health is wealth

Sometimes I want to throw my hands up at all the contradictory and confusing information out there about what's healthy and what's not. "Eat organic, eat local--vegetarian isn't healthy for you, but it is for the planet--cut fat, eat fat." I make it easy on myself and hopefully, the planet by doing what I can the majority of the time and forgetting about the rest of it. I'm not 100% anything all the time. I eat organic when I can, but I don't obsess about it. I figure everything in moderation means less stress for me and my traveling companions seem to appreciate it, ... Read Full Story

Understanding and overcoming mood disorders. I hate you! Linda screamed one second before the plate of spaghetti flew from her hand towards her husband's head. Paul ducked just in time, but the next missile, a wet dishtowel, hit its mark and blinded him temporarily. In the ten years of their marriage, Linda and Paul had survived numerous such incidents. Linda would fly into uncontrollable rages, sometimes, it seemed, as a result of Paul's equally frequent depressive episodes, when he would disappear for hours, occasionally overnight. In reality the origin of both their emotional problems lay in childhood experience, which is the root cause of ... Read Full Story

Interpersonal therapists focus on the patient's disturbed personal relationships that both cause and exacerbate (or increase) the depression. Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is one of the short term therapies that have been proven to be effective for the treatment of depression. Short term psychotherapy usually involves up to 20 sessions (usually weekly meetings, 1 hour per session) and maintains a focus on 1-2 key issues that seem to be most closely related to the depression. Interpersonal psychotherapy The treatment is highly structured. The number and content of treatment sessions are planned carefully. The initial assessment period lasts 1 to 2 sessions. Interpersonal problems are considered ... Read Full Story

Phototherapy or bright light therapy has been shown to suppress the brain's secretion of melatonin. Treatment consists of sitting in front of a full-spectrum light for about four hours per day, preferably in the mornings. This is a substitute for bright natural sunlight, the lack of which seems to cause a particular form of depression. Dr. Normal E. Rosenthal's seminal 1985 paper defining Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) was the first to describe application of bright artificial light in the treatment of winter depression. Rosenthal's hypothesis was that lengthening the daily photoperiod (in effect mimicking summer day length in the northern latitudes) would effect a ... Read Full Story

Prevention of Holiday depression is something for which you need to work and plan ahead of time. It need foresight and seeing what can improve your thoughts of being depressed in holidays. Tips on preventing holidays 1. Acknowledge your feelings. If a loved one has recently died or you aren't near your loved ones, realize that it's normal to feel sadness or grief. It's OK now and then to take time just to cry or express your feelings. You can't force yourself to be happy just because it's the holiday season. 2. Seek support. If you feel isolated or down, seek out family members ... Read Full Story