Health is Wealth

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like things cannot possibly get worse? No matter what you do, you don't feel strong enough to carry on. You start to wonder why on earth things are not getting easier or better. My faith has always played a significant role in my life and upbringing. When I feel distressed, tired, weak, and hopeless, I know that I can turn to God for comfort. In times of despair and weakness, I need to stop and think: what - or who - am I relaying on? Our own strength is limited; we cannot do or accomplish things without Christ. When we can come to this realization, we see that perhaps we were focusing too much on ourselves, and that we lost sight of God.  I am blessed that my writing on this topic has been published on Fr. Anthony's site. You can read the post here - and as always, please feel free to drop a comment there and let me know your thoughts on the topic, any experiences you may have had, etc. Thank you to everyone for th...

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is a common phrase we often use when we do not know which event preceded the other. In terms of anorexia nervosa (AN) and various psychiatric illnesses, this phrase is highly applicable. A recent study showed that patients with AN and a mental or psychiatric illness (such as depression, substance abuse, etc.) were almost two times more likely to die than those without another condition . Is this surprising? Well, I suppose it comes as no surprise that having more than one illness increases your risk for death. Nor is it shocking that a psychiatric illness in particular increases this risk. After all, we are all well aware of the effects that mood and emotions can have on our functioning, views of the world and future, and overall health. But on another note, the fact that the risk increases this much is a bit shocking. But to be honest, the numbers aren't the important thing here. What IS important is what we do with this i...

As the days get longer and summer approaches, I hope that while we plan our summer days, we also take the time to realize that summer breaks don't have to be the craziest, most wild times of the year. As long as you are doing what you enjoy/need/want to do, summer will be great! As you plan your summer break, don't forget to be realistic - but also don't be afraid to explore new interests, to make new goals, to see new places (or old ones!), and to RELAX! As the summer is quickly approaching, it is quite exciting to think about all the wonderful things we are planning to do. You may have a list of things that you've put off, and cannot wait to get done. Perhaps you want to go on a vacation, organize your house, plan a weekend trip, read a good book, meet up with old friends, etc. One important thing that I've learned is that this can get overwhelming if we aren't careful. Last week was like that. Everyone was discussing what they are doing over the summer...

You may have heard of something called Season Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition in which the season/seasonal changes can have profound influences on one's mood. Typically, someone with SAD will feel depressed or anxious (or stressed, etc) in the winter, and will improve as spring and summer approach. Like any condition, it is difficult - if not impossible - to pinpoint just one cause for this condition. However, we DO know that the effects of light are heavily implicated in SAD. Exposure to light therapy seems to improve symptoms, as does the arrival of a bright, sunny day . (If you are interested in learning more, this article has more information). There are even specific lamps that one can buy to stimulate 'light therapy' and help with symptoms. Let's delve deeper into this. Sometimes, we all feel down when there isn't any sun around. Does this mean we all have SAD? No, of course not! There are specific criteria to diagnose SAD, along with proto...