“Ahh, the good ol’ days.” How often have we heard or uttered this familiar phrase? It can be a source of great pleasure and amusement to reminisce on a time when we were younger, remembering a special event or activity. We tend to look at our past experiences through a filter that magnifies the positive while diminishing the negative. While...[ read more ]
For many of us, spending time with family can be a grab bag of emotions. While you may feel love and familiarity, there's also decades-long dynamics between you and your family members that may not be the most healthy. Your family might treat you like the teenager they remember, and you might revert to that role when you're around your...[ read more ]
Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common developmental disorders experienced in children. Unfortunately, there currently are limited options when it comes to safe and effective drug treatment. And even with suitable pharmacological interventions, many parents don’t like the idea of putting their young child on medications that may come with nasty side effects.There are, thankfully, other more natural treatment...[ read more ]
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your body and feelings in the present moment. If you're silent for a moment, you will notice the subtle smell of your freshly washed clothing, the sound of your breathing, and watch a small leaf blow past your window. Mindfulness is an incredibly calming, relaxing practice that can help adults in numerous...[ read more ]
With 322 million people suffering with depression worldwide, it's not surprising to learn that in America, depression is among the most common mental disorders. The cause of depression is often simplified as a chemical imbalance in the brain, but the reality is that the disease is far more complicated. Scientific research has yet to completely understand the biology of depression....[ read more ]
It's tough trying to get your teen to talk. Science has shown that the teenager's brain has yet to fully develop the frontal cortex, which is the area that controls our ability to reason, and to think before we act. As your teen's brain develops, they're also learning new things about themselves and their surrounding world; simultaneously, they're dealing with...[ read more ]
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 15 million U.S. Americans, or 6.8% of the population, suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). SAD, also sometimes referred to as social phobia, is an intense fear of social situations. The sufferer believes they could become humiliated and embarrass themselves somehow in front of other people. They tend to focus on...[ read more ]
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40 million adults over the age of 18 suffer from an anxiety disorder. If you are one of them, you know how difficult your life can feel most days.When anxiety strikes, the world around us can become a sort of funhouse, only not that much fun. It’s important to be able...[ read more ]
Back when many of us were growing up, our parents would yell at us to shut the TV off and go outside and play. Parents of generations past knew that fresh air and sunshine were ultimately healthier than watching the “boob tube.” And back then the boob tube was far gentler than it is today!But with each passing generation of...[ read more ]
The first prescription antidepressants were introduced to the American people in the 1950s. Back then, very few Americans were diagnosed with or treated for depression.But times have changed, and today, roughly 13% of the American population takes antidepressants on a daily basis. And as more people are prescribed these drugs, more research is done on them, and a different picture...[ read more ]
