Anxiety Archive

A mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) can help control anxiety among men who follow active surveillance for prostate cancer. The wait-and-see approach can make men feel so uneasy about their condition that they opt for treatment with radiation therapy or surgery when it is unnecessary. MBSR not only eases anxiety levels, but also inspires men to be more proactive about their health and adopt lifestyle changes like a proper diet and exercise.

Mindfulness can be an effective adjunct to medication for chronic pain.

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For a long time, people with chronic pain have had to make a trade-off—enduring the discomfort stoically or taking medications that pose additional health risks, including dependence and addiction. But in the last few years, medicine has added another approach that has no troubling side effects: mindfulness.

"Mindfulness is basically paying attention to the present moment without judging," says Dr. Sara Lazar, a neurologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. It is a component of many relaxation techniques, including yoga, deep breathing, tai chi, massage, reflexology, journaling, and prayer.

British researchers tested whether behavioral activation therapy alone is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy. The results were almost identical for both groups, with two-thirds of each group reporting a reduction of depressive symptoms of at least 50%.

A recent study showed that behavioral activation can be an effective alternative to cognitive behavioral therapy for treating depression. This type of therapy emphasizes engaging in activities that can improve mental health, for example, connecting with people. Its advantage is that it takes less time and is less expensive to train people in behavioral activation so it may mean more therapists available at lower cost.

Harvard Medical School authors have written a new book entitled Organize your Emotions, Optimize Your Life, that explains a way to frame how your mind processes a range of emotions. An adult version of the children’s movie Inside Out, the book proposes that the human psyche has nine inner “voices.” By addressing the distinct needs, agendas, and emotions people can better address life challenges, big and small. In this post we apply this model to getting your kids back to school in a positive and productive way.

Often considered an ailment of only military veterans, this condition also can affect many older men.

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Mention post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and most people immediately think of military veterans. While this group is highly susceptible to PTSD, research has shown that older adults, specifically men, are also vulnerable.

PTSD is a potentially debilitating condition that can occur in people who have experienced a natural disaster, war, terrorism, serious accident, violent personal assault, or similar traumatic event.

A brief bout of aerobic exercise can help if you need to stay focused on a task and solve problems more efficiently.

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It's not news that exercise is good for your body. You can probably recite the litany of physical benefits of regular activity: Exercise helps control your weight, lowers your blood pressure, and dampens inflammation. It reduces the risk of having a heart attack or stroke or of developing diabetes or certain cancers.

But exercise is just as important for your mind. Not only is regular exercise associated with a reduced risk of depression and anxiety, there is mounting evidence that it slows cognitive decline and may reduce the risk of dementia. "There is good evidence that exercise behaves like medicine to improve brain health and thinking skills. There is a growing body of science behind this," says Dr. Scott McGinnis, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Attending religious services frequently has been linked to fewer deaths over 16 years among women in the Nurses’ Health Study.