Mind & Mood
Your mood and your mental health affect every aspect of your life, from how you feel about yourself to your relationships with others and your physical health. There's a strong link between good mental health and good physical health, and vice versa. In the other direction, depression and other mental health issues can contribute to digestive disorders, trouble sleeping, lack of energy, heart disease, and other health issues.
There are many ways to keep your mind and mood in optimal shape. Exercise, healthy eating, and stress reduction techniques like meditation or mindfulness can keep your brain — and your body — in tip-top shape.
When mood and mental health slip, doing something about it as early as possible can keep the change from getting worse or becoming permanent. Treating conditions like depression and anxiety improve quality of life. Learning to manage stress makes for more satisfying and productive days.
Mind & Mood Articles
Depression and anxiety are not a routine part of aging. But the signs of these conditions are sometimes brushed aside. Common symptoms include apathy, hopelessness, changes in sleeping or eating habits, persistent fatigue, difficulty focusing or making decisions, mood swings, unending worry, and wanting to be alone. If any of these symptoms are interfering in a person’s daily life, it may be time to reach out for help. Treatment ranges from medications and talk therapy to exercise and socializing.
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Taking part in activities later in life that challenge the mind—like playing board games, reading, and even betting on horse racing—is associated with lower odds for developing dementia.
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The ability to shake off stress quickly may protect a person’s long-term health.
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Many men are at higher risk for mood disorders as they age, from dealing with sudden life changes like health issues, the loss of loved ones, and even the new world of retirement. If they do not want to turn to medication or therapy for help, men can find relief by interacting more with nature, whether by walking in the woods, listening to nature sounds, or even looking at pictures of soothing outdoor settings.
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Mind-body medicine is providing new models for wellness and therapy by combining conventional and complementary approaches to treatment. At this seminar, a panel of Harvard Medical School faculty will discuss this quickly developing approach that may help shape the future of medicine.
Each spring, Harvard Medical School's Office of Communications and External Relations organizes a series of four free "mini-med school" classes for the general public in the heart of Boston's Longwood Medical Area. At the end of the seminar series, participants who attend three out of the four sessions receive a certificate of completion. Topics are selected for their appeal to a lay audience and have included the human genome, nutrition, sleep dynamics and health care access. Faculty from Harvard Medical School and its affiliate hospitals volunteer their time to present these lectures to the community.
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While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, ongoing research suggests that people can lower their risk by adopting certain diet, exercise, and lifestyle behaviors. These include doing adequate amounts of weekly aerobic exercise, following the MIND diet, not smoking, and getting sufficient sleep.
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Researchers can’t say for sure whether your diet affects your depression risk, but adopting a Mediterranean diet has many other health benefits. The Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy oils, and lean proteins, such as chicken and fish.
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Dr. Terry Schraeder talks with Dr. Michael Miller about the symptoms of depression in men and getting over the gender hurdles to find the right treatment.
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Want to make a change but wondering how to stay motivated? Dr. Srini Pillay talks about the things that can impact personal motivation and the power of a sense of meaning to help you stick with your goals.
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If you find yourself in a slump, Dr. Beth Frates shares what may be draining you and offers tips for getting more energy.
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