Thursday, March 28, 2013

How Stress Affects Your Heart and Gut Health

Men and women tend to experience stress differently. Stomach-churning anxiety is far more common in women than men, as is feelings of sadness in response to stress, and not being able to stop thinking about that which worries them
When you dwell on negative emotions you internalize the stress, which can prevent you from coming up with constructive ways to address them. Stress can improve once you find more active methods of coping
Stress plays a major role in your immune system, and can impact your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, brain chemistry, blood sugar levels, and hormonal balance. It can even “break” your heart, and is increasingly being viewed as a cardiovascular risk marker
By using energy psychology techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), you can reprogram your body’s reactions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life. Exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and meditation are also important “release valves” that can help you manage your stress

Are We Over-Diagnosing Mental Illness?

According to critics, the new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) diagnostic "bible" – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) -- will label healthy people with a mental condition and make them prime candidates for unnecessary prescriptions of mind-altering antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs
Virtually none of the mental disorders described in the DSM can be objectively measured by empirical tests; instead, they're completely subjective
By turning normal emotions and difficult life circumstances into “illnesses” the DSM-5 has resulted in the rampant over-medicalization and over-diagnosis of mental illnesses within the psychiatric profession