Mental Health 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.

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 study published online Aug. 8, 2016, by BMJ Open found that volunteering seems to confer greater benefits for general well-being in middle and older age than earlier in life. 

The science of neurogenesis suggests it's possible to create neurons that improve your memory and thinking skills.

Image: Decade3d/ Thinkstock

There are many aspects of aging you cannot prevent, but surprisingly, memory trouble is not one of them.

"The dogma for the longest time was that adult brains couldn't generate any new brain cells. You just use what you were born with," says Dr. Amar Sahay, a neuroscientist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. "But the reality is that everyone has the capacity to develop new cells that can help enhance cognitive functions."

Lower your dependency on medication by altering your perception of pain.

Image: Cathy Yeulet/ Thinkstock

Everyday pain becomes more constant as you age. It can vary from morning aches to occasional joint flare-ups to recurrent episodes that interfere with your life and overall health.

Yet pain has a valuable role. It alerts your systems to potential injury so you can seek treatment. "Pain is similar to blood pressure, which becomes a problem if the levels become too high," says Dr. Jianren Mao, director of the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Translational Pain Research. "Only when pain becomes intolerable should you resort to medication or other types of treatment."

The new book Organize Your Emotions, Optimize Your Life proposes that the human psyche has nine life forces speaking as our “inner voices,” each with its own agenda and emotions. Learning to listen and respond to those voices can help you shift your stress to a sense of balance.

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.

Unintentional opioid overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. These drugs are prescribed to patients to help relieve pain, but overdoses happen because opioids can also depress breathing, sometimes stopping it altogether. But naloxone, also called Narcan, can help reverse the effects of an overdose. If doctors prescribe naloxone at the same time as opioids, overdose deaths may decrease.

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.