Mindfulness, Problem Solving, Sleep Problems, Treatment/Coping
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Copy of Your Brain Has A “Delete” Button–Here’s ...

Have you ever wondered "How can I learn more?" This article highlights how we learn and steps you can take to facilitate learning. Hint...sleeping matters.

Copy of Your Brain Has A “Delete” Button–Here’s How To Use It
Depression, Knowledge & Learning, Sleep Problems, Treatment/Coping
Nerina Garcia-Arcement
Winter get you down? Facts about SAD

What is the first thought you have when day lights savings comes around? If it is dread of the dark and shorter evenings or winter blues, you are not alone.

What is seasonal affective disorder or SAD for short? SAD is a major depressive episode that happens in the Fall and Winter and tends to resolve in the Spring and Summer.

Winter get you down? Facts about SAD
Anxiety, Knowledge & Learning, Parenting, Mindfulness, Stress, Treatment/Coping
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13 POWERFUL PHRASES PROVEN TO HELP AN ANXIOUS ...

Anxiety is a normal reaction to change and children experience change frequently. This is a great article with useful and concrete phrases and strategies to help little ones with their worry and anxiety. 

13 POWERFUL PHRASES PROVEN TO HELP AN ANXIOUS CHILD CALM DOWN
Anxiety, Depression, Mindfulness, Stress, Treatment/Coping
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What is mindfulness? How do you do it?

What is mindfulness and how do you start practicing? Being aware of the here and now, using all your senses to be present in the moment without judgment. Easy mindfulness exercises to start practicing include noticing everything when you shower or wash dishes, that first drink or bite of food. 

What is mindfulness? How do you do it?
Depression, Medical/Physical Health, Mindfulness, Problem Solving, Stress, Treatment/Coping
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Mindfulness Based Therapy as Effective as ...

Can therapy be as effective as antidepressants? A new study shows that mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MCBT) is more effective. 

Mindfulness Based Therapy as Effective as Antidepressants?

yoga

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38 Health Benefits of Yoga

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38 Health Benefits of Yoga

Still wondering if you should try out yoga? How is it really going to help you anyway? This article discussing 38 scientifically proven reasons why you should get up and strike a yoga pose.

From YOGA JOURNAL, YOGA AND HEALTH, by Timothy McCall, M.D.

If you’re a passionate yoga practitioner, you’ve probably noticed some yoga benefits—maybe you’re sleeping better or getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease. But if you’ve ever tried telling a newbie about the benefits of yoga, you might find that explanations like “It increases the flow of prana” or “It brings energy up your spine” fall on deaf or skeptical ears.

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Yoga Helps Ease Stress Related Medical and Psychological Conditions, Study Suggests

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Yoga might increase GABA activity, low GABA (neurotransmitter) is linked to anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, epilepsy, and chronic pain. So practicing yoga might reduce distress from these disorders. Mar. 6, 2012 — An article by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (CCPS) reviews evidence that yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease. Their theory, which currently appears online in Medical Hypotheses, could be used to develop specific mind-body practices for the prevention and treatment of these conditions in conjunction with standard treatments.

It is hypothesized that stress causes an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system (parasympathetic under-activity and sympathetic over-activity) as well as under-activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma amino-butyric acid (GABA). Low GABA activity occurs in anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, epilepsy, and chronic pain. According to the researchers, the hypothesis advanced in this paper could explain why vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) works to decrease both seizure frequency and the symptoms of depression.

"Western and Eastern medicine complement one another. Yoga is known to improve stress-related nervous system imbalances," said Chris Streeter, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at BUSM and Boston Medical Center, who is the study's lead author. Streeter believes that "This paper provides a theory, based on neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, to understand how yoga helps patients feel better by relieving symptoms in many common disorders."

An earlier study by BUSM researchers comparing a walking group and a yoga group over a 12-week period found no increase in GABA levels in the walking group, whereas the yoga group showed increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety. In another 12-week BUSM study, patients with chronic low back pain responded to a yoga intervention with increased GABA levels and significant reduction in pain compared to a group receiving standard care alone.

In crafting this neurophysiological theory of how yoga affects the nervous system, Streeter collaborated with Patricia Gerbarg, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at NYMC, Domenic A. Ciraulo, MD, chairman of psychiatry at BUSM, Robert Saper, MD MPH, associate professor of family medicine at BUSM, and Richard P. Brown, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at CCPS. They are beginning test these theories by incorporating mind-body therapies such as yoga in their clinical studies of a wide range of stress-related medical and psychological conditions.

Link to article