HealthyLife Articles

Category: Uncategorized

Bipolar Disorder

Mental Health

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder and should be diagnosed by a professional. It used to be called manic-depressive illness. With bipolar disorder, there are feelings of terrible “lows” and there may also be periods of extreme “highs.” With these “highs,” a person feels happy, giddy, elated or euphoric (mania). These cycles of “highs” and “lows” can last from several days to several months. In between these cycles, a person with bipolar disorder can feel completely normal. Sometimes they have repeated episodes of depression and only a few “manic” episodes. Or the opposite may be true. They may have many manic episodes and few depressive ones.

Major depression can occur at any age. About 1 in 100 people have bipolar disorder sometime in their life. It affects men and women about the same.

Bipolar disorder runs in families. Close relatives of people who have this illness are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop either depression or bipolar disorder than the general population.

Research suggests that imbalances in chemicals by which the brain cells communicate could be a factor in bipolar disorder. Some studies hint that stress and such things as difficult family relationships may aggravate this condition.

Manic Phase

Symptoms of the Manic Phase

* Euphoria. The person feels “on top of the world.” Nothing, not even a tragedy, changes these extreme feelings of happiness. These feelings are out of proportion to an event or come with no apparent reason. They can last a long time.

* Hyperactivity. The person can do a great number of things and show little need for sleep.

* Flight of ideas. The person’s thoughts race from one thing to another. When they talk, words come out in a non-stop rush of ideas that quickly change from topic to topic. They may be hard to understand.

* Loss of restraint and lack of judgement. The person may take part in high risk activities, such as reckless driving or even jumping off a building because they don’t think they’ll be harmed. The person may also go on spending sprees or make foolish decisions about money.

* Paranoia, delusions, and/or hallucinations in some people.

Depressive Phase

Symptoms of the Depressive Phase

* Suicide attempts. Thoughts of death or suicide.

* Feelings of prolonged sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, total indifference

* Inability to concentrate or remember things

* Crying spells

* Withdrawal from activities the person used to enjoy

* Jumpiness or irritability

Treatment

Nearly everyone who suffers from bipolar disorder, even those with the most severe cases, can be treated successfully with professional assistance. This condition should not be treated solely by oneself. Several treatments are available.

* Medications – Drugs, such as lithium are very effective in controlling the manic episodes and lessen the severity of the depressive episodes. They act to prevent the recurrence of both manic and depressive episodes.

* Hospitalization – This may be needed when mania or depression are out of control or keep the person from functioning.

* Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) – Electric shocks to the brain are sometimes used in treating very severe depressive episodes that do not respond to medication.

* Therapy – Professional counseling is useful with medication in treating this disorder. It can give support to the patient and their family, as well as, educate them about the illness. Therapy can be in many forms – individual psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and support or group therapy.

Left untreated, bipolar disorder can result in:

* Ruined personal and social relationships

* Loss of employment, flunking out of school, disability, and/or legal problems

* Increased paranoia and hallucinations

* Suicide

What You Can Do to Help Someone

* First, point the person towards treatment by making them aware of unusual episodes of high/low behavior that will simply not go away on their own.

* Some people need to be taken to a hospital during a severe depressive or manic episode because of suicide attempts or other dangerous/anti-social behavior. They may need to be hospitalized at this time for their own protection.

* Offer your support and encouragement as it often takes a period of time to determine what types of treatment are best for each patient.

* Encourage your friend or relative to take any medication prescribed by their doctor even when they feel well and are not having periods of “highs” or “lows.” Look for side effects of the medicine and let them know what you notice and/or tell their doctor. The doctor can also tell you what side effects to expect.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Phobias

Mental Health

A phobia is an irrational fear of a specific situation, activity or object. The phobia compels the sufferer to avoid whatever is feared because with it comes a number of troubling symptoms such as:

* Anxiety

* Rapid heartbeat

* Sweating

* Hot or cold flashes

* Choking, smothering feelings

* Shaking

* Dizziness, faintness

* The need to flee the situation

* Panic attack, sometimes

Children may express their anxiety by:

* Crying

* Clinging

* Tantrums

* Freezing in place

3 Basic Types

Specific Phobias

These are sometimes called simple phobias. The irrational fear is of specific objects, such as snakes, dogs, closed spaces or heights. (See box below for some common phobias and their uncommon names.)

Most of the time, simple phobias develop during childhood and often go away with time. Those that continue into adulthood rarely go away without treatment.

Social Phobia

The irrational fear is of being embarrassed or humiliated in public. Examples of situations leading to this include:

* Public speaking (this is the most common social phobia)

* Stage fright

* Eating in public

* Talking to co-workers

* Asking someone out on a date

Agoraphobia

The irrational fear is of being alone in public places from which the person:

* Feels trapped with no way to escape (or thinks it would be difficult to escape)

* Would be very embarrassed or helpless when phobic symptoms occur

* Fears being totally unable to take care of himself or herself if help was not around

Agoraphobia can occur with or without panic disorder. It most often comes after having panic attacks because the sufferer avoids the places where panic attacks occurred. He or she fears that something about the location caused the panic attack. The fear of having another panic attack can result in avoiding going out in public. In severe cases, persons with agoraphobia don’t leave their home at all.

Treatment

* Behavior therapy. One type is called exposure therapy. This type exposes the person to the feared situation or object in one of two ways:

– Gradual exposure. This is called “Systematic Desensitization.” A therapist works with the person in gradual steps. First the person learns relaxation methods to deal with the physical responses to his or her phobia. Second, the person imagines the source of the phobia. Next, the person looks at pictures of the feared object or ones that depict the feared situation. Finally, the person is gradually exposed to the situation or feared object.

– Direct exposure. This is known as “Flooding.” The person is exposed to the feared object or situation all at once (in the presence of a therapist). The person stays in that situation until his or her anxiety is markedly less than its previous level. Sessions doing this are repeated until the person can handle the phobic situation alone.

* Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This treatment method integrates elements of many effective psychotherapies in combination with eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation. It stimulates the brain’s information processing system to help clients identify, neutralize, adapt to or resolve upsetting memories of a traumatic event.

* Group therapy and/or self-help support group therapy such as Agoraphobics in Motion (A.I.M.).

* Medication. Types include certain anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medicines, tranquilizers and ones known as beta-blockers. These medicines block or reduce the panic symptoms that come with phobic situations. In so doing, they help a person confront the feared situation when they might have been too afraid to do so otherwise.

Medications are especially helpful for persons with agoraphobia with panic disorder. Certain beta-blockers can be useful for persons who suffer from stage fright.

Questions to Ask

Self-Help

The following tips are ways to deal with phobias that do not disrupt your daily life. They may also be used with or after professional treatment.

* List your irrational fears. Writing them down helps you to identify them. Try to figure out why you have the fears, what you think they mean, what they might symbolize and what you can do to deal with them. Doing these things can give you some control over your fears.

* Learn and practice relaxation techniques. These allow you to feel more comfortable and show that you can control the physical symptoms which result from your phobia. They also help you to overcome your phobia by allowing you to remain in the situation long enough to realize that you are not in any danger. Two important relaxation techniques to use are:

– Controlled Breathing. When you panic, you over-breathe or hyperventilate which makes you dizzy. This causes your heart to race and makes you feel weak and tremble. Take a few deep breaths and hold each one to the count of 3, then exhale slowly to the count of 3. This will help restore normal breathing, slow your pulse and remedy your dizziness and shakiness.

– Tension Control. When you panic, you tense your muscles making them feel hard and uncomfortable. Concentrate on each muscle group (arms, legs, neck, shoulders) and consciously relax them until you feel the tension subside. Practice this technique until you can relax your muscles simply by “thinking” about relaxing them.

* If you have a fear of speaking in public, enroll in a public speaking course, such as Dale Carnegie or Toastmasters.

* The “Now Awareness Technique” can be used to overcome a phobic reaction.

* If you are afraid of flying, take a course designed to help people conquer this fear.

* See a counselor if Self-Help do not help you deal with your phobia on your own.

What You Can Do to Help Someone

* Be supportive. Take their phobia seriously. A phobic person suffers an intense fear of something you most likely find harmless. Telling them they are being “silly” or “childish” will not help them. It will only serve to increase their feelings of anxiety and alienation.

* Do not attempt “flooding” on your friend or relative. Forcing your friend or relative into a direct, sudden confrontation with their feared object, person, situation, etc. will only intensify their panic and physical distress. Only a trained professional should use this method.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Over-The-Counter Drugs: Reducing The Risks Of Self-Prescribing

Medication

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are widely advertised in magazines and on TV and are consumed by millions of people. Generally less potent than prescription drugs, they can be taken without the authorization of a doctor. But before purchasing an over-the-counter remedy, ask yourself:

* Am I trying to cover up symptoms that need to be evaluated by a doctor?

* Will continued use cause new problems (dependency on laxatives or sleeping pills, for example)?

* Are there unwanted side effects from these drugs (for example, increased blood pressure, dizziness, headaches, rashes)?

* Do I already have a similar product at home?

Often, reading the package labels-or looking up the name of the drug at the Web site:www.medlineplus.gov, can help you answer these questions. For information on over-the-counter medicine labels, contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 1.888.INFO.FDA (463.6332) orwww.fda.gov.

Keep in mind, too, that when taken in large quantities, an OTC drug might equal the dose of a medicine that is available only by prescription.

If there is any uncertainty in your mind whether or not a particular OTC medication will help or harm you, call and check with your doctor before you purchase it.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Cool That Heartburn

SELF-CARE CORNER

Do you get a burning feeling in your chest after eating or at night? Does it get worse if you lie down or bend over?

Many people have heartburn once in a while.

Don’t ignore frequent heartburn

When heartburn keeps happening, it could hurt your health. Frequent heartburn that lasts longer than two weeks is called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This condition can damage your throat or even cause breathing problems.

See a doctor about frequent heartburn so you can get treatment.

If you get occasional heartburn, there are several ways you can reduce it or avoid it:

* Stay upright after eating. Don’t lie down after a meal. This can cause the acid and food to come up and into your esophagus.

* Avoid activities that use the tummy muscles right after eating. This includes activities like hard exercise or lifting heavy objects.

* Eat smaller meals. Eat your food slowly and stop before you feel overly full.

* Avoid heartburn triggers. This includes caffeine, chocolate, fatty foods, fried foods and spicy foods.

* Work toward a healthy weight if you are overweight.

* Ask your doctor about using an antacid for occasional heartburn.

Heartburn drug recall

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that an acid reflux (GERD) medicine contained a “probable human carcinogen” at low levels. This means that these medicines contain something that could potentially cause cancer.

The drug, known as ranitidine or Zantac, is an H2-blocker. It works by reducing the amount of acid in the stomach. After FDA’s announcement, some drug companies recalled their ranitidine products. Some pharmacies also pulled the medicine off their shelves.

If you are taking ranitidine or Zantac, talk to your doctor. There are other FDA-approved medicines that could work for you. Your doctor can help you choose the best treatment.

FDA continues to evaluate the safety of ranitidine and will provide more information as it becomes available.

Source: Food and Drug Administration

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Is It Food Poisoning Or A Virus?

SELF-CARE CORNER

Many people know the awful feeling of an upset stomach. It happens to almost everyone at least a few times in our lives. Many times, we blame the last thing we ate. But this is not always the cause.

It can be hard to know what made you sick. If you got food poisoning, it can take 24 hours or more to get sick from some germs. And if you caught a virus, it can take several days to get sick after you were exposed.

‘stomach flu’ isn’t the flu

Many people will say they had the “stomach flu” if they had a stomach virus. But the flu, or influenza, is not the same thing. The real flu rarely causes stomach problems in adults. Instead, it causes fever, coughing, headache and body aches.

Norovirus is a virus that often causes stomach symptoms. It spreads easily in crowded places, schools and daycares.

What is food poisoning, anyway?

Food poisoning happens when you eat or drink something that contains harmful germs.

If you were with others who ate the same food as you, they could get sick too. This is where it becomes hard to know if you have food poisoning or a viral infection. You can only get food poisoning through contaminated food. You get norovirus from other people.

Symptoms look the same

Both viruses and food poisoning can cause:

* Stomach pain

* Vomiting

* Diarrhea

* Fever

* Headache

* Body aches

* Tiredness

Which one is it?

If there is a large outbreak of food poisoning, you may find out about it. It could be in the news if many people got sick. But often, you may never know if you had a stomach virus or food poisoning. The symptoms are very similar.

Sometimes doctors may run tests to find out what kind of illness you have. Usually, however, this isn’t necessary.

Talk to your doctor

Most people get better on their own after a stomach illness. But if you’re concerned, talk to your doctor. They can tell you what you should do based on your symptoms, age and health history.

If you’re worried about serious dehydration or if the illness is severe, you should get medical help right away.

Source: American Academy of Family Physicians

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
The Causes Of Coughing

SELF-CARE CORNER

It’s the season for colds and flu – and that means coughing. Coughing is an important function in your body. It helps clear your airways. Many times, a mild cough will go away on its own. But when should you see a doctor about a cough?

Common cold

A common cold may cause some coughing. When you have a runny nose, the fluids drain down your throat. This causes your cough reflex to kick in. It’s a way your body protects your lungs. Although a cough from a cold can be annoying, it usually goes away quickly. Antibiotics won’t help with a cough related to a cold.

Bronchitis

Bronchitis is an inflammation in the tiny tubes in the lungs. These tubes are called bronchioles. Viruses and bacteria can get into the bronchioles and make you sick. Chemicals and toxins like tobacco smoke can also invade the bronchioles and lead to bronchitis.

Symptoms of bronchitis include:

* Coughing, especially with mucus

* Wheezing or feeling short of breath

* Low fever

* Chest pain

Bronchitis is most often caused by a virus so antibiotics will not help. Rest, drinking more fluids and a humidifier can help you feel better.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection in the air sacs inside the lungs. These sacs are called alveoli. Pneumonia can range from mild to serious. If you have pneumonia, you may notice:

* Cough with greenish, yellow or bloody mucus

* Fever, sweating and chills

* Trouble breathing

* Stabbing chest pain that hurts when you cough or take a deep breath

* Loss of appetite

* Feeling weak or tired

* Nausea and vomiting (common in small children)

Many times, a doctor will give you antibiotics for pneumonia. Be sure to take them exactly as your doctor tells you. Pneumonia can be life-threatening if it is not treated effectively.

Pertussis (Whooping cough)

Pertussis is very contagious. It may seem like a cold at first. People may have a runny nose or mild cough.

As it gets worse, pertussis causes a severe cough that can last weeks or even months. The cough makes a high-pitched “whoop” sound. It’s especially dangerous for babies and people with weak immune systems.

The best way to protect against pertussis is to get vaccinated. If you aren’t sure whether you’re vaccinated, ask your doctor. Pertussis is treated with antibiotics.

Sources: American Lung Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Burn Calories Without Trying

BE FIT

When you’re not exercising, you can still burn extra calories! Use little ways to get more fit every day.

Don’t make things convenient.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from your destination and walk. Use your bike instead of a car for quick grocery store runs. Put your favorite snack foods in the basement, rather than on the main floor near the TV.

Get up.

Take a short break every hour if you sit at a desk. Get up, move your arms and legs or even do a few jumping jacks. Use a hands-free headset so you can get up and walk or lift weights while you’re on the phone. Have a meeting? See if you can stand during part of it or even have a walking meeting.

Sneaky exercises.

Do some isometric exercises if you sit a lot. Try squeezing your glute muscles and knees together for eight counts, holding for five seconds then release. Do this every couple of hours.

Move whenever you can. Walk in place instead of standing still.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Get Into Zone 2

BE FIT

Zone 2 is one of the five cardiac heart rate zones, ranging from 1 (gentle warm-up) to 5 (maximum effort). In zone 2, your heart rate is moderately elevated, but you’re not out of breath.

Zone 2 exercise is beneficial because it strengthens the heart and lungs. This makes your body more efficient, capable, and energetic. Here’s how to get started with zone 2:

* Calculate your zone 2 heart rate range.

– 220 – age = MAX heart rate.

– Zone 2 is 60-80% of your max.

– MAX heart rate x 0.6 and 0.8 = zone 2 range.

* Choose an aerobic activity you enjoy, such as walking, jogging, biking, swimming, or rowing.

* Wear a heart rate monitor and get started.

* Once your heart rate reaches zone 2, adjust your intensity to stay in that range.

* Aim for 30 minutes to 1 hour of zone 2 training several times each week.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Tips For Exercise After Knee Replacement

BE FIT

After a knee replacement, you may want to get back on your feet. Follow these tips when you’re ready to exercise again:

* Ask your doctor before you try any new exercise.

* Continue to do the exercises your doctor or physical therapist prescribed.

* Consider swimming, biking and walking, as they’re easy on the knees.

* Limit or avoid high-impact exercise like running, skiing or racquetball.

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Benefits Of Walking

Fitness

Walking doesn’t make just your feet happy. It is good for your whole body!

* Great way to keep fit without risk of injury.

* Special equipment not needed.

* Burns calories. Builds stamina.

* Enhances muscle tone. Makes the heart stronger.

* Helps relieve stress and lifts your mood.

* Aids digestion and regularity.

* Enhances feelings of well-being.

* Lowers the risk of, and helps manage, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026