If October was the month for breast cancer awareness, November is the month for
Alzheimer’s Disease awareness. A lot of people know about this disease, or at least have heard about it. But what do you really know about it?
I tried asking different people what they know about Alzheimer’s and I got different answers. Most of them – from young to old – have an idea of what Alzheimer’s is all about and the general consensus is that is has something to do with the brain and memory. This is true but let’s go into the details a little more.
Alzheimer’s Disease is described by MSN Health as:
Alzheimer's disease damages the brain. It causes a steady loss of memory and how well you can speak, think, and carry on daily activities.
Alzheimer's disease always gets ...
I don’t know about you but with
all the things going on in the financial world, I can’t help but be stressed out. It’s not that I have huge investments – my investment activities are merely drops in a bucket. However, other activities plus the fact that prices are not as they used to be have really taken their toll on my finances. I have to be honest with you – sometimes I cannot get a good night’s rest because of this!
It is good to know that I am not alone in this kind of situation, though. It is good to know that experts actually acknowledge that there is a connection between mental health and the current economic crisis.
Dr. Gail Saltz writes:
Following the recent financial roller coaster ride most people are ...
Do you find yourself starting to forget things more easily? Are you blaming your memory blanks on age? If so, then you just might have to get off your bum and get moving.
A new research conducted in Australia has found out that age related memory loss could be treated by exercise, at least to a certain degree. What the researchers did was to study 138 people who were 50 years old and above. The people were experiencing memory problems but were not classified as being at risk for dementia. The group was divided into two – the exercise group and the control group. The people in the exercise group were asked to engage in physical activity for 150 minutes per week. This meant three 50-minute sessions within the week.
Their findings? ...
YOU THINK??? I really do NOT need any scientific evidence to believe in this. Both personal experience as well as vicarious experience have attested to this fact over and over again. Still, we can’t really stop others if they want to conduct polls or studies regarding this issue.
I read about a poll that Associated Press-AOL Health undertook early this year. They surveyed about a thousand respondents in all the American states with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii.
The results? Read for yourself:
27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.
23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent with low debt stress.
6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.
Ok, I take my statements back – maybe we do NEED ...
As if having
asthmatic attacks was not difficult enough, a new study shows that
people with asthma have increased risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts. Research done at the Johns Hokpins University School of Public Health examined more than 5,000 people:
They found that about 12 percent had a history of asthma. Estimates of lifetime prevalence for suicidal thoughts and attempts without and with asthma were 8.7 percent, 4.2 percent and 12 percent, respectively, and occurred more frequently in women than in men.
Cigarette smoking and concurrent mental health conditions may independently account for a large part, but not all, of the association between asthma and suicidal thoughts with attempts, said the study authors.
After they adjusted for cigarette smoking, concurrent mental health conditions and common sociodemographic factors, they found there was still a significant association between asthma and suicide thoughts and attempts.
I have not ...
Party people may be familiar with a nightclub drug called Special K. This drug is actually a horse tranquilizer also known as Ketamine. Researchers have published their findings in the Archives of General Psychiatry and claim that Special K could actually help treat people who suffer from depression.
How does the drug work?
Reuters reports:
Ketamine restores to normal the orbifrontal cortex, an area of the brain located above the eyes that is overactive in depressed people.
The area is believed to be responsible for feelings of guilt, dread, apprehension and physical reactions such as a racing heart, said Bill Deakin, who led the study.
"The study results have given us a completely novel way of treating depression and a new avenue of understanding depression," said Deakin, a neuroscientist at the University of Manchester.
I would say that this is heartening news, especially to ...
Maryland authorities are stepping up on efforts to address the issue of bullying – and not only in schools but in other venues as well. Are you aware that bullying occurs at the workplace as well? Based on the
article published by the Washington Post:
There is evolving research indicating that bullying is a potentially lethal form of abuse that affects people of all ages. It happens not only in schools but also increasingly on the Internet and via cellphones, in neighborhoods and summer camps, between siblings, as hazing among young adults, and in the adult workplace. During the past two decades, bullying has been linked to hundreds of deaths worldwide, underscoring the need to address this urgent public health issue.
You and I both know that
bullying has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Sometimes, we dismiss ...
Ask most any old married couple about memory loss and chances are that the women will tell you that this is true – the men tend to forget things more easily. That may not be very scientific but there is, in fact, scientific basis to this belief. Based on a
n article recently published on MSN Health, mild cognitive impairment in men is more likely to happen. The figures involve the ratio of one and a half.
Previous studies show the opposite however, Rosebud Roberts of the Mayo Clinic states:
These findings are in contrast to studies which have found more women than men [or an equal proportion] have dementia, and suggest there's a delayed progression to dementia in men. Alternately, women may develop dementia at a faster rate than men."
However, the new study shows the following results:
The study, expected to ...
We all suffer from the blues every now and then. This is a normal phase that we all go through. Just because you feel sad or depressed from time to time does not mean that you are clinically depressed and that you need to go see a psychologist or psychiatrist. In fact, when you are feeling a bit blue, you can do some things to make yourself feel better!
I think that we are all familiar with these methods - I am sure that you have your own “best cures” for the blues. Some people like to eat chocolate (or some other type of comfort food). I love ice cream! Other people go shopping. Still, other people would go on a trip.
Yet did you know that a short period of physical activity can help beat minor blues away? ...
While we’re on the subject of mental health, I ran across
a blog post detailing the results of a study on the correlation between religious activity and mental health. The study was conducted by Joanna Maselko, Sc.D of Temple University. She says that
“One’s lifetime pattern of religious service attendance can be related to psychiatric illness.” Interesting, isn’t it?
The results of the study indicate that women who stop their religious activity are three times more likely to suffer from mental problems such as general anxiety and alcohol abuse or dependence. However, the results are not the same for the opposite sex. In fact, for men who have always been religiously active, stopping religious activity would make them less prone to depression and similar problems!
Maselko’s
explanation for this disparity?
“Women are simply more integrated ...
If October was the month for breast cancer awareness, November is the month for Alzheimer’s Disease awareness. A lot of people know about this disease, or at least have heard about it. But what do you really know about it?
I tried asking different people what they know about Alzheimer’s and I got different answers. Most of them – from young to old – have an idea of what Alzheimer’s is all about and the general consensus is that is has something to do with the brain and memory. This is true but let’s go into the details a little more.
Alzheimer’s Disease is described by MSN Health as:
Alzheimer's disease damages the brain. It causes a steady loss of memory and how well you can speak, think, and carry on daily activities.
Alzheimer's disease always gets ...
