Life is short
Why make it shorter? The below report shows America’s life expectancy has decreased for the third year in a row. The primary drivers of this trend are liver disease (due mostly to soda pop and alcohol), obesity (due mostly to processed/fast food), DWT (driving while texting) and suicide (due to unsafe gun storage). You may wish to protect yourself and your loved ones by addressing these four areas causing spiraling death rates of people under 64. —MR
‘There’s something terribly wrong’: Americans are dying young at alarming rates
By Joel Achenbach, Nov 26, 2019
A rose, by any other name…
Dopamine fasting is Silicon Valley’s hot new trend. Is it backed by science?
By
Grow up!
We are constantly growing and changing, but society says a person is an adult at 21. Not true. The human brain is not fully mature until age 25. After that, it continues to change reaching for developmental milestones. Our brains aren’t completely neurologically integrated until we are in our fifties, a stage commonly called wisdom. After that, it is triggered to remain healthy and increase in compassion by the natural relational interactions of caring for grandchildren or others in our communities. It’s why grannies and grandpas can be so nice. Our species needed them to take care of kids while moms and dads gathered and hunted. The below article is about how to teach kids about their brains. Everyone can use its insights. Just replace the word “children” with “people” when you read it.—MR
Daydreaming is good for you, and other things I want kids to know about their brains
By , The Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2019
Uncaring system
One reason I became an “out of network” provider who will give a patient a statement of paid sessions for reimbursement from her company, but not submit a bill to a company myself, was because some insurance companies can deny me payment if I do not refer a patient to a provider who prescribes medications. Three times in fifteen years I did refer for meds, but only as a last resort. There are many effective interventions that don’t require getting addicted to a drug which can have a spring back effect (called withdrawal) making matters worse requiring a very slow titration to stop. Many psych meds stop working in a few months or few years or, in many cases, never work at all but DO cause addiction. Do you want your counselor referring for potentially harmful medications? These companies aren’t mental health counselors. How can they insist on certain protocols for treatment? Answer: it costs them less for someone to take meds than talk to a professional. Reimbursement gets around the denial of payment issue apparently as none of my patients have been denied when they submit my statement for payment themselves.—MR
Insurance companies aren’t doctors. So why do we keep letting them practice medicine?
By Oct. 22, 2019
We know how important it is to have insurance so that we can get health care. As a physician, parent and patient, I cannot overemphasize that having insurance is not enough.
Way beyond ouch!
Chronic pain is a very difficult to understand concept until you experienced it. It’s there eating away at the days of your life 24/7. No wonder so many folks with this horrible problem try to escape through the use of drugs and/or alcohol! Sadly, what many sufferers do not understand is that opioids, alcohol and cannabis make pain worse in the long run. That many of them are escaping from the pain exacerbated by daily low or high-grade withdrawal from their drug of choice, not their injury that actually healed or isn’t as bad as it seems. Until patients try a drug-free approach, they will not know how much of the pain is caused by chronic withdrawal wrecking their nervous systems. Maybe even all of it! There are big corporations making money off the chronic pain industry. Ultimately, they want you to stay a customer. Is that what you want?—MR
Chronic pain is a huge problem nationwide. It’s time for fresh approaches.
By Oct. 14, 2019
Live long and prosper!
Turns out behaviors that increase the quality of your mental health increase longevity too! Oh, that’s right, this is Bodymind Counseling, the place to learn you just can’t separate the two… These seven fundamental behaviors for good physical and emotional health include lowering external stress factors, doing exercise daily, getting 7 or 8 hour of sleep a night, eating less overall with more fruits and vegetables/less processed foods and red meat, avoiding all drugs including alcohol, enjoying social engagement and having a purpose in life helping others.—MR
The longevity files: A strong grip? Push-ups? What actually can help you live to a ripe old age
By September 28, 2019
Happy bugs make happier people
When I rebalanced my microbiome 15 years ago by supplementing with homeostatic soil organisms, my mood markedly improved and anxiety markedly decreased from the previous five decades. For the story, see my page BEINGnBALANCE. Glad to see popular science is beginning to catch up for the sake of everyone’s emotional health.—MR
Uncovering how microbes in the soil influence our health and our food
By September 29, 2019
It may be all in your brain
Chronic pain is a feedback loop. The bottom line is that for some people, the physiological source of the pain is gone, but the pain persists. They, and too often even their docs, don’t realize their bodies have healed, but their brains still register the pain. Psychotherapy can help change behaviors to rewrite neuronal structures that hold phantom pain in place. If you are tired of the same old pain, you may wish to try a different approach to get a different result. You won’t know if your pain is only in your brain until you do.—MR
For some with chronic pain, the problem is not in their backs or knees but their brains
Put on a happy face!
This article is an example of how cognitive behavioral therapy works. Change your mind to change your life. Imagining happy outcomes makes them more likely and makes you happier! Look in the mirror every morning, smile and your day will go much better. If only from your point of view. But let’s face it. It’s the only point of view you have.—MR
Here’s a new reason to be an optimist: You’re likely to live longer
By Marisa Iati, Washington Post, August 29, 2019
In the tug-of-war between the world views of cheery optimists and dour pessimists, the happy people just got a big boost. Those who see the glass as half full, according to a new study, live longer.
So what do we know?
If we are talking about the effects of cannabis or vaping, not much. There’s only a single institution, a facility at the University of Mississippi, where it can be cultivated for scientific use because of the plant’s status as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law. This means not much research is happening. The research that has happened occurred in other countries and a few states where the feds are turning a blind eye because in these states the drug has recently become legal. Because of the way science proceeds, researchers research one aspect or component at a time necessarily ignoring other effects or components. Most researchers currently are looking for positive effects to help it become legal and sell the stuff. In plain English, they look for what they want to see. It will be decades before we have a full picture of the effects of cannabis or vaping because documented use is so new. We are just peaking under the hat at what is medically significant and what is downright dangerous. In grandma’s childhood, there were national ads touting “four out of five doctors recommend Camel cigarettes for increased lung capacity.” A lot of people suffered and died before the full awful truth came out. Ask yourself if your mother raised you to be a guinea pig.—MR
As vaping-related lung illnesses spike, investigators eye contaminants
State and federal health authorities are focusing on the role of contaminants or counterfeit substances as a likely cause of vaping-related lung illnesses — now up to 354 possible cases in 29 states, nearly double the number reported to be under investigation last week, The Washington Post has learned.
A walk in the park
Anxious? Got a bit of the blues? Before you toss down another Alprazolam or scroll through social media, try taking a walk in the park with or without a dog. Swinging on a swing, even better! Guaranteed to work without the negative side effects.—MR
Visiting a park boosts your happiness like Christmas morning
By Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, August 21, 2019
Here’s the best piece of advice you’ll get all day: Go to the park! According to a new study by researchers at the University of Vermont, city dwellers can not only overcome crankiness by spending time at a public park, but they can also be rewarded with a happiness boost akin to the jolt of euphoria one might get on Christmas morning.
Another round of yummy
Yummy recipes for the alcohol free! Instead of an appetizer, why not one of these? Alcohol consumption adds to or causes depression, sleeplessness and anxiety, not to mention domestic abuse and an empty bank account. At a meal, why not do zero proof, so you get some good out a meal since alcohol wrecks absorption of nutrients?—MR
No alcohol, no problem: How to make complex, balanced zero-proof cocktails
By M. Carrie Allan, Washington Post, August 14, 2019
A new era of moderation seems to be upon us, with people — especially young healthy, clean-living millennial types — drinking less overall and having lighter forms of booze when you do drink.
Sweet!
Sugar is addictive. It stimulates the same center in the brain as heroin. So you crave it and go into withdrawal without it. Obviously, it’s not as bad as heroin, but it acts the same in that you need more and more to “get high.” And as you go into withdrawal several times a day, it’s registered by your nervous system as anxiety–sometimes pretty extreme anxiety. If you are dealing with a panic or anxiety disorder, withdrawing from sugars will help A LOT. Read the article below, and think about it…—MR
Does a sugar detox work? I’m on it and have had some surprising results
By Steven Petro, Washington Post, August 6, 2019
Early one Saturday, I headed to a “sugar detox” seminar at my gym. I didn’t expect it to be a hot ticket, but when I opened the classroom door every seat was taken.
Walking after midnight…
Back in the day, Patsy Cline, darling of Country Music, sang a song about “walkin’ after midnight, out in the moonlight, dreamin’ of you.” She was onto something. Walking is not only really good for your physical body, it can help walk away blues and anxiety so you can calm down and fall asleep. We are walking critters. Fish swim. Birds fly. Like bunnies, we burrow, stay put and do little wandering until we are frightened or experience loss. We were designed by Nature to walk away from a bad situation and keep walking until we find safety, food and rest. Our brain chemistry orders us to get up and go and then rewards us for the very act of putting one foot in front of the other for, at least, twenty minutes (and sometimes half way around the world) by giving us a shot of feel-happy you-can-relax-now chemicals. So if you’re suffering from the blues, anxiety or insomnia, put in your earbuds and go out walkin’ with Patsy or some other crooner who rocks your boat, cause as we all know, music also makes humans feel better…—MR
Fitness trackers are good for your health, but that 10,000-step goal is overblown
By July 29
When Sonia Anderson got her first Fitbit step tracker, her poor pooch, Bronx, had no idea of all the steps that were coming. The device — which counts every step Anderson takes and displays those steps on an app — was a Christmas gift from her daughters two years ago.
All we need is love
I know. The above headline is a totally corny quote from the Beatles. But, the fact is, it is true. Almost 20 percent of people in America report loneliness and loneliness increases our risk for mental and physical illness. The good news is that overcoming the ill effects of it are easier than one thinks. Just speaking to someone in an aisle of the grocery store or striking up a conversation with someone else walking their dog in a city park sends all sorts of endorphins into action helping us to be happier and healthier.—MR
This town’s solution to loneliness? The ‘chat bench.’
Detective Sgt. Ashley Jones with the Avon and Somerset Police in England was talking to an elderly widow who had been scammed. She would get a call each morning from a man pretending to be her friend, and he eventually convinced her to give him about $31,000.
What we resist, persists
As the article below notes, anxiety is normal. And that today, attempts to avoid it make it much worse. It doesn’t mention substance use. Drinking alcohol is relaxing, but ultimately wrecks the nerves. Cigarettes replace a chemical in the nervous system, so every few hours, as nicotine disappears, high anxiety results, so another coffin nail is needed. Benzodiazepine is highly addictive, so ultimately legal anxiolytics make you more anxious than if you hadn’t taken them at all. Cannabis is the worst. While not addictive itself, it causes addiction to the reward chemical in the brain. The withdrawal anxiety from this endorphin is extreme, but fools the user because he is withdrawing from an opioid that was normal and familiar until cannabis took over triggering it at higher levels than the survival behaviors that are supposed to trigger it would have.—MR
Could our efforts to avoid anxiety only be making it worse?
By July 10, 2019
We live in the age of anxiety. As a psychologist who has studied anxiety and treated hundreds of anxious patients, I see it eclipsing all other problems as a major psychological issue in the 21st century. Each day, I treat people who worry constantly and can’t relax, who feel tense and achy, and who have difficulty sleeping — all hallmarks of anxiety. Survey data confirm anxiety is ubiquitous.
Silent predator
Mold is a silent predator in the coastal regions from San Francisco to the northern border. If you have unexplained symptoms–mental or physical; symptoms that have difficulty healing particularly with breathing; or just don’t feel very good and don’t know why, you may wish to have your home or workplace inspected for mold during the damp mold season. It can be in the walls, ceilings, window frames or other hard to see places.–MR
Mold infections leave one dead and force closure of operating rooms at children’s hospital
By Hannah Knowles, Washington Post, July 3, 2019
One patient dead. Five others infected. A thousand surgeries postponed and 3,000 people told to watch for infection symptoms.
You are how you eat
An eating disorder can cause other chronic diseases, disorders and even sudden death. If you suspect your mom, your aunt or your grandma is a victim, for heaven’s sake, please do something! Have her read this article at the very least.—MR
The overlooked crisis of eating disorders among middle-aged woman
By June 17, 2019
You’re an adult with multiple decades to your credit, and you’ve got it all together — or look like you do. You never have a kind word for yourself when you look in the mirror, but who does? Your eating and exercise obsessions, secret binges, and occasional purges can’t possibly be signs of an eating disorder. After all, your friends, family and even your doctor praise you when you lose a few more pounds. Besides, you’re too “old” for an eating disorder — right?
My purpose is porpoises
It doesn’t matter what your purpose for living is, e.g. saving porpoise habitat, growing traditional iris, collecting blankets for your local homeless shelter, or enforcing leash laws, but having a purpose will make you happier and, therefore, healthier. Living longer may be a side effect, but to me as a mental health counselor, living a more content life is the greatest reason to find yourself a purpose no matter how long or short life lasts. Note: living to watch the next Grey’s Anatomy probably doesn’t count.—MR
A sense of purpose could prolong your life
By Ephrat Livni, Quartz,
The meaning of life is a question that has plagued philosophers for millennia, and there is no single correct answer. But increasingly, scientists are finding that having a sense of purpose, whatever yours may be, is key to well-being.
Buyer beware!
Glad cannabis and CBD are becoming legal to keep people out of jail for using something most likely no more dangerous than alcohol, but as a mental health counselor, I’ve seen adverse responses to these powerful drugs including what appears to be cannabis-induced psychosis, anxiety and depression. Not saying there are not benefits, but am waiting for science to accrue substantial research results before making a professional judgement about something that obviously seriously affects the bodymind and human cognition.–MR
Amid flood of CBD products, FDA holds first public hearing on cannabis extract
By William Wan, The Washinton Post, May 31, 2019
You can buy CBD in oils, supplements, soda, even dog food. But some of it violates federal food and drug regulations, prompting concerns over safety and deceptive marketing. With thousands of unproven products flooding the market, the Food and Drug Administration is convening its first public hearing Friday to wrestle with how to regulate cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis extract already being sold in pills, tinctures, skin lotions, soda and dog food.
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