(Picture courtesy of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net) It astounds me how many people today are desperate for help to manage their long-time anxiety and depression. Many people have been caught, some for decades, in a medication loop with their doctors. Numerous physicians with the best intentions, simply practice what they know — conventional symptom-based medicine, rather than […]
Are bioidentical hormones safer than synthetic? Science says yes.
(Photo credit: Sally Howard) Hormone replacement understandably, (but needlessly), scares women to death. Should we worry? Should we suffer from peri, pre or menopausal symptoms (or from surgical menopausal symptoms?) NO. When women ask me if bioidentical hormones are safe and if they’re safer than synthetic hormones (Premarin, Provera, birth control as hormone replacement (HRT) etc.) […]
Raising kids to embrace diversity in others, be inclusive
“Children don’t come with instructions, but they do come with open minds,” writes Christopher Metzler, Ph.D., an authority on issues of diversity and inclusion. How can you encourage your kids to remain open-minded and to celebrate diversity? Metzler suggests that once kids start to comment about differences they notice in others, that parents listen to […]
When is it okay to let your teenager get cosmetic surgery?
BullyingStatistics.org reports that in 2010, one in seven children grades kindergarten through 12th was a bully or a victim of one. With the surge of social media, schoolyard teasing can become a viral onslaught, forcing some teenagers into acts of desperation. Child psychologist Richard Gallagher told ABC News Nightline (“Bullied on Facebook, Teen, 13, Gets Nose Job,” […]
Are your kids getting enough vitamin D? Likely not.
You might think your kids are getting enough vitamin D but a 2009 study published in Pediatrics found that 9 percent of kids ages 1 to 25 were deficient in vitamin D and 61 percent were low. The researchers linked their findings to increased cardiovascular risk. Kids with levels less than 30 ng/mL of vitamin D were more likely […]
Joe Paterno’s death reminds us of most complicated emotion – ambivalence
I recently experienced a death in our family. I’m not ready to write about it because it feels disrespectful to my departed and to my loved ones to talk directly about my ambivalent feelings. Instead, I’ll write around my feelings. I started to think about ambivalence, about loving someone “but” having mixed emotions. Today I […]
Conserve your willpower, because it can get tired and run out……
Decision fatigue, a phenomenon increasingly intriguing psychologists today given the growing culture of endless distractions and over-stimulation, is a term coined by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister. Vaguely introduced by Freud, he believed people constantly struggle to manage their inner desires against the external pressures of the ego, which in turn requires mental energy. Willpower […]
Tiger or pussycat mom? Amy Chua’s book stirs parenting controversy
Amy Chua makes no apologies because she once called her daughter “garbage.” As a child, her father called her garbage after she was disrespectful to her mother. “It worked really well. I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done. But it didn’t damage my self-esteem,” Chua writes in her Jan. 8, 2011, […]
New and improved: What’s interrupting YOUR joy?
I’m not one for making lists of resolutions because I think if you want to change, today is as good a time as any. But, when January 1st nears it’s ingrained to think about resolutions, to use the date as our deadline to get going, or at least start simmering ideas for what to improve, […]
High levels of homocysteine and depression – certain supplements may help
Researchers believe that depression, particularly in the elderly, may be related to elevated homocysteine levels. A deficiency in B vitamins may be the cause. (Click here for supplements that lower homocysteine) While elevated homocysteine levels are linked to heart disease and stroke, it may also contribute to depression, particularly in older people. Negative effects of […]