Author Archives: slockemd

Mindfulness meditation “super-effective” as front line for depression and anxiety

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Even 10 minutes a day of mindfulness meditation improves symptoms of anxiety and depression, brain-imaging research shows. The practice is associated with an increase in gray-matter volume in four areas of the brain, and activates other beneficial changes in the brain. Saundra Jain, MA, PsyD, LPC, and psychiatrist Michele Hauser, director, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in …

Dark Chocolate Can Reduce Depression

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Welcome news for chocolate lovers everywhere: less than half-an-ounce a day might keep depression at bay, according to a cross-sectional survey of over 13,000 US adults. The study, published July 29, 2019, in Depression & Anxiety, found that individuals who ate a small daily amount of dark chocolate had 70 percent lower odds of reporting …

Depressed? Physical activity helps – a lot

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It’s true that when you are depressed, even walking to the mailbox takes more energy than you have, and the very thought of “an exercise program” can make your heart sink. But a new study from Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has some good news that might encourage you to make a modest but …

Tips for College Freshmen Dealing with Anxiety

Heading off to freshman year at college is probably one of the biggest changes we experience in our lives. There’s excitement and fun, but also a bunch of stressors that come along for the ride. Buzzfeed has done a handy round-up of some basic but useful ways for students to address the stress in this …

How to Fall Asleep

Download this article The most frequent cause of delayed sleep onset is worry. There are two kinds of worry that often interfere with sleep: 1) worry about things that have already happened, and 2) worry about things that are going to happen or might happen.   When worry about past events keeps repeating over and …