Tag: anxiety

When You Return To Work How To Help Your Dogs And Cats Manage Separation Anxiety
CULTURE

When You Return To Work How To Help Your Dogs And Cats Manage Separation Anxiety

When one of my co-workers found out about a tiny, orphaned kitten that needed a home a few months ago, he didn’t hesitate to adopt it. He says his new companion helped make the months of COVID-19 isolation at home much less stressful. Pets can develop separation anxiety when their people are suddenly gone. Jairo Alzate/Unsplash, CC BY He is not alone. Animal shelters and breeders across the country have reported record numbers of dog and cat adoptions in recent months. But after my co-worker returned to work, he says his adorable kitten started urinating on the kitchen counter while he was away. Another friend is worried about how her dog will react when she returns to the office. Her big, goofy Labrador retriever follows her everywhere, even to the bathroom. When she leaves to run a qu...
Less Paranoia And Anxiety? – Can Delta-8 THC Provide Some Of The Benefits Of Pot
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Less Paranoia And Anxiety? – Can Delta-8 THC Provide Some Of The Benefits Of Pot

Over the past year, you may have seen something called delta-8 THC or “delta 8” appear in convenience stores and pharmacies alongside CBD gummies, oils and lotions. Delta-8 THC is a hemp-derived compound that’s closely related to delta-9 THC – what’s commonly called THC and is the psychoactive component of cannabis that’s responsible for the high that users feel. Like garden variety marijuana, delta-8 THC can be vaped or eaten. However, it’s rarely smoked. Anecdotally, its fans swear by its benefits – that it helps with relaxation and pain relief without intense highs that can veer into anxiety or paranoia. Yet there’s been a dearth of research on this compound. As public health scholars, we decided to conduct the first survey of delta-8 THC users to find out who was using it, why they ...
For Treating Anxiety And Depression, As Well As Deeper Psychological Wounds, Dance And Movement Therapy Holds Promise
HEALTH & WELLNESS

For Treating Anxiety And Depression, As Well As Deeper Psychological Wounds, Dance And Movement Therapy Holds Promise

HEALTH Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Wayne State University A few years ago, framed by the skyline of Detroit, a group of about 15 children resettled as refugees from the Middle East and Africa leapt and twirled around, waving blue, pink and white streamers through the air. The captivating scene was powerfully symbolic. Each streamer held a negative thought, feeling or memory that the children had written down on the streamers. On cue and in unison, the children released their streamers into the air, then sat down nearby. Then they gathered up the fallen streamers, which carried their collective struggles and hardships, threw them in a trash can and waved goodbye. The children were participating in a dance therapy activity as part of our team’s research program exploring body-based approaches t...
Anxiety After Lockdown – 8 Ways To Manage Body Image
SELF, VIDEO REELS

Anxiety After Lockdown – 8 Ways To Manage Body Image

Tracy Tylka, The Ohio State University Being able to socialize again may bring enthusiasm and a sense of normalcy – but it may also increase anxiety over how your body might have changed. I am a psychologist who has studied body image for over 20 years, and I’ve seen how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect health and well-being in numerous ways, including body image. Gyms were closed. Self-care rituals may have fallen by the wayside as stress and hardships like homeschooling and strained finances piled up. The pandemic also took away a major way people cope: Social support through physical contact. Pandemic stress has led many people to turn to other coping mechanisms, with some harmful to both physical and mental health. In one study of 5,469 adults in Australia, 35% reported increased ...
Evidence Is Still Slim That The Cannabis Derivative CBD Makes A Difference For Anxiety Or Pain, But Sales Are Soaring
IN OTHER NEWS

Evidence Is Still Slim That The Cannabis Derivative CBD Makes A Difference For Anxiety Or Pain, But Sales Are Soaring

Many people have turned to cannabis and its derivatives as they search for pandemic relief, and one of the most widely available ones is CBD. It is also legal. You can buy oils, tinctures, capsules, gummies, cosmetics and even toilet paper said to contain the molecule. Martha Stewart has a line of CBD products, and some companies are marketing CBD products for holiday gifts. And, you can even buy CBD products for your pet. An investment bank has estimated that this market will be worth US$16 billion by 2025, even though many of the products that allegedly contain CBD may not contain any CBD all. And, if they do, the amount often is far less than the amount stated on the product bottle or box. The CBD craze started in 2018, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex, t...
Support From Schools Can Reduce Parents Anxiety During The Pandemic
COVID-19, EDUCATION

Support From Schools Can Reduce Parents Anxiety During The Pandemic

Our recent survey found that schools can affect the mental health and well-being of not just students but their parents, too. From April through June 2020, we surveyed 152 parents – primarily mothers – in Detroit, Michigan, who were managing the new demands of remote schooling for their children. Not surprisingly, they reported high levels of anxiety (34%) and depression (27%) during this stressful period, but some indicated that support from their child’s school played an important role in reducing their mental health difficulties. Generally speaking, the more school support parents in our survey felt they had received, the less anxiety and depression they reported. However, this finding did not extend to families that were highly affected by COVID-19 due to lost income, food insecurity ...
Trump’s appeals to white anxiety are not ‘dog whistles’ – they’re racism
Journalism, POLITICS

Trump’s appeals to white anxiety are not ‘dog whistles’ – they’re racism

President Donald Trump’s rhetoric is often referred to as “dog whistle politics.” In politician speak, a dog whistle is language that conveys a particular meaning to a group of potential supporters. The targeted group hears the “whistle” because of its shared cultural reference, but others cannot. In 2018, The Washington Post wrote that “perhaps no one has sent more dog whistles than President Trump.” When Trump this year planned a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the site of one of the worst acts of racial terror in U.S. history – on the Black holiday of Juneteenth, the media called the rally a “racist dog whistle.” That suggests that white nationalists would view the timing as an overture, while others would miss the date’s racism. Journalists have also referred to Trump calling COVID-19 “t...
5 Buddhist teachings that can help you deal with coronavirus anxiety
Religion, VIDEO REELS

5 Buddhist teachings that can help you deal with coronavirus anxiety

Buddhist meditation centers and temples in coronavirus-hit countries around the world have been closed to the public in order to comply with social distancing measures. But Buddhist teachers are offering their teachings from a distance in order to remind their communities about key elements of the practice. In Asia, Buddhist monks have been chanting sutras to provide spiritual relief. In Sri Lanka, Buddhist monastic chanting was broadcast over television and radio. In India, monks chanted at the seat of the Buddha’s enlightenment, the Mahabodhi Temple in the eastern state of Bihar. Monks praying at the Mahabodhi Temple in India. Buddhist leaders argue that their teachings can help confront the uncertainty, fear and anxiety that has accompanied the spread of COVID-19. This is not the fir...
Free apps to ease anxiety
HEALTH & WELLNESS, TECHNOLOGY

Free apps to ease anxiety

Anxiety apps offer both supplemental support for individuals undergoing professional therapy as well as self-help aid While a doctor, psychologist or mental health practitioner is the best resource for major issues, anxiety apps offer both supplemental support for individuals undergoing professional therapy as well as self-help aid for anyone desiring to lessen anxious thoughts, actions and habits. Mental Health America stressed that there are several apps available, but recommends these: ‒ ReachOutBreathe (free; iOS only): Manages anxiety via controlled breathing exercises. ‒ Self-Help for Anxiety Management (free for iOS and Android): Provides users with a symptom tracker, educational articles, relaxation techniques, coping skills and advice for managing anxiety. Plus, Social Clo...