seem to be changing frequently — before the school year even has started in some places! With so much … [Read more...]
15 Student-Athlete Mental Health Statistics
Did you know that about 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental disorder in any given year? To put that number into perspective, take a look at just how many American adults are affected by some of the most common mental health concerns today. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): 16.6 millionSocial Anxiety Disorder (SAD): 15 millionPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): 7.7 millionGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): 6.8 millionObsessive … [Read more...]
Children, teens, and the safety of psychotropic medicines
Medicines prescribed for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders — known as psychotropic drugs — have largely been studied in adults. This concerns many parents whose children take these drugs regularly. Studies have most often looked at the effectiveness of these medicines in teens and children. Now a recent systematic review of multiple studies done in children and adolescents offers new … [Read more...]
What should you do during a psychiatric medication shortage?
You have finally found a medication to treat your depression that your body tolerates well. It has taken your psychiatrist months to find the optimal dose (after two failed medication trials). The COVID-19 pandemic hit, but in spite of your new daily stressors, you seem to be doing relatively well. That is, until you hear that your antidepressant medication is now in short supply. What can you do? Mental health treatment during COVID-19 With the … [Read more...]
Brain plasticity in drug addiction: Burden and benefit
The human brain is the most complex organ in our body, and is characterized by a unique ability called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to our brain’s ability to change and adapt in its structural and functional levels in response to experience. Neuroplasticity makes it possible for us to learn new languages, solve complex mathematical problems, acquire technical skills, and perform challenging athletic skills, which are all positive and … [Read more...]
Global mental health in the time of COVID-19
Just months ago, who could have imagined that the world would be looking down the barrel of a spiraling health crisis and economic recession unlike any witnessed in our lifetime? Now, in a world gripped by the fear of a marauding virus, mental health is emerging as a key concern. Diverse pathways to poorer mental health The reaction of the media and governments to the epidemic served to fuel anxiety. The dramatic way the term “pandemic” was … [Read more...]