Stress

Essential Reads Chosen by the editors

How to Give a Presentation Part I: It's Not About You

By Nancy Darling on March 5, 2010 in Thinking About Kids

Public speaking is high on most people's list of anxieties. But schools, work, and organizations all require us to present all the time. After all, that's how we share our ideas.

The most important element of keeping yourself calm and making everyone else comfortable is remembering that it's not about you. You are the host - your job is to make your audience feel comfortable.

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The Gift of Fear/The Curse of Anxiety

By Sandra Brown, M.A. on March 11, 2010 in Pathological Relationships

Women who have been in pathological relationships come away from the relationships with problems associated with fear, worry, and anxiety. This is often related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or what we call 'High Harm Avoidance'-- being on high alert looking for ways she might get harmed now or in the future. Read More
Stress, the Brain, Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

By Howard Fillit, M.D. on March 10, 2010 in Alzheimer's: Hope on the Horizon

Everyone has been there. You are about to get into an accident, your heart races, your mind is completely focused on the oncoming car, time seems to slow, your thoughts become crystal clear. It's a near-death experience that you never forget. Your "stress response" has helped you to survive. Read More
What becomes of the broken-hearted?

By Paul D. Blanc, M.D., M.S.P.H. on March 9, 2010 in Household Hazards

Less than 2 weeks after Valentine's Day, the New York Times ran a front page exposé on the strong links between job loss from manufacturing plant closures and heart attacks among those dealing with sudden unemployment To experts in the field of occupational and environmental health this link is hardly a revelation, but one need not rely on technical expertise for confirmation. Common wisdom draws similar conclusions from the wider human experience - one is reminded of the answer to the folk song riddle, what can cry without tears? (A heart...) Read More
How to Give a Presentation Part II: Tell A Good Story

By Nancy Darling on March 7, 2010 in Thinking About Kids

When you present, you're a storyteller. And every good story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. Oh, and a good Power Point helps.
Read More
How sound skews the Academy Awards

By George Michelsen Foy on March 6, 2010 in Shut Up and Listen!

The loud explosions in Oscar nominees Avatar and Hurt Locker shake our bodies as well as our ears. The primal reflex that results from those vibrations awakens ancient panic instincts--and makes us more likely to be thrilled by films that use them Read More
How to Give a Presentation Part I: It's Not About You

By Nancy Darling on March 5, 2010 in Thinking About Kids

Public speaking is high on most people's list of anxieties. But schools, work, and organizations all require us to present all the time. After all, that's how we share our ideas.
The most important element of keeping yourself calm and making everyone else comfortable is remembering that it's not about you. You are the host - your job is to make your audience feel comfortable.
Read More
Helping Heroes and Screening the Disaster Tourists

By Amir A. Afkhami, M.D., Ph.D. on March 5, 2010 in Global Mental Health

A call for increased mental health screening and contingencies by NGOs during disasters. Read More
Four Steps to Recognize Your Internal Alarm System

By Susanne Babbel, Ph.D., MFT on March 4, 2010 in Somatic Psychology

Recognizing our internal alarm signals and paying attention to our warning sensations can pave the path to forgiveness and, as a result, have additional health benefits. Follow these 4 simple steps for an alarm signal tune-up. Read More
The Calm Before the Calm

By Michele Weiner-Davis on March 3, 2010 in Divorce Busting

If you have been following my blog, you know that I usually write about marriage. Today, I am going to veer from my path and write about something big that happened on my vacation with my husband in Hawaii. Although the experience certainly brought us closer, I don't recommend it as a regular method for reconnecting. In a moment, you'll see why.
Read More
Mad = Angry + Crazy + Dumb (Part 2 of 2)

By Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. on March 3, 2010 in Evolution of the Self

The Physical--and Cognitive--Toll of Anger
Another thing that makes anger--or perhaps I should say, unregulated, indiscriminate, or over-the-top anger--so dumb is that it uses up so much energy. Literally, it takes so much out of you. Anger is the one emotion that mobilizes every organ and muscle group in your body. After all, it's typically a response to something that, subjectively, is experienced as an imminent threat. . . . Read More
Dealing with Chronic Pain

By Will Baum, LCSW on March 2, 2010 in Crisis Knocks

An interview with Alan Gordon, LCSW, pain psychotherapist. "Many of my clients bounced around from doctor to doctor for years, unable to find relief for their chronic pain. Usually they come upon the TMS diagnosis as a last resort, having exhausted every treatment from physical therapy to magnets to South American shamanism." Read More
The Invisible Face of Infertility

By Connie Shapiro, PhD on March 1, 2010 in When You're Not Expecting

In thinking about the many faces of infertility that I mentioned in my last posting, the most prominent one in my mind, ironically, is the invisible face. Adopted by both couples and individuals, this face comes across as having hardly a hint of the developing anguish felt inside. Read More
That's What Governments Do: Chile and Haiti

By Nancy Darling on March 1, 2010 in Thinking About Kids

Last month, when a tragic earthquake struck in Haiti, over 200,000 people died. Richter scale: 7.0.
Just over a year ago, in Sichuan province in China, an earthquake of 8.0 struck, killing over at least 68,000 people - many of them children trapped when their schools collapsed.
Saturday, the fifth largest earthquake since 1900 –an 8.8 (earthquakes are measured in a logarithmic scale) – struck in Chile. So far – although surely the death toll will rise – fewer than 800 people have died.
Read More
Mirror mortals: Why humans are the bravest species ever, and need to be braver still

By Jeremy Sherman, Ph.D. on March 1, 2010 in Ambigamy

A decade ago I asked a successful author friend of mine for advice on writing. I had tapped into a mother lode of theories that had me bursting with ideas. I never aimed to be a writer, but what else can you do with all of these things to say? After some desultory career years, I thrilled to have a clear focus. I could write! Read More
Keep the Friendship or Try for Romance? Part III of V

By Regina Barreca, Ph.D. on February 25, 2010 in Snow White Doesn't Live Here Anymore

His jokes are a narcotic to me, making the day go faster and my life better. All I want to do is to tell him everything that happens to me everyday. Increasingly, the running commentary in my head is directed towards him. Read More
Everyday noise is killing us

By George Michelsen Foy on February 25, 2010 in Shut Up and Listen!

Some studies indicate that chronic exposure to levels of sound greater than 50-55 decibels--the volume of nearby conversation, or local traffic--can boost stress levels, arterial hypertension, blood pressure, and heart rates. All of these effects are potentially lethal. Read More
Beyond Gut Instinct - What Your Upset Stomach (or IBS) Might Be Telling You

By Susan Biali, M.D. on February 24, 2010 in Prescriptions for Life

As many as 1 in 5 people in North America suffer from the pain, bloating and frustration of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It can be hard to find relief - but as medical doctor Susan Biali explains, understanding where IBS comes from, and what you personally can do to relieve symptoms, can help your life and gut get back to "normal". Read More
Rumination: Problem Solving Gone Wrong

By Edward A. Selby, M.S. on February 24, 2010 in Overcoming Self-Sabotage

Imagine the following scenario: You're at work, the day seems to be going smoothly, and you're looking forward to a relaxing evening at home. Then, with 15 minutes left your boss approaches you and informs you that you really messed something up. Read More
The Winter Olympics and noise

By George Michelsen Foy on February 22, 2010 in Shut Up and Listen!

A few nights ago I was sitting in the Hyde Away Inn in Waitsfield, Vermont, watching the Winter Olympics. NBC showed women's half-pipe snowboarding. People at the bar were shouting at each other, the wait-staff couldn't hear the orders. Even the TV commentators were screaming.
And I thought, we truly live a life of noise, and the noise is damaging our lives. Read More
One Attack Missing in the Assault on Tiger

By Susan Newman, Ph.D. on February 21, 2010 in Singletons

It's refreshing that focus on Tiger's only child status as a root cause of Tiger's actions has been absent. Read More

Stress Blogs

Recovering from Trauma
Help for victims of childhood abuse, spousal battery, and political terrorism.
By Brian Trappler, M.D.

Stress Basics

Psychological trauma may set in after a distressing or life-threatening event. Sufferrers may develop extreme anxiety or PTSD, or they may have ongoing problems with relationships and self-esteem.

Go to the Trauma Basics page for more on Trauma including:

Current Issue

The Expectations Trap

Why we're conditioned to blame our partners for our unhappiness.