Search Results for: blog hand holding and mental health

Why My Husband Didn’t Force Me to Go to the ER

Yesterday I shared why Wayne almost forced me to go to the hospital on Saturday morning. Later in the weekend, he told me what a conundrum he’d been in. As he held me while I bawled because I was alternating between coughing so hard and gasping for breath that I almost passed out, he debated whether he should just sling me over his shoulder, haul me downstairs, toss me in his truck and drive me to the ER. Instead he opted for the bargaining approach. (He feared I’d jump out of the car and get myself killed in traffic if … Continue reading →

Hugs and Mental Health

Remember those corny old cards, bookmarks and bumper stickers that proclaimed “Hugs Are Healing”? Well, no surprises for guessing that the authors were correct. Researchers at the UK’s Manchester Metropolitan University in England have concluded what we all suspected: hugs are healing. But scientists warn we are caught in an epidemic of a non-hugging culture where we are either too time-poor to hug, or political correctness gets in the way. This is a sad but true reflection of our times. Teachers are no longer permitted to touch, much less hug, their infant charges, who might benefit from having a hug … Continue reading →

Attending College and Living Away from Home

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You’ve waited your entire life for this and now it is here. You are moving out on your own. Well sort of. You are moving into a college dorm. You’ve decided that your mental health can withstand it and you have to get out of the house. You will likely be living in a small space with a complete stranger. So how do you survive happily? Issues and problems will arise. How you handle them can make all of the difference. Most troubles are due to topics such as messiness, food, privacy, space, guests, parties, and work schedules. Try a … Continue reading →

More concerns with Prozac and other SSRIs

A psychiatrist who headed at team of researchers at Columbia University in New York City has found that young mice given Prozac grow into adult mice who display emotional problems, chiefly depression. The results add to the growing unrest concerning the effect of Prozac and other SSRI-type antidepressants on young children, adolescents, and the embryos of pregnant women. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Prozac, Paxil and many other antidepressants in this family are coming under increasing scrutiny as their long term effects are not known. In the Columbia University experiment, young mice were injected with Prozac and given … Continue reading →

Help Your Child to Cope with Sibling’s Special Needs

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It is typical for a family that includes more than one child to see some sibling rivalry from time to time. What isn’t so typical is the amount of responsibility that kids who have a sibling that has special needs often feel is placed upon them. Here are a few tips to help your child cope with the special needs of his or her sibling. As the oldest kid, I spent time helping my younger siblings with homework, with tying their shoes, and with other day to day activities. This isn’t unheard of or unusual. The difference was that my … Continue reading →

Taking Advice about Your Marriage

None of us are born knowing how to be married. It’s something we have to figure out. We come into our marriages with the ideas we gained by seeing how our parents handled their marriages, and sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s not. With divorce rates what they are, and even what they were when we were growing up, not all of us were raised in two-parent homes, and those who were often saw discord that wasn’t handled well. Sometimes we learn more about married life from television than we do from reality. We don’t always have a … Continue reading →

What’s In Your Diaper Bag?

On the rare occasions I’m able to go shopping at a department store, I often pause to reminisce about pre-baby days. “I used to be able to wear those kind of swim suits,” I sigh, thinking sadly about my now sagging stomach. “Oh, for the days when I could wear tube tops and halters. There’s no way a strapless bra is holding these milk jugs up any more,” I lament, picturing my nursing bras. When I walk past the purse section, it almost brings a tear to my eye. I study the leather, canvas, and variety of buckles. I mentally … Continue reading →

When Your Church Lets You Down (2)

In our last article on this subject (see link below) we looked at how Susan could not find a nun in her diocese to pray with her for a period of two weeks while another nun went on holidays. Susan was going through a deeply distressing time and she found the comfort of praying with her nun friend very comforting. But it wasn’t so comforting when not a single nun would volunteer to step in for the fortnight and help this distraught woman out. But this sadly is not restricted to the Roman Catholic Church. Lyn had just divorced her … Continue reading →

Dicing Up Dinner

Meal preparation can be tricky with a baby. My baby takes up a lot of my mental capacity. Some days, the last thing I want to do is think about what to make for lunch or supper, especially when I want my meals to be healthy. My baby makes grocery shopping more complicated. If she’s in a good mood, it can be a fun experience. I get to get out of the house, and my baby gets to see and hear interesting new things. However, if my baby is fussy, it’s a whole different story. Even after I decide what … Continue reading →

Want to Know How to Decrease Stress?

Want to know how to ease stress in your life and that of your spouse? Scientists have come up with the answer – to kiss stress goodbye, literally. Displays of affection ease stress levels. That’s the conclusion that scientists have come to, after conducting a week long study with a number of mostly married couples. The act of kissing, ‘unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes.’ Scientists dicovered that the couples that engaged in more physical contact, ranging from holding hands to sexual intercourse, had lower levels of cortisol, in their saliva. Cortisol is often referred to as … Continue reading →