Even a little exercise linked with lower stroke risk in people with afib
Testosterone therapy without evidence of deficiency may boost heart risk
Weight-loss drug may lower risk of heart attacks and infections
What to eat on the DASH diet
Migraine: How it's diagnosed and what that means
Tricep workouts you can do at home
Mindfulness practices to reduce stress and improve focus
Antihistamines may not offer meaningful relief from eczema symptoms
Overweight and taking blood pressure medications: Study finds it's a trend that's working
FDA approves first mRNA-based flu vaccine
Mind & Mood Archive
Articles
Is your antidepressant making life a little too blah?
Some drugs go too far, dulling emotions across the spectrum. A dose adjustment or a switch to a different medication can help.
Image: Wavebreakmedia/Thinkstock
When your doctor prescribes a medication for depression, the goal is to reduce painful feelings of sadness or hopelessness. The majority of people taking the most commonly prescribed antidepressants—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)—improve substantially. But sometimes, SSRIs go beyond improving mood and make a person feel too little emotion. "Some people feel like they've lost the richness of daily life," says Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Serotonin and SSRIs
Too effective?
Scaling back the intensity of moods is often the goal. "It's a huge relief if you're very irritable, easily upset, or feeling overly burdened by stress," says Dr. Miller.
But for some people, the reduction in intensity can be experienced as a "blunting" or "dulling" of their emotions. "You might not cry at a movie's happy ending or laugh with the same gusto. Or you might feel apathetic and not get the same kick out of doing things you enjoy, like playing golf or painting," Dr. Miller explains.
Sometimes the blunting affects sexual response. "Some people will say they're not having the same sexual pleasure," says Dr. Miller.
What you should do
4 things you can do to alleviate caregiver stress
If you are taking care of a loved one, you need to take special care of yourself, too. There are resources to help you.
Image: Bigstock
More than 65 million Americans—two-thirds of whom are women—are taking care of a disabled or ailing family member. If you're among them, you're well aware that caring for a loved one can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life, but it can also be one of the most challenging, especially to your own health.
"We know family caregivers are under a particular amount of stress. And stress over time can cause them to become ill," says Dr. Diane Mahoney, Jacque Mohr Professor of Geriatric Nursing Research at MGH Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital. In fact, more than 20% of caregivers report that their health has suffered as a result of their responsibilities.
Reading books may add years to your life
An analysis of records of 5,635 participants in the Health and Retirement Study linked regular book reading with a 20% reduced risk of dying over a 12-year period.
Talk to the animals
Animal-assisted therapy can be your best friend when it comes to mental support.
Image: Jevtic /Thinkstock
They say a dog is man's best friend, but when it comes to better health, any type of animal bonding will do.
Research shows that interaction with animals like dogs, cats, and even horses can have both immediate and long-lasting impacts on your mental well-being. Done more formally in a medical context, it's known as animal-assisted therapy (AAT).
Meditation may ease anxiety from active surveillance
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.
Behavioral activation therapy effectively treats depression, study finds
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%.
Ease your pain by controlling your mind
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."
Even a little exercise linked with lower stroke risk in people with afib
Testosterone therapy without evidence of deficiency may boost heart risk
Weight-loss drug may lower risk of heart attacks and infections
What to eat on the DASH diet
Migraine: How it's diagnosed and what that means
Tricep workouts you can do at home
Mindfulness practices to reduce stress and improve focus
Antihistamines may not offer meaningful relief from eczema symptoms
Overweight and taking blood pressure medications: Study finds it's a trend that's working
FDA approves first mRNA-based flu vaccine
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