Want a daily dose of good health for your kids? Send them outside to play! As child and youth psychiatrist, every day I treat young people with stress, low motivation, anxiety, and depression. One prescription for all my patients (kids and parents) is to go play in the great outdoors. For humans and animals, free-play is directly linked to the development of the brain’s prefrontal ... Continue Reading
Counting Your Burdens as Blessings (guest post).
Burdens. We've all got them. Maybe it's money. Maybe it's a health issue. Maybe it's a toxic relationship. Whatever it is, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the negatives plaguing your life when surrounded by all the happiness and abundance and positivity you can see in other people's lives on social media. Everyone wants to be happy, and seems to be in an endless ... Continue Reading
Each choice is a step toward feeling well (guest post).
When you’re tired, drink coffee. When you have a headache, take Advil. When you have acid reflux, swallow Prilosec. When you can’t sleep, try melatonin. Eczema? Cortisone cream. Easy. Fast. Done. But there is a fundamental problem here. Treating symptoms instead of causes is like plugging holes in your bucket of water with chewing gum while you keep shooting it with your BB gun. We ... Continue Reading
Social Media ANXIETY!
Please to enjoy another AT-REQUEST guest post. I read this on Cynthia's blog. Adored it. And asked to reprint it here. I’ve dealt with anxiety since I was a teenager. Debilitating panic attacks were common until I was 20 years old. With the help of a wonderful counselor and psychiatrist I learned new coping skills and adjusted my medications. It’s not uncommon for a person with Bipolar ... Continue Reading