Dentist anxiety series

I am currently writing a series on identifying and conquering different fears about the dentist. You can read my series in my anxiety blog! I hope many of you stop by to read up on the topic.

I will (hopefully) be updating this blog with new information later today or tomorrow.

Occupation May Affect Cognition After Retirement

How mentally and intellectually challenging your job is now may have a positive (or negative) affect on your cognitive abilities later in life, after retirement, a new study published in the May issue of Neurology suggests.

The study contained 1,036 twin males. Each participant underwent a test, which determined their learning abilities when they joined the United States military in the 1940s. Each participant underwent follow-up assessments every three to four years after they reached the age of 60.

The study found that those who held occupations, which had intellectual demands had better cognitive abilities after retirement, while those who held occupations, which had physical demands had worse cognitive abilities in retirement.

The study authors note that occupation and age are only two factors that contribute to one's cognitive abilities, but that occupation can have a positive or negative impact on cognition as one ages.

Source: Forbes.

Mother's Day for Everyone

While Mother's Day is a joyous occasion for some, for others it is a very difficult day.

For individuals who can truly celebrate their mothers, look on their pasts and have fond memories of their mothers, I hope you have a great day celebrating with your moms. Spending some quality time with you mom on this special day will make great new memories for you and your mom.

However, for those who find this day difficult, I hope you find a way to nurture yourselves today.

For some, this day brings forth sadness, loneliness, and loss, as when a loving mother has passed away. For others, today brings forth anger, resentment, and confusion, as with individuals who were abused or neglected by their mothers, abandoned, or for those who do not have good relationships with their mothers.

It is sad and unfortunate when you lose a loving mother or when your mother was the perpetrator of abuse or neglect. Mother's Day can be very painful for you. I think it is important to find ways in which you can nurture yourself on difficult days, such as these. Here's some ideas:

-Take a nice bubble bath
-Read a good book
-Write, draw, or paint
-Treat yourself to a yummy dessert, dinner, or special drink
-If you are Christian, pray, read your Bible, and spend some quality time with God
-Write an old friend a letter or catch up with him or her over the phone

Whatever you do, just make sure you are nurturing yourself and giving yourself permission to relax.

I hope everyone finds a way to feel nurtured today.

Technology Aids Substance Abusers Stay Sober

Technology may help drug and alcohol users stay sober, according to new research, which was published in the May 1, 2008 on-line issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Seventy-seven participants who desired treatment for alcohol and drug abuse were divided randomly into two groups - one group received traditional substance abuse counseling while the other group received traditional substance abuse counseling and six training sessions with a computer program.

The computer program, developed by Kathleen M. Carroll and her colleagues at Yale University's School of Medicine contained six lessons. In each of the six lessons, the program contained videos of different situations a person recovering from drug and/or alcohol abuse might encounter, such as being offered drugs. The training program also teaches recovering individuals strategies for dealing with and avoiding substance abuse as well as video showing how to use each skill or strategy being taught.

At the conclusion of the study, significantly less individuals who underwent traditional counseling in combination with the computer training program had positive drug tests than people who had traditional substance abuse counseling alone.

Personally, I believe this kind of combination therapy may be very effective for individuals who learn best by seeing a skill or strategy being used. Others might benefit from additional role-plays in therapy whereby they can test their new skills in a safe environment before being confronted with a situation in real life.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/health/feeds/hscout/2008/05/08/hscout615106.html

"Special K" Reduces Depression

Do you suffer from depression? Have you had to try multiple anti-depressants to treat your depression? Have you found an anti-depressant that is effective to treat your depression yet? If you haven't, you're not alone. Many individuals have to try multiple medications for depression, and some people do not find any current anti-depressants effective at treating their depression. Of course, this adds to the feelings of hopelessness a depressed person feels. However, the results of a new study indicate a new kind of drug is effective for treating depression.

The results of this new study, which has been published in the Archives of General Psychiatry discovered that a night club drug known as "Special K" (ketamine) reduces depression. Thirty-three male participants were given ketamine, which is used as a horse tranquilizer, intravenously. The researchers also took minute-by-minute brain scans of the participants brains during the administration of the drug.

They discovered that ketamine restored a part of the brain that is overactive in individuals with depression back to normal, reducing depression in participants.

Certainly doctors and psychiatrists are not going to give depressed people ketamine for their symptoms, but this study does provide new information that can guide future research in creating new drugs to treat people with depression.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24428510/

New Anxiety Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am currently writing an anxiety blog for Today. I'd love if you would come and read that as well.

The link to my anxiety blog at Today is: http://anxiety.today.com.

Happy reading!

A Woman Was Imprisoned for 24 Years...

I think this is such a sad story.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7371959.stm

I wonder why no one suspected anything happened to her? I cannot even imagine what this poor woman went through with her children. It's just so sad and tragic.

Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating an Issue for Women in America

I ran across this study tonight and I wanted to share it because I feel it is so important that we teach young children, teenage girls, and young adult women how important inner beauty is.

The findings of this study are really quite disturbing to me, as Americans and American culture is so focused on appearance that we forget about inner beauty, intelligence, and true happiness.

SELF magazine and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill cooperated to conduct this study. More than 4,000 women took a survey on-line regarding their thoughts and behaviors toward food. Women participating in the survey were between the ages of 25-45 years.

The researchers found that older women and younger women had about the same occurrence of disordered eating. Likewise, women who identified themselves as Latino, white, black, Hispanic, and Asian all exhibited disordered eating behaviors.

More specifically, the researchers discovered that:
-More than 31% of women who participated in the survey reported they had taken diuretics, diet pills, and/or laxatives, or induced vomiting in order to lose weight at some point during their lives.
-Approximately 50% of those who engaged in purging behaviors reported they did so at least a few times a week.
-Sixty-seven percent of women who did not have actual eating disorders reported they are attempting to lose weight.
-Thirty-seven percent of women said they skip meals regularly in order to lose weight.
-Twenty-seven percent reported they would be extremely upset if they gained five pounds.
-Thirteen percent of participants report they smoke in order to lose weight.
-Twenty-six percent of participants said they have eliminated certain food groups from their diet altogether.
-Fifty-three percent of women who said they are dieting are already at a healthy weight, and are still attempting to lose weight.
-Thirty-nine percent of the women reported that their weight and concerns about what they eat interferes with their happiness.

The results of the study are to appear in the May issue of SELF magazine.

Veterans Need Our Help

In this year's presidential race, the war in Iraq is one of the major platform issues each candidate is speaking on, and ultimately, whoever becomes President of our country is going to have some tough choices to make regarding the war and the men and women who have been and are being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

RAND has conducted a large study of men and women returning from the war. They wanted to determine how many men and women veterans are experiencing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and/or major depression and how many are receiving adequate treatment.

The researchers collected information from 1,965 veterans from across the United States. They discovered that half of the veterans reported they had a friend who was either killed or seriously injured in the war. Forty-five percent of participants reported they saw dead or seriously injured non-combatants, and 10% of veterans reported they were injured themselves and spent time in the hospital.

The researchers also discovered the highest rates of major depression and PTSD among Hispanics, women, and those who were enlisted in the military.

Researchers found that 19% of veterans had symptoms of major depression or PTSD. Only 53% of those who had major depression or PTSD sought help for their symptoms, and of those who sought help for their symptoms, only one-half received minimally adequate treatment.

Veterans gave different reasons for not seeking professional help for their symptoms, such as they were worried about the side-effects of medication, they were worried about their friends losing confidence in their abilities, they believed family and/or friends could provide them with more help than a mental health professional, and that they were worried seeking professional help may affect their careers.

The researchers recommend the military create a system that allows military veterans to seek professional help without it affecting their careers, as well as providing veterans with evidence-based treatment strategies to most effectively treat their symptoms.

I believe we, as family members, friends, and co-workers of those who serve in the military, have a responsibility to encourage veterans to seek professional mental health treatment if they experienced a traumatic event in the war and/or if they exhibit signs of depression or PTSD.

To read more on this study, please visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417112102.htm.