Stress-Free College Search: Surviving the Admission Process
Keeping It Real: The Importance of Student/Parent Collaboration to a Healthy, Productive College Planning Process By Peter Van Buskirk It will be over before you know it-and probably before you are ready. After years of anticipation and planning, the college process will blow through your life like a twister. You see it coming and brace yourself. Then, as though punched by high winds and slammed by rising waters, you are overcome by the elements. Order…
Read More...Mental Fitness Involves These Qualities…Do you Possess Them?
By Walter E. Jacobson, MD Dr. Jacobson Answers a Reader’s Email Question: “What are the best ways to stay mentally fit?” There are, certainly, a great many ways to stay mentally fit. Many of the points I made about reducing stress (in my article, “Is Stress Hazardous To Your Health?”) apply to this concept of staying mentally fit as well. Such as: exercise, diet, meditation, yoga, talk therapy, spiritual counseling, among other things. Nonetheless, true…
Read More...Is Low Back Pain a Common Condition in Most Adults?
By Daryll C. Dykes, MD Low back pain (LBP) is a nearly universal condition, affecting most adults at some point during their lifetime. Men and women are equally affected with a peak occurrence between the ages of 30 and 50. While LBP remains a considerable source of disability and health care expenditure (Americans spend approximately $50 billion per year on LPB-related conditions), typical episodes are short-lived and respond well to simple treatments. Fortunately, only rarely…
Read More...Is Stress Hazardous to your Health?
By Walter E. Jacobson, MD Dr. Jacobson Answers a Reader’s Email Question? “What are symptoms of stress, how can it affect your health and what’s the best way to manage it?” Common symptoms of stress, particularly prolonged stress, are depression, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, anger, reactivity, impulsivity. Stress can affect appetite, energy levels, motivation. It can alter one’s perceptions, one’s thoughts, one’s insight and judgment. People who are stressed out just don’t think as clearly, they’re…
Read More...Skin Cancer Prevention: Broccoli Has its Day in the Sun
By Carol L. Kornmehl, M.D., FACRO As the population ages, more people, especially those with light complexions, are being diagnosed with and treated for skin cancer. There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma. The most favorable kind is basal cell and melanoma is the most serious form. Most skin cancers are caused by longstanding sun exposure. Also, as the ozone layer becomes more depleted, the incidence of skin…
Read More...