What if you knew that the experience of awe could measurably improve your health, would you approach the world differently today? At the most recent TEDMED, psychologist Jennifer Stellar presented evidence that the experience of a number of positive emotions (joy, pride, contentment and awe) was associated with reduced levels of interleukin – 6 (IL6) a well validated blood measure …
Poor Health Predicts Bipolar Outcomes
John has not been doing well. He used to be optimistic about all challenges and, although he had ups and downs, he managed to overcome these shifts in mood and maintain a focus on achieving his life goals. For the last year and a half he seems to be having difficulty focusing on those goals. And he seems discouraged, particularly …
Can Junk Food Shrink Your Brain?
Did you know that increasing or even maintaining your intake of burgers, fries and soda pop—and pretty much any other hallmark of the “Western diet,” high in saturated fats and refined sugar—isn’t just an efficient way of rotting your teeth out and raising your risk of cancer, diabetes or heart disease, but that you may also be shrinking your brain? …
MIND Diet Prevents Memory Loss
Researchers at Rush University have developed a diet (the MIND diet) that appears to be associated with significantly reduced cognitive decline in aging. The diet was developed from three sources of information: the Mediterranean diet (as elsewhere on this blog), the DASH diet for the prevention of hypertension, and a review of the literature on the effects of specific dietary components …
Sense of Purpose and Health
Might your sense of purpose and motivation in life decrease your visits to the hospital? – a blog post by Eric Baron Many of us share a consistent notion of what it is to be healthy. We might think of living a longer life, spending less of that time holed up at home and surrounded by tissues, in bed and …
Our Relationship to Pain, Matters
Chronic pain can significantly affect our lives. It can result in not being able to engage in activities we loved to do. It impacts our relationships with loved ones. The limitations brought on by pain, can lead us to question our identity and certainly our quality of life. Years ago, I worked with a gentleman (we’ll call him Marcos) who was …
Mental Health Problems and Physical Health
An incredibly well researched article in the journal JAMA Psychiatry summarized a body of research on the impact of mental health conditions on overall mortality in the world population and concluded that roughly 10% of all mortality was related to mental health problems. As I’ve recently been wrestling with problems helping people get access to treatment I thought it might …
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: 2 – Depression Assessment
…I’m returning to do the test suggested by my therapist in our previous meeting – the Beck Depression Inventory II. Tremendous. Doing a test sounds like something you see in those silly magazines that tell you how good a lover you are are some such other rubbish, but apparently this test is rather serious. So I return that afternoon and Dr Black …
Medical Model
The medical model is something that many people with depression or mood swings feel frustrated about. The whole doctor-patient relationship with its power dynamics can seem exasperating, and at the same time, having an “illness” can seem as though it must be a source of stigma and shame. I’m not going to talk about the topic of the doctor-patient relationship, …
Stress and the Holidays
Stress and the Holidays– A successful businesswoman, who is herself a mother, is returning to her family’s home to have Christmas with her grandparents and her brother and wonders how she might improve the quality of that holiday experience. Her mother is someone who obsesses about all of the details involved in the holidays, she takes hours wrapping presents, and …
Mind Body Dualism
A wonderful woman who has been meeting with me off and on for a couple of years, and who initially came in to see me for some fairly classic symptoms of bipolar type 2, just sent me a “goodbye” e-mail. In it, she noted that she has uncovered the strong likelihood that she has Lupus. Lupus is one of those rare medical conditions that …
Mental health in the UK
A little flaw in the UK’s ‘socialist’ medical service is poor provision for mental health. We have some of the leading surgeons in the world, some of our A&E departments are regarded as world-beaters too. To my knowledge hardly any of the staff were trained in Cuba or Russia and none of them is related to Che Guevara. But don’t you think …
Stop Smoking – Antidepressant Effects
Stop smoking – antidepressant effects? Smoking cessation is associated with improved mental health, even among patients with psychiatric conditions, according to a BMJ meta-analysis. Researchers reviewed 26 longitudinal studies that measured mental health immediately before smoking cessation and at least 6 weeks afterward. Average follow-up periods in these studies ranged from 6 to 12 months. Compared with those who continued to smoke, those who …
Breathing Practices for Stress Relief
Breathing Techniques One of the oldest “self help” movements is based on breathing, helping us to use our breath, and how we breathe in order to reduce stress and to achieve a sense of connection with the world around us: Prana Yoga. Prana is the Sanskrit word for “breath” and also means “life.” Therefore, prana can be translated as “the …
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is many things, and its role changes over time for those who remain involved in it long term. Most importantly, AA can be a life line for those who are suffering from the potentially fatal illness of substance abuse. It is a way of achieving freedom from alcohol and drug addiction with the help of supportive peers who …
Fatigue and Depression or Bipolar
Fatigue is a common symptom in people with recurrent depression or bipolar. And in fact a common symptom in the general population. It is estimated that up to 10% of otherwise healthy people suffer from fatigue. And it is a more common symptom in women than in men. Sometimes fatigue may persist well beyond other symptoms of depression. First, it …
Wise Selfishness
Wise Selflessness– The Dalai lama says, “It is important that when pursuing our own self-interest we should be “wise selfish” and not “foolish selfish”. Being foolish selfish means pursuing our own interests in a narrow, shortsighted way. Wise selfishness means taking a broader view and recognizing that our own long-term individual interest lies in the welfare of everyone. Being wise selfish means …
Exercise affects Genes – Increased BDNF
Today we look at how exercise affects genes (previous article on neurotransmitters and exercise can be read here), in particular we focus on the effects of exercise on the gene that codes for BDNF. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)— or “the fertilizer of the brain” as Dr. Mohammad Alsuwaidan nicknames it— is a protein fundamental for the growth and protection of neurons …
Self-Esteem: A Key Aspect of Mental Health
Much has been written about the topic of “self-esteem.” Sometimes the idea almost seems like one of those “buzz” words that doesn’t really mean anything. A significant amount of research points to the development of self-esteem as a key aspect of mental health. Self-esteem builds slowly and its foundation is the sense that we are loved and valued by others. …
Bipolar Disorders and Exercise: Working Out Can Tone Up Your Neurotransmitters – Arnrow
Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that your brain cells (neurons) use to transmit information, without them we cannot think or act. It is no wonder that too much or too little of any one particular neurotransmitter can have substantial effects on how our body and brain functions. For example, people with mood disorders tend to have low levels of the four major …