Even if you get plenty of exercise, lots of sitting is a serious health risk. Not only is sitting around bad for your heart, circulation, and blood sugar, now it's ben linked to cancer.
So don't just sit around - stand up and stretch for a few minutes. Walk around, get on your feet to talk on the phone, take a lap around the house during commercials.
Stand up for a few minutes every half-hour - you'll live longer and feel better! And remember to get at least 30 minutes of walking or other exercise every day, too.
Read the You Docs column:
What are you doing just sitting there? Get up!
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/11/you_docs_what_are_you_doing_ju.html
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Worried Sick - Living with Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is an uneasy feeling that something may harm you or a loved one. This
feeling can be normal and sometimes even helpful. If you’re starting a new job
or taking a test, it might make you more alert and ready for action. But
sometimes anxiety can linger or become overwhelming. When it gets in the way of
good health and peace of mind, it’s called an anxiety disorder.
If you have an anxiety disorder, you’re not alone. Each year, tens of millions
of Americans of all ages suffer from long-term anxiety. Among children, anxiety
disorders are the most common form of mental illness—one they may carry into
adulthood.
“Everybody has anxiety,” says Dr. Daniel Pine, an NIH neuroscientist and
psychiatrist. “The tricky part is how to tell the difference between normal and
abnormal anxiety.”
For those with anxiety disorders, fears, worries and anxieties can cause so much
distress that they interfere with daily life. The anxiety grows out of
proportion to the stressful situation or occurs when there is no real danger.
Anxiety activates the body’s stress response. Nearly all the cells, tissues and
organs in your body go on high-alert. This stress response can wear your body
down over time. People with chronic (long-term) anxiety have a higher risk of
both physical and mental health problems. Some people visit their doctors
because of headaches, racing heart or other physical complaints without
realizing that these symptoms may be connected to how anxious they feel.
NIH-funded researchers are working to learn more about anxiety disorders. They
have discovered that these conditions are caused by some combination of your
genes and your environment. However, the precise events that lead to anxiety
disorders are still unknown. Scientists are also searching for better ways to
diagnose, prevent and treat these conditions.
There are several kinds of anxiety disorders. The major types include:
Phobias. Intense, irrational fears triggered by things that pose little or no
real danger, such as heights, dogs or spiders. Among the anxiety disorders,
specific phobias are the most common.
Social anxiety disorder. Leads to extreme anxiety and self-consciousness in
everyday social situations. Also known as social phobia.
Post-traumatic stress disorder. Caused by trauma. This condition leads to
flashbacks, nightmares and insomnia. Often accompanied by depression or
substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder can occur at any age, including
childhood.
Generalized anxiety disorder. Excessive worry about a variety of everyday
problems.
Panic disorder. Sudden attacks of terror accompanied by physical symptoms that
may include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal
distress. Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of anxiety disorders.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Persistent, upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and
repetitive rituals (compulsions), like hand washing, counting, checking or
cleaning. These behaviors are done in the hope of preventing the thoughts or
making them go away.
Treatment for anxiety disorders usually includes both medication and cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of talk therapy. It helps people change
both the thinking patterns that support their fears and the way they react to
anxiety-provoking situations. Current treatments can be highly effective for
most people.
Dr. Denise Chavira, a psychologist at the University of California, San Diego,
works with anxious youth in underserved, rural areas. Her team is studying ways
to make CBT more accessible to these children, who may have trouble getting to
therapy sessions. To help make up for the lack of in-person contact, the
researchers are examining telephone and self-help approaches that focus on
teaching parents how to use CBT skills with their children.
In one study, the scientists are comparing CBT training delivered to parents by
phone versus in-person CBT provided to anxious youth and their parents. With a
therapist’s help, parents and kids create lists of anxiety-producing situations.
They learn how to face their fears gradually while using CBT coping skills. Both
methods encourage parents to model brave behaviors for kids, and to let kids
learn how to be independent. “Some parents do this naturally, but others need
some practice” says Chavira. “The phone is a less intense form of treatment,
given that it only involves the parents and sessions are shorter. But even that
mode can be really effective,” Chavira says.
NIH-funded researchers are also using advanced imaging tools to pinpoint the
areas in the brain that underlie anxiety disorders. Still in its very early
stages, this approach represents a major shift from how doctors usually diagnose
mental illness, which is by looking at symptoms and behaviors. Using an imaging
technique called functional MRI (fMRI), scientists are scanning the brain in
action—as it thinks, remembers, feels emotion and regulates the body’s reactions
to things that cause anxiety. By measuring changes in blood flow related to
brain activity, fMRI scans produce full-color images of trouble spots in real
time.
Dr. Sonia Bishop of the University of California-Berkeley uses fMRI to study
people at high risk for anxiety disorders. Her team hopes to prevent anxiety
disorders before patients enter a downward spiral. The researchers are working
to develop a new type of CBT-related treatment that helps to retrain how
patients regulate their emotions and attention.
Scientists are especially curious about brain regions called the amygdala and
the hippocampus. The amygdala plays an important role in fear and anxiety by
alerting the brain to danger. The hippocampus translates threatening events into
memories. Once scientists discover if and how these areas contribute to illness,
they might be able to develop better treatments.
“These disorders put a huge burden on the individual, the family and society,”
Bishop says. “Anxiety disorders are one of the most common reasons that people
visit their primary health care provider.”
If you are troubled by anxiety, the first person to see is your family doctor or
nurse practitioner. He or she can check for any underlying physical illness or a
related condition. You may be referred to a mental health specialist, who might
help to identify the specific type of anxiety disorder and the appropriate
treatment. With proper care, most people with anxiety disorders can lead normal,
fulfilling lives.
Suspect an Anxiety Disorder?
The first person to see is your family doctor or nurse practitioner.
The next step may be talking to a mental health professional. Consider finding
someone trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy who is also open to using
medication if needed.
Consider joining a self-help or support group to share problems and
achievements with others. Stress management techniques and meditation can also
help.
Source: NIH News in Health, November 2011
A monthly newsletter from the National Institutes of Health,
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/Nov2011/Feature1#content
feeling can be normal and sometimes even helpful. If you’re starting a new job
or taking a test, it might make you more alert and ready for action. But
sometimes anxiety can linger or become overwhelming. When it gets in the way of
good health and peace of mind, it’s called an anxiety disorder.
If you have an anxiety disorder, you’re not alone. Each year, tens of millions
of Americans of all ages suffer from long-term anxiety. Among children, anxiety
disorders are the most common form of mental illness—one they may carry into
adulthood.
“Everybody has anxiety,” says Dr. Daniel Pine, an NIH neuroscientist and
psychiatrist. “The tricky part is how to tell the difference between normal and
abnormal anxiety.”
For those with anxiety disorders, fears, worries and anxieties can cause so much
distress that they interfere with daily life. The anxiety grows out of
proportion to the stressful situation or occurs when there is no real danger.
Anxiety activates the body’s stress response. Nearly all the cells, tissues and
organs in your body go on high-alert. This stress response can wear your body
down over time. People with chronic (long-term) anxiety have a higher risk of
both physical and mental health problems. Some people visit their doctors
because of headaches, racing heart or other physical complaints without
realizing that these symptoms may be connected to how anxious they feel.
NIH-funded researchers are working to learn more about anxiety disorders. They
have discovered that these conditions are caused by some combination of your
genes and your environment. However, the precise events that lead to anxiety
disorders are still unknown. Scientists are also searching for better ways to
diagnose, prevent and treat these conditions.
There are several kinds of anxiety disorders. The major types include:
Phobias. Intense, irrational fears triggered by things that pose little or no
real danger, such as heights, dogs or spiders. Among the anxiety disorders,
specific phobias are the most common.
Social anxiety disorder. Leads to extreme anxiety and self-consciousness in
everyday social situations. Also known as social phobia.
Post-traumatic stress disorder. Caused by trauma. This condition leads to
flashbacks, nightmares and insomnia. Often accompanied by depression or
substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder can occur at any age, including
childhood.
Generalized anxiety disorder. Excessive worry about a variety of everyday
problems.
Panic disorder. Sudden attacks of terror accompanied by physical symptoms that
may include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal
distress. Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of anxiety disorders.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Persistent, upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and
repetitive rituals (compulsions), like hand washing, counting, checking or
cleaning. These behaviors are done in the hope of preventing the thoughts or
making them go away.
Treatment for anxiety disorders usually includes both medication and cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of talk therapy. It helps people change
both the thinking patterns that support their fears and the way they react to
anxiety-provoking situations. Current treatments can be highly effective for
most people.
Dr. Denise Chavira, a psychologist at the University of California, San Diego,
works with anxious youth in underserved, rural areas. Her team is studying ways
to make CBT more accessible to these children, who may have trouble getting to
therapy sessions. To help make up for the lack of in-person contact, the
researchers are examining telephone and self-help approaches that focus on
teaching parents how to use CBT skills with their children.
In one study, the scientists are comparing CBT training delivered to parents by
phone versus in-person CBT provided to anxious youth and their parents. With a
therapist’s help, parents and kids create lists of anxiety-producing situations.
They learn how to face their fears gradually while using CBT coping skills. Both
methods encourage parents to model brave behaviors for kids, and to let kids
learn how to be independent. “Some parents do this naturally, but others need
some practice” says Chavira. “The phone is a less intense form of treatment,
given that it only involves the parents and sessions are shorter. But even that
mode can be really effective,” Chavira says.
NIH-funded researchers are also using advanced imaging tools to pinpoint the
areas in the brain that underlie anxiety disorders. Still in its very early
stages, this approach represents a major shift from how doctors usually diagnose
mental illness, which is by looking at symptoms and behaviors. Using an imaging
technique called functional MRI (fMRI), scientists are scanning the brain in
action—as it thinks, remembers, feels emotion and regulates the body’s reactions
to things that cause anxiety. By measuring changes in blood flow related to
brain activity, fMRI scans produce full-color images of trouble spots in real
time.
Dr. Sonia Bishop of the University of California-Berkeley uses fMRI to study
people at high risk for anxiety disorders. Her team hopes to prevent anxiety
disorders before patients enter a downward spiral. The researchers are working
to develop a new type of CBT-related treatment that helps to retrain how
patients regulate their emotions and attention.
Scientists are especially curious about brain regions called the amygdala and
the hippocampus. The amygdala plays an important role in fear and anxiety by
alerting the brain to danger. The hippocampus translates threatening events into
memories. Once scientists discover if and how these areas contribute to illness,
they might be able to develop better treatments.
“These disorders put a huge burden on the individual, the family and society,”
Bishop says. “Anxiety disorders are one of the most common reasons that people
visit their primary health care provider.”
If you are troubled by anxiety, the first person to see is your family doctor or
nurse practitioner. He or she can check for any underlying physical illness or a
related condition. You may be referred to a mental health specialist, who might
help to identify the specific type of anxiety disorder and the appropriate
treatment. With proper care, most people with anxiety disorders can lead normal,
fulfilling lives.
Suspect an Anxiety Disorder?
The first person to see is your family doctor or nurse practitioner.
The next step may be talking to a mental health professional. Consider finding
someone trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy who is also open to using
medication if needed.
Consider joining a self-help or support group to share problems and
achievements with others. Stress management techniques and meditation can also
help.
Source: NIH News in Health, November 2011
A monthly newsletter from the National Institutes of Health,
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/Nov2011/Feature1#content
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Join Me On Twitter
Enjoy quotes, tidbits, and links to fascinating articles, audios, and videos?
I’m finding Twitter a fun way to connect with people and a great source of information.
For more frequent posts, follow my microblog on Twitter:
SueReddingLMT
http://twitter.com/SueReddingLMT
I’m finding Twitter a fun way to connect with people and a great source of information.
For more frequent posts, follow my microblog on Twitter:
SueReddingLMT
http://twitter.com/SueReddingLMT
Body Sense Autumn 2011
In the latest Body Sense online magazine, read about:
- benefits of frequent massage,
- 15 ways to better communicate with your massage practitioner,
- an inspirational program that’s bringing massage into elementary school classrooms worldwide.
- benefits of frequent massage,
- 15 ways to better communicate with your massage practitioner,
- an inspirational program that’s bringing massage into elementary school classrooms worldwide.
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