Health & Wellness

Food and Mood

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:54:00 -0500

It's true what you learned in grade school: You are what you eat. More and more nutritional research is revealing that the foods you consume affect the chemicals in your brain, which in turn affect everything from your emotional state to your level of alertness to your ability to react to change and stay calm.

Glenn Close Speaks Out on Sister's Mental Illness

batch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:15:08 -0500

Actress Glenn Close is sharing her family's experiences with mental illness as a way of challenging stereotypes and lessening the stigma associated with psychological illness.

Close has recorded a new public service announcement that shows her alongside her sister Jessie, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Jessie's son Caleb, who suffers from schizoaffective disorder, is also featured in the PSA.

Will Daddy Ever Come Back?

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:19:56 -0500

When I was a girl Daddy loved to tell me about life in his rural Arkansas home, right down to the smallest details like the murmur of bees amid the honeysuckle and the sticky sweetness of homemade taffy.

With relatives and dear friends all around him, his boyhood on the family farm had been idyllic. The way Daddy's voice softened when he talked about growing up there, I came to believe Happy Valley truly deserved its name.

The Sunday I Let Go

admin — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 09:40:00 -0500

My son, King—short for Kingston—sprang the question on me one January morning. We were sitting in the breakfast nook looking at his favorite book, a collection of pictures of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Actually, it was more of an announcement than a question.

"King want to talk about Martin Luther King," he said. "King want to give speech."

Secret of the Vision

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:19:38 -0500

Schizo-affective disorder is a disease of the mind, a cruel malady that derails normal human thought processes and transforms the mind into a house of mirrors. It combines symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder.

A Test of Love

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:17:00 -0500

"How will he ever understand what's happening?" I said to my husband, Ed, that morning, staring at the documents I'd signed. This should have been a happy day for us—our son Ben's school prom. Like many 18-year-olds, he would soon be leaving home. For Ben, this experience, like so many in his life before, would be different.

A Gift of Golden Apples

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:56:53 -0600

My father pulled into the parking lot next to the sprawling gray asylum. Windows barred, it was as cold and grim as the phone call I had received four days earlier: "Mrs. Vogel, this is the Connecticut State Police. Your husband has had a mental breakdown. He abandoned his truck on Route 95."

Facts About Tourette

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:39:44 -0600

According to the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA), about 200,000 people in the United States are known to have the disorder, which was first reported in 1825 by a French neurologist, Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette. An estimated two million cases remain undiagnosed.

Hypnosis: Is It for You?

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 06:57:00 -0500

It used to be that hypnosis was considered at worst, quackery, and at best, a silly party trick. You probably know the old image of a magician swinging a big gold pocket watch, putting an unsuspecting volunteer in a trance and getting him to crawl around on all fours barking like a dog. And that's before the sangria. But that sketchy past is quickly being eclipsed by mounting evidence that hypnosis has real and powerful effects on your health and well-being.

Dust Off and Try Again

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:47:16 -0600

I have an important friend named Trey. He is exactly 10 years older than I am, yet he lives his life as if he were 10 years younger. He is mentally handicapped. Our day together is Saturday. We go to the library, pet stores or for walks in the park. I mainly work with him on socialization. I met Trey 10 years ago when we attended the same church.

This 200-pound man likes to shake people's hands. He can be a fairly daunting sight as he gallops up to someone, with an ear-to-ear grin, and sticks his large hand in the person's face. I try to teach him this is inappropriate.