As an Alzheimer’s caregiver, I know there is a fine line between providing good care for a loved one and sacrificing your life to help someone else. In 2011, I left Los Angeles, my home of 33 years, and moved across the country to care for my mother, who was in the moderate stages of… Continue reading Are You A Caregiver Who Cares Too Much?
Tag: anxiety
Anxiety: Is It “All In Your Head?”
Everyone suffers from anxiety occasionally. And it’s not always a bad thing. Anxiety before a test, for example, can help us study harder. If we want to do well on a job interview, we’ll be spurred to do our homework on our prospective employer. But it’s a problem if anxiety becomes so exaggerated or severe… Continue reading Anxiety: Is It “All In Your Head?”
What’s Your Worry Quotient?
Do you always second-guess yourself and mentally run through every possible scenario and all the potential risks? Do you find that after resolving one worry, you immediately identify something else to worry about? Did these questions make you worry about whether you worry too much? If so, go ahead and laugh at yourself. Humor is… Continue reading What’s Your Worry Quotient?
Quick to Laugh or Smile? The Reason May Be in Your Genes
Why do some people immediately burst into laughter after a humorous moment, while others can barely crack a smile? New research examined emotional reactivity and suggested that one of the answers may lie in a person’s DNA. Claudia M. Haase of Northwestern University and Ursula Beermann of the University of Geneva co-authored the study, which… Continue reading Quick to Laugh or Smile? The Reason May Be in Your Genes
Natural Anti-Anxiety Food Solutions
Anxiety disorders are one of the top mental health issues in the United States, affecting about 18 percent of the population, and not surprisingly – given our always on, wired and stressed out lives – anxiety-related health issues continue to be on the increase. Stress, lifestyle (including diet), hormone changes (perimenopause and menopause; aging) and… Continue reading Natural Anti-Anxiety Food Solutions
Anxious People Apt to Make Bad Decisions
Highly anxious people have more trouble deciding how best to handle life’s uncertainties. They may even catastrophize, interpreting, say, a lovers’ tiff as a doomed relationship or a workplace change as a career threat. That’s the finding of research done at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Oxford and published March 2nd… Continue reading Anxious People Apt to Make Bad Decisions
A New Clue to Anxiety
Researchers have discovered a new pathway in the brain that controls “fear memories and behavior” – and that may be good news for the nearly 40 million adults who suffer from anxiety disorder. Scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory had already discovered that “fear learning and memory are orchestrated by neurons in the central amygdala,”… Continue reading A New Clue to Anxiety
Want A Good Relationship? Don’t Turn Away
Of all the tactics used by couples when they’re in conflict, researchers now say, withdrawing “like a turtle into its shell” is the most damaging. And expecting your significant other to be a mind reader isn’t much help, either. Those attitudes are two of the most common kinds of “disengagement in relationships, and both can… Continue reading Want A Good Relationship? Don’t Turn Away
Prayer Eases Anxiety for Some, But Not All
For many people with anxiety-related disorders, prayer doesn’t ease the symptoms. That’s the finding of research done at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. What seems to matter is the type of attachment a person feels toward God. According to the Baylor study, those who prayed to a loving and supportive God whom they thought would be there to comfort and protect them in times of need were less likely to show symptoms of anxiety-related disorders such as irrational worry, fear, self-consciousness, dread in social situations, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.