Recent Articles

Medication side effects: What are your options?

Independent living with home care assistance: Balancing autonomy and support

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The BEEP program: Keep your balance

Hoarding: What to know about this mental health disorder

21 spices for healthy holiday foods

Listeria: How to protect yourself from this common cause of food poisoning

Adult day care can benefit older adults and their caregivers

Digestive enzymes: How supplements like Lactaid and Beano can help with digestion

Can probiotics help calm inflammatory bowel disease?

Depression Archive

Staying Healthy

Breathing your way to better health

Published November 1, 2021

Taking time out of a stressful day to perform simple breathing exercises can reduce chronic stress and prevent the harm it can inflict on the body. Even a few short breathing sessions can make a big difference for many people. Chronic stress, when it goes unchecked, can lead to a host of health problems, including high blood pressure, obesity, anxiety, depression, and reduced immune response.

Heart Health

When someone you love has heart disease

Published October 1, 2021

People can support family members and friends with heart disease by encouraging them to do cardiac rehabilitation, a 12-week program that teaches the fundamentals of a heart-healthy lifestyle and features supervised exercise training. They can also ask about the person’s health goals and ways to help, rather than becoming frustrated if the person appears to be making poor choices. Finally, acknowledging and sharing emotions, such as fear and worry, may improve communication.

Mind & Mood

Pain, anxiety, and depression

Updated September 16, 2021

Pain, anxiety, and depression often coincide because the parts of the brain and nervous system that handle sensations and touch interact with those that regulate emotions and stress.

Mind & Mood

Waking up one hour earlier than usual may reduce depression risk

Published September 1, 2021

New research suggests that people who wake up an hour earlier than usual, without sleeping less, may reduce their risk of major depression.

Mind & Mood

The benefits of volunteering, without leaving home

Published August 1, 2021

Volunteering has many benefits, enabling people to gain a sense of purpose, connect with others, and get a break from their own problems. Those benefits are associated with better health, including greater levels of physical activity, better sleep quality, a healthier diet, reduced rates of cardiovascular disease, and even longevity. A person may be able to reap many of those benefits by volunteering from home, such as doing work for a nonprofit group via computer or phone.

Mind & Mood

COVID-related loss of smell may be associated with mental health risks

Published July 1, 2021

Longer-term loss of smell after COVID-19 may be associated with mental health risks.

Mind & Mood

Back to the future: Psychedelic drugs in psychiatry

Published June 22, 2021

There is a renewed interest in the potential for psychedelic drugs to be used for medical purposes in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric conditions. Broadly, these drugs are able to induce altered thoughts and sensory perceptions, and research has found them to be beneficial in treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and they can also be helpful for some people in end-of-life situations.

Heart Health

Treating sleep apnea: Good for your heart and mind?

Updated June 1, 2021

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when soft tissue at the back of the throat temporarily blocks the airway during sleep. People with sleep apnea face a heightened risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. The condition can also affect mood, and some people diagnosed with depression may actually have sleep apnea. Treating apnea with positive airway pressure improves both high blood pressure and depression.

COVID-19

Could COVID-19 infection be responsible for your depressed mood or anxiety?

Updated May 25, 2021

We are still learning about the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain, but we know that the pandemic has resulted in worsening mental health for many people. A new study confirmed that COVID-19 infection increased the risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

Mind & Mood

Focusing on past successes can help you make better decisions

Updated April 1, 2021

In the journals

People with anxiety or depression often have trouble making sound decisions. But a study suggests their judgment can improve if they focus on past successes instead of mistakes. The findings were published online Dec. 22, 2020, by the journal eLife.

Researchers recruited 86 adults, divided into three groups. In one group were people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or major depression. Another group consisted of people who showed anxiety or depression symptoms, like excessive worrying and not feeling good about the future, but were not clinically diagnosed. The final group included those without anxiety or depression.

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