Mental Health Archive

Do you feel you spend too much time on social media? Does the time you do spend on social media leave you feeling depressed, anxious, or lonely? Being more aware of how much time you spend and how it makes you feel, and taking steps to limit your usage, could leave you feeling better.

No one is "perfect." Yet many people struggle to be a perfectionist , which can trigger a cascade of anxieties. Striving to be a perfectionist may be a strong suit or a stumbling block, depending on how it's channeled, as clinical psychologist Jeff Szymanski explains. Dr. Szymanski is an associate instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the International OCD Foundation.

"The core of all perfectionism is the intention to do something well," says Dr. Szymanski. "If you can keep your eye on intention and desired outcome, adjusting your strategy when needed, you're fine.... But when you can't tolerate making a mistake, when your strategy is to make no mistakes, that's when perfectionism starts veering off in the wrong direction." In its most severe form, perfectionism can leave you unable to complete any task for fear of making a mistake.

These conditions are associated with a higher risk.

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Most men are familiar with the common strategies to reduce their heart disease risk: keep cholesterol in check, manage high blood pressure, follow a heart-healthy diet, and perform regular exercise. But there may be other preventive steps you can take.

"Some age-related conditions can further increase your risk without you knowing it, which is why it's important to be mindful about all aspects of your health," says Dr. Michael Gavin, a cardiologist with Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Fortunately, once they are recognized, these other risk factors can be addressed and managed."

Memory lapses are common as you age, but there are ways to help your brain store new information and recall it later.

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Does this sound familiar? You go into the kitchen, but can't remember why. Or you can't recall a name you just heard during a conversation, or miss a routine appointment because it slipped your mind.

"Everyday memory lapses like this can be upsetting, but they are more common than we often assume," says Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist specializing in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

In the journals

Are you excessively sleepy during the day? If so, you may have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study published online Sept. 5, 2018, by the journal Sleep.

Scientists asked 124 healthy older adults, average age 60, about how often they felt drowsy or fell asleep during the day when they would rather be awake, as well as their napping habits. The group then had regular PET scans over the next 15 years to look for beta-amyloid in the brain, high amounts of which are a hallmark for Alzheimer's.

Explore more effective alternatives to help you get a good night's rest.

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You've spent the past few nights staring at the ceiling, thinking about your grocery list, lining up your tasks for the next day, or obsessing about your problem du jour — but what you really want to be doing is sleeping soundly. You're in the pharmacy and notice an array of over-the-counter sleep aids, and you're tempted. Will taking one help you get that deep slumber you crave?

Before you reach for that bottle, you might want to reconsider.

Taking on a new health regimen can be daunting. Accomplishing smaller tasks that contribute to health may be easier to achieve.

You know what you're supposed to do: exercise daily, ditch junk food, get more sleep, and stay vigilant about every aspect of your health. It's a nonstop commitment that seems like a major undertaking if you've fallen behind. But putting off a healthy lifestyle increases the risk for developing chronic disease and jeopardizes your independence.

Rather than identifying big ways to improve your health, and then procrastinating, focus on small tasks that won't overwhelm you. Try a quick fix once in a while — or all the time if it applies. The more you do, the better you'll feel.

Ask the doctor

Q. With the holidays coming, I may be tempted to drink more than usual — maybe enough to have a hangover the next morning. I'm wondering if a hangover could actually damage my brain.

A. There have been a few scientific studies of that question. Recently, a team of scientists examined those existing studies, involving over 1,100 people, and came to some tentative conclusions, published online August 25 by the journal Addiction.