​There’s a wide body of research suggesting Americans are experiencing more and more stress. For the average American worker commute times are increasing while wages are decreasing. We’re sleeping less as a society, and there is an abundance of disconcerting news headlines from around the world.
 
Some stress can be good as it can motivate us to change and accomplish our goals. Without some pressure we might not pursue our dreams. But too much stress can be debilitating. When we are too stressed we produce the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is referred to as “public enemy number one” by many psychologists. Some physiological stress reactions can include a racing heart, shallow breathing, decreased oxygen, muscle tension, perspiration, and impaired cognitive functioning.
 
Numerous studies have shown that emotional stressors can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death. Chronic stress can cause memory impairment, impaired immune system functioning, increased risk of coronary disease, and increased cardiovascular risk.
 
Sometimes we can make changes in our lives to reduce stress. A Zen Buddhist priest I respect once said, “Whenever I have a chance to lower my stress I walk on through that door!” That’s good advice. Sometimes we can’t change certain circumstances in our lives, or we have to endure something for a higher purpose. Even if we can’t change our external circumstances, often we can change how we think and react.
 
One of my favorite ways to deal with stress, both in my personal and professional life, is through meditation. There are many different kinds of meditation, and the meditation that is best is the one that works for you in the moment. Just as an athlete trains their body for sports, a meditator can train their mind to deal with life differently.
 
There are many ways to deal with stress. For more information on both the impacts of stress and how to deal with stress check out this article by the American Psychological Association.

Got self-doubt? You are not alone. The great existential thinker Irvin Yalom writes movingly of the ubiquitous of shame and self-doubt. Sometimes even the most successful can live lives of quiet desperation and secret shame. It’s thought by many that great accomplishments translate to happiness. But unfortunately sometimes even profound accomplishments and accolades can bounce off us like a suit of armor if we don’t have an authentic inner core of healthy, grounded self-esteem. Just as some stress can be good as it moves us out of complacency, too much stress can be debilitating; a little self-doubt can push us beyond our seeming limits but too much self-doubt can be crippling.
 
Shame and self-doubt can arise from many sources, including unhealthy societal messages, trauma, negative thought patterns, or even an existential malaise. Sometimes just taking good care of the basic human organism can facilitate self-confidence. Eating better and getting enough sleep can markedly improve our mood and thought processes. As powerful as exercise is biologically, I think it’s even better psychologically. Often we can discover our true selves through the arts.
 
Similarly, recent exciting research suggests that we may be able to increase our self-confidence by training our brains. Scientists have identified brain activity patterns that can predict the confidence level of an individual. Additional research has shown that we can hone our neural activity to internally enhance our self-confidence. You can read more here.

The findings of a recent study conducted in Malaysia, with over 1,300 research participants, suggest that over 80% of cancer survivors struggled with depression and anxiety a year after they were diagnosed. Similarly, this study also found that patient’s sense of physical and mental wellbeing was often low, and that the more advanced the type of cancer, the lower the patient’s quality of life was.
 
The lead researcher of the study, Shridevi Subramaniam, stated, “We urgently need new ways of supporting cancer survivors and addressing wider aspects of wellbeing…Instead of just focusing on clinical outcome, doctors must focus equally on quality of life for cancer patients especially psychologically, financially and socially…The key message is to focus more on supporting patients throughout their whole cancer ‘journey’ especially in their lives after treatment.”
 
I appreciate the findings of this study. Cancer can impact every dimension of a person’s life. When we only focus on biological outcomes we often alienate patients and their families—sometimes even when we ‘succeed’ we fail. There are many complimentary paths of healing; for example mindfulness meditation can help lower biological pain.
 
As I often observe: everything biological is psychological and everything psychological is biological. When we care for the whole person, including the patient’s family, we provide better overall care and obtain better results. We also have better results for the medical caregivers. Most medical professionals go into healthcare because they want to help people. Sometimes though the system beats the medical staff down. Developing holistic approaches to care is not just good for patients and families, it’s better for professional caregivers as well. An article discussing this study can be found here.

Feeling forgetful? Do you find yourself feeing more nervous or down? Perhaps you should try some yoga. The results of a recent study suggest that yoga can improve both memory and mood. In this study, 25 adult research participants who had mild cognitive impairments were assigned to either three-month yoga and meditation classes or to do memory-training exercises. At the end of the study, both groups saw similar improvement in verbal memory. But the people who did yoga had higher improvement in visual-spatial memory. Further, the yoga practitioners saw better reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression. You can find a free article about the study here.

Political discussions among people with opposing views can be hard for many reasons, including neurologically, how your brain functions when you process political ideas. An article from the University of Southern California explains that when a person’s political beliefs are called into question, their brains become activated in areas that govern personal identity and emotional responses to threats. Here are some important observations from neuropsychologists studying the intersections of strongly held political beliefs and neurology:
 
“Political beliefs are like religious beliefs in the respect that both are part of who you are and important for the social circle to which you belong… To consider an alternative view, you would have to consider an alternative version of yourself… The study found that people who were most resistant to changing their beliefs had more activity in the amygdalae (a pair of almond-shaped areas near the center of the brain) and the insular cortex, compared with people who were more willing to change their minds… The activity in these areas, which are important for emotion and decision-making, may relate to how we feel when we encounter evidence against our beliefs…. The amygdala in particular is known to be especially involved in perceiving threat and anxiety... The insular cortex processes feelings from the body, and it is important for detecting the emotional salience of stimuli. That is consistent with the idea that when we feel threatened, anxious or emotional, then we are less likely to change our minds.”
 
“We should acknowledge that emotion plays a role in cognition and in how we decide what is true and what is not true. We should not expect to be dispassionate computers. We are biological organisms. Understanding when and why people are likely to change their minds is an urgent objective. Knowing how and which statements may persuade people to change their political beliefs could be key for society’s progress.”
 
Significantly, these researchers suggest that neurologically, people were similarly resistant to change their beliefs when it came to fake news and religion. It’s helpful to understand how our brain functions when our deeply held beliefs are being discussed and debated. And, other things influence who we are in addition to neurological functioning. A key question raised by these neurological findings is: can we discuss different, important beliefs in a way where all parties can feel calm, respected, and safe? The article quoted above can be found here.

Rush hour traffic. You’re rushing to get the kids to school and yourself to work. You have a million things to do on your “to-do” list. Wait, where did you put your car keys? We live in stressful times. A little stress can be good in that it can motivate us. But too much stress can negatively impact us both physically and mentally. Stress can also really take a toll on our memory. Our memory functions by encoding and consolidating information and retrieving that information when it’s needed. When we’re under too much stress our encoding process can be disrupted and we can forget vital information. Here’s an article on effective retrieval strategies so we can remember the information we need, even when we’re under a lot of stress. Good luck!

Parenting or caregiving for children is probably the toughest job you’ll ever love. As parents and caregivers it can be easy to get stressed out, and one of the biggest stressors in supporting the children in our lives can be their peer relationships. Childhood peer relationships are so important, but sometimes challenging. Generally we want children to have as many friendships as possible, but schedules for kids and families make that complicated. One type of relationship that can be really vexing is triadic, or three-way, friendships. Even with good intentions one child can often feel left out, ostracized, or worse in odd numbered groups. But that doesn’t mean that triadic friend groups can’t work. Life is always complicated, and having children learn in diverse interpersonal settings can be immensely rewarding. And, three-way and other odd-numbered groups can be great for all involved. Here is a free article that can help parents and caregivers navigate odd numbered childhood relationships so that they can be all that they can be.

We’re halfway through 2017. Many of us made New Year’s Resolutions but we may not have adhered to them the way we wished. My first thought is to be gentle on yourself. We live in stressful times. It’s also worth considering where is the desire to change coming from? Was your original goal based on your own values and beliefs or from an external source and how has that impacted your decision-making process? Assuming you had or have a goal you’d really like to accomplish, when we do not achieve our goals we can end up feeling even more stuck in negative emotions. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do, whether it is January or July, you might find these guidelines from the American Psychological Association helpful. Good luck!

As Dolly Parton’s character Truvy observed in the movie Steel Magnolias: “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.” Sometimes by being present to the sad things we can be more present to the joyful things as well. Crying can often be a skillful way to let one’s emotions out; if we keep those emotions inside too long it can have powerful adverse consequences. Tears can be healing. Researchers have determined that emotional tears contain proteins such as prolactin, which is also associated with reproductive health and breast milk production. It takes courage to share one’s emotions, and it can take courage to cry, to be vulnerable with another. Interestingly, humans are the only species that cry for emotional reasons. Some researchers believe crying exists as a bonding and communication method. Other scientists argue that crying represents a physiological response to a marked emotional shift, and that tears result because of the parasympathetic system after a fight or flight response. Crying is an important human experience, to learn more you can read this article. 

When was the last time you got a really good night’s sleep? Sleep is so important for virtually every dimension of our lives, and it’s something we often neglect. Sleep helps with mood regulation, cognitive functioning, and our immune system to name just a few essential processes that sleep relates to. In fact, some  researchers argue that sleep is the single most important factor for our health and wellbeing, being even more important that diet or exercise. Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep per night but do not get the sleep they need. And children need even more sleep. It’s estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans have a chronic sleep disorder. This article by the American Psychological Association describes ways that people can achieve more and better sleep, and how psychologists can help. Let me know what you think and sweet dreams!