Car accidents. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Things that are out of our control take us by surprise, leaving us shell-shocked for days, weeks, or longer. These traumatic events and others like them cause significant stress and stir up feelings of helplessness, fear, and prolonged anxiety. In the early 1990s, experts labeled those reactions “acute stress disorder” and put a time frame on …
Mindfulness seems to have sprung out of nowhere to become hugely popular overnight. But it’s been around since the late 1970s, and people have been practicing it in some form for thousands of years. Its beneficial effects on mind and body have been noted all over the world. So, what is the magic of mindfulness? How can it help you? …
To be human is to experience loss. At some point in your life, you will lose someone you love, or something that means a great deal to you. And you will experience grief. How long or how intensely you grieve depends on a number of factors. Everyone’s journey is unique. But when grief goes on too long, preventing you from …
The pandemic. Social unrest, natural disasters, war. You don’t have to look very far to see traumatic events that affect large numbers of people. More personal crises include divorce, death, abuse, violence, sexual assault and accidents. A traumatic event is any experience frightening, shocking or dangerous enough to affect someone physically and emotionally, whether they are part of the event …
You head to the airport, and as you get in line to check your luggage, you wonder if you turned off the stove. This happens to everyone at times. But for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, it can happen every time they leave the house. They may double back to check stoves and light switches again and again, even …
You’re scheduled to speak in front of a group, and you get increasingly tense before the big day. Are you just nervous, or do you have anxiety disorder? You’ve been feeling down for a solid week—do you have true depression, or are you simply feeling blue? We all encounter challenges that affect our moods. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when …
Blue skies or gloomy weather. Hot, cold or just right. Tidy or cluttered. We’ve all been in places or conditions that make us feel a certain way, that help us feel comfortable or contribute to our discomfort. As our environment changes, our mood changes, swinging from calm to agitated, down to upbeat. Environment affects our mood and impacts our well-being …
Participating in sports offers many benefits: exercise, feel-good endorphins, camaraderie and a chance to build skills and self-esteem. This is true across all age groups, including teens in their “difficult” years. The American College of Sports Medicine points out, “Adolescent participation… is positively correlated with multiple indicators of physical health, decreased anger, positive developmental outcomes, increased sleep, and a more …
One in five of Americans provides unpaid care to a child or adult with health problems or special needs. We care for our parents, spouses, kids, grandparents, other relatives, friends and neighbors. The number of unpaid caregivers—including child caregivers—has risen over the past five years. Surveys show that the people we care for have increasingly complicated needs. More of us …
Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression). Manic episodes are “up” times, marked by high energy, little sleep and exuberant self-confidence and euphoria. Depressive episodes are marked by low energy, trouble concentrating, anxiety and often hopelessness. We may not understand how much havoc bipolar disorder causes in the lives of affected individuals, who struggle to …
