Former professional football player Lewis Howes, who hosts the wildly popular podcast The School of Greatness, seems to have it all. But in a candid session with Dr. Daniel Amen, Howes shares that he didn’t always feel like a success. In fact, the bestselling author and entrepreneur says, “I felt like I was dumb pretty much my whole life.”
Howes struggled in school, where he says he was always at the bottom of his class. He had a tutor and attended special needs classes during recess and after school, but no matter how hard he studied he still got Cs and Ds. When he entered eighth grade, he tested at a second-grade reading level, and administrators wanted to hold him back a grade. It was a real blow to his self-esteem.
“[Learning] was always stressful. It was always exhausting,” says Howes. Eventually, he thought, “What’s the point of trying?” As a result of constantly trailing behind his peers academically, he struggled with confidence, insecurity, and anxiety that lasted into his 20s.
With the help of psychotherapy, workshops, and other therapeutic experiences, Howes has managed to overcome it, but not everybody does. In fact, having any form of learning disability is linked to a greater risk of lasting mental health problems.
Having any form of learning disability is linked to a greater risk of lasting mental health problems.
Learning disabilities encompass a range of issues that negatively impact academic performance. Common learning disorders include:
Specific learning disabilities are the most common form of learning disorders, accounting for 33% of the 7 million students in U.S. public schools receiving special education services, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. A specific learning disability (SLD) is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder that causes problems with reading, writing, spelling, thinking, speaking, or doing math. SLDs include dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.
Irlen syndrome is a visual processing problem in which certain colors irritate the brain. Although it is not widely known, Irlen syndrome affects nearly half of individuals with reading or learning problems. Being unaware of this underlying condition can lead to a lifetime of frustration.
Autism spectrum disorder is a brain-based disorder that is characterized by developmental delays, difficulty with social skills, communication problems, and more. Approximately 1 in 59 children are affected by autism, but some people with high-functioning ASD may not get diagnosed. Instead, these individuals may spend a lifetime feeling like they don’t fit in.
Behavioral problems that involve ongoing aggression, defiance, or temper control problems can interfere with the ability to learn.
ADD/ADHD is a brain disorder that causes symptoms—such as short attention span, difficulty with focus, distractibility, and procrastination—that impair learning. ADD/ADHD affects over 6 million children ages 3-17 and an estimated 4.4% of adults.
Traumatic brain injuries are not considered a learning disorder, however, they can have lasting negative impacts on learning. Brain SPECT imaging shows that mild head injuries are associated with trouble concentrating, memory problems, brain fog, and other issues that disrupt the learning process.
THE LINK BETWEEN LEARNING DISORDERS AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Anything that interferes with the learning process and impairs academic performance can increase the likelihood of emotional problems and mental health issues, including:
Anxiety
Close to 24% of youngsters with a specific learning disorder experience severe anxiety, according to research in the Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Worries about taking tests or being nervous about looking unintelligent in front of classmates can become overwhelming. These feelings can last into adulthood where you may continue to get anxious at work or when going for a job interview. This type of anxiousness can hold you back from reaching your potential and achieving what you want in life.
Depression
A 2016 study reveals that over 14% of children and adolescents with specific learning disorders suffer from severe depression. Not being able to get good grades despite studying hard can make you feel like a failure. And when extra help doesn’t improve the situation, it can leave you feeling hopeless and helpless. On top of that, making friends can be more challenging, and people with learning disabilities may withdraw voluntarily from social activities or be left out. Either way, social isolation combined with feelings of being unworthy are a recipe for depression.
Chronic Stress
For people who grow up with learning disorders, stress can be a constant companion. Research in the Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that nearly 17% of youngsters with specific learning disorders suffer from severe stress and 75% have low levels of resilience. Relentless stress exacerbates learning problems as it impairs the ability to focus and can disrupt the memory formation process.
Substance Abuse
Having learning disabilities puts you at increased risk of substance abuse. It’s easy to understand why this might happen. Living with a sense of inadequacy or struggling with anxiety or depression related to learning problems may prompt some individuals to use drugs or alcohol to cope with these emotions. Such behavior makes learning even more challenging. If substance abuse begins at an early age, it can have a negative impact on brain development, which further complicates issues in adulthood. Researchers writing in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine suggest that “children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities should be screened for substance abuse.”
Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors
For individuals with learning disorders, depression and low self-esteem can spiral into suicidal ideation. A 2017 Canadian study found that adults with a learning disability were 46% more likely to attempt suicide compared with people without learning disorders.
Because learning disorders can cause a lifetime of mental health struggles in addition to suicidal behaviors, it is critical to screen children early. And as an adult, if you suspect that a learning disability may be an underlying cause that is holding you back from reaching your goals and living the life you want, it’s time to see a mental health professional. Considering how often undetected head injuries are involved in these issues, looking at how your brain functions with SPECT imaging can also help provide the answers you want.
Learning disorders and the mental health issues that come with them can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Western culture is facing a crisis affecting a wide swath of its population. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in loneliness, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder, and a broad range of other mental and behavioral disorders, including domestic violence and child abuse. At the height of the pandemic, one-quarter of all 18- to 24-year-olds said they’d “seriously considered” suicide in the last month.
In The Suicide Solution, which is being released Sept. 14, 2021, during National Suicide Prevention Month, authors Daniel Emina, MD, (Amen Clinics psychiatrist) and Rick Lawrence (award-winning author and minister) explore how conventional approaches to this crisis are falling short. In this excerpt from the book, the authors reveal how false narratives are contributing to the problem, and they offer a glimpse at a better path out of the valley of the shadow of death.
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The wave of emotional distress has prompted a spike in mental health diagnoses and the meteoric growth of the self-help industry. Unfortunately, the common solutions offered to those beset by anxiety, depression, and “suicidality” are often shallow—they lack both efficacy and real hope, and they perpetuate an internal focus that isolates and builds on false narratives.
The common thread among those who are scrambling to avoid slipping even deeper into suicidal ideation (perpetual thoughts about planning your own death) is their inability to overcome stuck patterns of destructive thinking. Conventional approaches to dealing with this crisis often have a “surface” feel—pay attention to your mood swings and behavioral changes, then seek counseling or pharmaceuticals when you see warning signs. These are reactive, not roots, not just its fruits. “Destructive narratives” that become embedded in our internal “story” keep us stuck in this slow-moving avalanche of hopelessness.
The Hardware and Software of Suicide
A computer’s hardware is made up of the tangible and physical components that are necessary for storing and running software. Hardware serves as a delivery system for the set of instructions, or “code,” the software provides. Software is intangible—a collection of programs or instructions that enables users to interact with the hardware to accomplish specific tasks. Both work to determine the functional capabilities of a computer system.
In human beings, our “hardware” is our biology (specifically, our brain), and our “software” is our thought process or psychology. Together, they guide how we experience and interact with our world, in predictable and adaptive ways. And together, our hardware/software identity forms our experiences, capabilities, limitations, susceptibilities, and possibilities. Suicide is generally the culmination of a malfunction or failure of the brain’s hardware (biology) and software (psychology) which are hard-wired to support self- preservation. This is the result of a “multi-system failure” that coincides with what seem to be insurmountable stressors.
When Your Story Keeps You Stuck in Suicidal Thoughts
McAdams says we tell ourselves two basic self-narratives: 1) Redemptive Stories, and 2) Contamination Stories. The first kind of story is transplanted from the Kingdom of God, where redemption is not only the mission of the Messiah but the heartbeat of life. The second kind of story is exported and propagated by the Kingdom of Darkness, where “killing, stealing, and destroying” (John 10:10) is the mission.
The “bugs” (or viruses) in our story are destructive narratives that operate, often undetected, in the background of our emotional/spiritual/psychological operating system— distortions that cause us to perceive reality, and our own story, inaccurately. Vulnerabilities to these bugs are sometimes pre-determined by our “hardware”—the biology we inherit through genetics or that are written into our code by our experiences, upbringing, or choices (which introduce viruses or buggy software). When bugs go undetected or unchallenged, they grow into contamination stories, sometimes so subtly that we can no longer separate our true identity from the corrupted version the contaminants have produced.
Some of us never overcome our bugs—and when that happens, we are susceptible to recurrent bouts with mental illness, or we can inadvertently infect others with our way of thinking. Many of us—really most of us, according to the National Institutes of Health—go through seasons when we are stuck so deeply in our ruts that the walls closing in on us make it seem as though we are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
3 Steps on the Journey Out of the Darkness
Along the path out of the valley, there are mileposts:
1. Understand the multiple contributors to how we feel and behave.
Our genetics, life experiences, unique temperaments and personalities, brain injuries, chronic health challenges, infections, and toxin exposures are stacked stressors that generate brain illness. Hardware that is compromised, and software that is corrupted, have an inexorable dragging impact.
2. Know who you are—your strengths, goals, and passions.
Our giftings come pre-packaged with vulnerabilities (for example, analytical, empathetic, and creative people all have distinct “soft spots” that come into play when the person is exposed to trauma or repeated life stressors that can’t be controlled, explained or resolved). Our vulnerabilities are charged with emotional impact. They can be further complicated by a lack of quality community connections or an unhealthy interior narrative.
3. Maintain your hardware and software, using routine debugging or “virus protection” practices.
This means living a lifestyle that continually refreshes your story, maintains an open invitation to the “co-authoring” presence of Jesus, nurtures a healthy thought life that matches your values, and pursues a healthy nutritional and exercises lifestyle. Maintenance also involves nurturing your creativity, your healthy relational connections, contributing to your community, and having an intentional approach to life.
The Suicide Solution by Daniel Emina, MD, and Rick Lawrence offers hope and a practical toolbox for people who are struggling to find their way out of a cave of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts—and for anyone who cares for someone who’s been lost in that cave. Informed by the clinical realities of anxiety, depression, and suicide, the authors draw from the transformational relational strategies of Jesus to chart a path into life and freedom. As much as everyone wishes discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic could be a thing of the past, the reality is that the consequences—not only of the virus but also from what we endured—will continue to be a part of the conversation for years to come.
Even though many places have returned to at least some semblance of “normal” as things reopen and everyone tries to get back on track, many people still struggle with the stress of the past year and a half. And there isn’t a more vulnerable population doing just that than the children and adolescents around the globe whose lives were greatly disrupted by the pandemic.
A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics tells us just how profound the toll on the mental health of children has been. Through what is called a meta-analysis, meaning a review of multiple studies on a particular topic, the researchers analyzed 29 studies on anxiety and depression in children and adolescents from January 2020 to February 2021. Altogether, this encompassed 80,879 youth participants from North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.
The outcome of this study found that rates of anxiety and depression in children between the ages of 4 and 17 had nearly doubled during the above-referenced time period, compared to pre-pandemic levels. This means:
Cases of depression rose from 12.9% to 25.2%
Anxiety cases increased from 11.6% to 20.5%
According to the researcher’s data, 1 out of every 5 kids has experienced an increase in anxiety symptoms, while 1 in 4 teens are suffering from depression. The prevalence of both conditions was higher in females—although that is consistent with statistics from previous years.
Pandemic Stressors Contributing to Mental Health Problems
For instance, children need consistency in their lives in order for them to feel safe. However, the ongoing uncertainty prevented many from having the schedules and predictability they had been used to. In addition, changes to their lifestyles and home environments likely compounded the emotional strain that kids had to endure, including challenges such as these:
Social isolation and inability to interact with peers
Absence of extra-curricular activities
Missed milestones, like graduations and birthday parties
Household stress and financial problems
Also, many children get specific needs met at school, including support from teachers and coaches, as well as receiving services for mental health. The absence of having these buffering relationships was an added challenge to their resilience.
Signs of Anxiety and Depression to Watch For
When children or teens have anxiety, it often manifests as having uncontrollable worries and feeling fearful, as well as hyperarousal which can present itself as:
Isolating (intentionally) and not spending time or communicating with their friends as often
While there is more freedom to move about now, the ongoing unpredictability of the pandemic and the related stressors are destabilizing for many kids. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness, which is one of the primary indicators of suicidal thoughts.
To that point, in May of 2021, Jena Hausmann, the CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado declared that they were in a youth mental health “State of Emergency.” The demand for the hospital’s in-patient and out-patient services exceeded its capacity. Very sadly, by that point in time, suicide had become the #1 cause of death for children in Colorado.
Supporting Children in the New Normal
Talking to your children about their concerns and fears, while validating their feelings can provide an element of safety and comfort for them. Getting them back into a daily routine for school, meals, homework, screen time, and sleep will help give them a sense of control and the much-needed structure that was lost for the past 18 months.
Most of all, if you notice new behavior problems or any of the symptoms listed above, be open and honest with your child and take the necessary steps to get them the help and professional support they need.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. It comes as no surprise that depression and anxiety make you feel sad, bad, and stressed. But many people are unaware that these mental health issues are also associated with forgetfulness, poor concentration, trouble making decisions, and confusion. It all adds up to memory problems, and that’s bad news. How do anxiety and depression interfere with memory? Before diving into the details, let’s take a look at how memories are made and the different types of memories.
3 STAGES OF MEMORY FORMATION
The biology of memory is complex, but it basically involves 3 main steps: encoding, storage, and recall.
Step 1: Encoding
Encoding occurs when the brain attaches meaning to input from our 5 senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Research shows that we recall things more easily and have better retention when we associate a purpose to them.
Step 2: Storage
Research on the brain suggests that memories are stashed away in small chunks throughout different regions of the brain rather than being stored in a complete whole in one place. The hippocampus, located within the temporal lobes, plays a vital role in processing memories for long-term storage elsewhere in the brain.
Step 3: Recall
In this step, your brain retrieves a memory. To recall a memory, your brain pulls together those small chunks that have been stored all over the brain and reassembles it. Rather than an exact “replay” of the experience, it’s more like a creative reconstruction. During memory retrieval, your brain also activates nerve pathways that were created when the memory was initially formed.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY
On a daily basis, we rely on a variety of types of memory. Here are brief descriptions of the different types of memory, how long they last, and the brain regions involved.
Sensory memory: This lasts less than 1 second and is usually lost since it is not encoded. It is associated with the visual-sensory cortex in the parietal/occipital lobes of the brain.
Short-term memory: This lasts less than 60 seconds, such as remembering a phone number, and involves the prefrontal cortex.
Working memory: This lasts seconds to hours, such as cramming for an exam and is associated with the prefrontal cortex.
Long-term memory: This lasts hours to months and involves the hippocampus. Long-term memories pass through the hippocampus then are stored in various regions throughout the brain. For example, visual cues are stored in the occipital lobes, sensory cues are stored in the parietal lobes, sounds are stored in the temporal lobes, and so on.
Long-lasting memory: These memories last months to a lifetime and are processed in the hippocampus before being stored all over the brain.
HOW DEPRESSION IMPACTS THE RISK OF MEMORY LOSS
People with depression often struggle with short-term memory loss, but they are also at risk of long-term memory problems. A wealth of research, including a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, has shown that untreated depression significantly increases the risk of dementia. Depressive disorder doubles the risk of developing cognitive impairment in women and quadruples it in men.
In a fascinating study in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a team of researchers evaluated mood and memory in 5,781 women ages 65 and older. At the study’s outset, 3.6% of the women had 6 or more symptoms of depression. Of these depressed women, however, nearly 93% of them were untreated. At a follow-up 4 years later, the more depressive symptoms had increased, the worse the women performed on cognitive tests. Women with 3-5 symptoms of depression had a 60% higher chance of cognitive impairment, while those with 6 or more depressive symptoms were 230% more likely to have cognitive decline. According to other researchers, having depression later in life may be a possible precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.
In a fascinating study, women with 3-5 symptoms of depression had a 60% higher chance of cognitive impairment, while those with 6 or more depressive symptoms were 230% more likely to have cognitive decline.
Depression’s effect on memory can also impact younger people. A 2013 study on young adults found that those with higher levels of depression scored worse on a cognitive test called pattern separation, which is a mechanism involved in encoding memories. This may be one of the ways major depressive disorder interferes with the memory-making process.
In order to preserve your memory, it is imperative that you seek treatment for depression. Be aware, however, that some treatments for depression have been associated with memory loss. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a type of antidepressant that has been linked to cognitive decline, according to a 2016 study in Psychiatry Journal. There are many alternatives to antidepressants that can be effective in the treatment of depression.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is another depression treatment associated with memory problems. ECT involves pulsing electric currents into the brain to trigger small, controlled seizures. Research in JAMA Psychiatry shows that ECT has been associated with retrograde amnesia, which means patients experience gaps in memory related to the time close to the procedure. In some people, memory gaps can extend weeks, months, or even years prior to the ECT procedure. In addition, ECT is typically performed under general anesthesia, which has also been linked to memory problems.
THE TOLL OF ANXIETY AND STRESS ON MEMORY
Similarly, anxiety and chronic stress have been associated with memory problems, according to research in Neurology and BMJ Open. Brain circuits involved in chronic anxiety and fear overlap those seen in Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, chronic stress shrinks volume in the hippocampus. One study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that “anxiety is inter-related and inseparable with loss of memory.” The researchers suggested that anxiety is an early predictor of cognitive decline. What’s behind this strong link?
In general, anxiety requires a lot of mental horsepower and steals mental energy from the memory formation process. Spending so much time stressing about things means you may not have the brainpower to effectively process incoming information for storage as memories. For example, a 2008 study found that short-term, acute stress interferes with cell communication in the brain’s memory centers.
Because of this, it is critical that you learn to control anxiety and stress. Take note that brain SPECT imaging studies show that some anti-anxiety medications, such as benzodiazepines, are actually harmful to the brain. In fact, a 2019 review in the Journal of Clinical Neurology found that long-term use of these prescription drugs increases the risk of dementia by more than 50%. For better brain health, look for natural alternatives to anti-anxiety pills to calm anxiety and stress.
To understand if your memory problems are related to depression, anxiety, or stress, or if they are an indication of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, consider brain imaging. SPECT is a functional brain imaging technology that can differentiate underlying brain patterns associated with these conditions. SPECT has recently been unanimously endorsed by the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine for the evaluation of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as depression, suspected dementia, and other issues.
Memory problems, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Are you interested in self-awareness, personal growth, and self-improvement? Don’t we all want greater insights into what makes us tick, so we can become the best version of ourselves? Trent Shelton does. The former pro football player who now inspires millions with his books, motivational speaking, and podcast—has been on a journey of self-exploration and personal development ever since his football career ended prematurely after suffering a concussion. In the decade since then, he has looked inward to better his life and encouraged others to look inside themselves to enhance their lives. But after all that reflection, there was one thing Shelton still hadn’t seen—his brain.
“How can you know yourself if you don’t know your brain?”
That’s the rhetorical question Shelton asked Dr. Daniel Amen when he visited Amen Clinics to get a brain SPECT scan as part of the Scan My Brain video series. Shelton was curious about a few issues he was experiencing—short-term memory problems, social anxiety, and focus. “I’m a last-minute person,” he admitted with a laugh. He also wanted to take the opportunity to share his brain scan experience with his followers as a way to educate and encourage them.
“How can you know yourself if you don’t know your brain?” — Trent Shelton, former pro football player and founder of Rehab Time, upon seeing his brain SPECT scan at Amen Clinics
The former football player’s brain scans provided clues to his concerns. The scans showed signs of previous brain trauma, likely due to the multiple big hits and blows to the head he took as a wide receiver in college and the NFL.
Another finding on his brain scans? Decreased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex, which may also be related to those concussions. This pattern is commonly seen in people who tend to procrastinate, miss deadlines, or be late. Individuals with this brain pattern often need a little bit of stress to get motivated to get ready, such as a spouse telling you in no uncertain terms that you’re going to be late. This helped Shelton understand why he’s a last-minute kind of person and how he could benefit from simple ways to boost focus.
Shelton had been prepared to see brain trauma due to all those football-related head injuries he’d suffered. What he didn’t expect to see was low activity in the cerebellum, an area involved in processing speed and coordination. As a professional athlete who continues to be active with hiking and HIIT training, he’s highly coordinated. Dr. Amen recommended taking up a racquet sport—such as tennis, table tennis, or pickleball—to help activate the cerebellum and the frontal lobes. These sports require the brain to coordinate hands and feet while calculating spins and choosing shots. Think of it as aerobic chess for the brain. Another bonus of picking up a racquet? A 2018 study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that people who play racquet sports live longer.
Perhaps most surprising to Shelton was the overactivity in his emotional brain. Most people intuitively understand how a concussion can harm the brain, but few of us realize that emotional trauma can inflame the emotional centers of the brain, which is associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression. In the past, Shelton lost a friend to suicide, and he recently grieved the death of his mother. As Dr. Amen explained, something called ancestral trauma can also be passed down from your parents or grandparents. For example, Shelton’s dad was robbed at gunpoint and shot at. Experiences such as this can alter the genes in a person’s offspring, pre-loading them with generational trauma.
Just because a person inherits ancestral trauma, it’s still possible to offset that genetic coding. For example, Dr. Amen suggested that whenever Shelton is feeling anxious that he writes down what he’s thinking and challenges the thought. Practicing this kind of mental hygiene can help turn off—or at least tone down—those genes.
How Seeing the Brain Changes Your Mindset
For Shelton, seeing his brain ushered him into a whole new level of personal growth that increased his understanding. “I’m connecting the dots,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s something wrong with me, with the thoughts that I think, or how I felt in the past. I’m seeing my brain and understanding, okay, this is why. So, it just helps me put 2 and 2 together.”
Shelton is one among tens of thousands of people who have visited Amen Clinics for a SPECT scan to better understand their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues. In general, with that understanding comes greater self-awareness as well as a stronger commitment to enhancing brain function. And with a better brain comes a better life.
As Shelton learned, no self-exploration journey is complete without a view inside the brain.
No self-exploration journey is complete without a view inside the brain.
Anxiety, focus problems, emotional trauma, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Even for someone who doesn’t consider themself to be a dog person, looking at a cute puppy’s face can still feel a bit irresistible—and there is a scientific reason behind this. It evokes in us an innate mechanism for caretaking, just as it would if we looked at a human infant’s face. But, beyond this, there are numerous reasons why so many people are naturally drawn to having the companionship of dogs. In a nutshell, it comes down to the many benefits our furry four-legged friends have for our mental health and physical well-being.
Here are 7 ways having a dog—or spending time with one—can help you feel better:
1. Dogs help you exercise.
Because they tend to have a lot of energy—especially when they are younger—dogs need to be physically active, and they rely on you for this. Going out for walks together helps to benefit your physical fitness, plus exercise causes the release of hormones called endorphins, which can reduce feelings of depression. Getting regular exercise can also help you sleep.
2. They can lower your blood pressure.
One of the earlier studies on the positive effects of interacting with dogs was published in 1988 in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. The researchers found that talking to a dog lowered blood pressure, but petting a dog lowered it even more. Over the decades, clinical research has continued to support the link between having a dog and better heart health. In fact, a research study published in 2019 found that having a dog was associated with overall lower mortality—even for people who’d had a prior coronary event. In general, anything that’s good for your heart is also good for the brain.
3. Dogs help with stress management.
Because of their natural ability to provide comfort—especially when your anxiety gets triggered or you are feeling stressed out, being with a dog can help your muscles relax, slow down your breathing, and lower your heart rate. It also decreases levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Overall, they make you feel calmer. This ability to help reduce stress is also evident in the way that trained service dogs can help reduce symptoms in people who suffer from PTSD.
4. You feel less lonely.
Having a dog provides near-constant companionship, which is especially helpful for anyone who lives alone or tends to feel isolated from others. A dog’s need to be petted, brushed, or just sit close to you can help alleviate feelings of loneliness by letting you know you aren’t alone.
Dogs also make it more comfortable for you to connect with other people, which is very helpful for someone who has social anxiety. Whether you’re taking a walk or at a dog park, they can make it easier to strike up a conversation because you have something in common to chat about with others. Loneliness and depression tend to go hand-in-hand, so being out and about with your pup can help alleviate some of the blues.
Whether by virtue of their silly and mischievous antics, natural joyfulness, and the fact that they love to have fun, dogs have a way of making even the crankiest person crack a smile. When you play with your dog, your brain releases the chemicals dopamine and serotonin, which can make you feel better. And, when you laugh or smile at something funny your dog does, you get another boost of these happy chemicals.
7. Dogs love unconditionally.
Many years ago, a comedienne said, “I’m going to marry the first man who looks at me the way my dog does when I walk in the door at night.” Everyone wants to believe they matter to others, and dogs can provide us with things that sometimes our human companions cannot. For example:
Regardless of your circumstances, your dog will never judge you.
You will always be your dog’s best friend.
Your dog will forgive you quickly.
You are everything to your dog.
And, even on days when you are feeling bad about yourself, your dog will still think you hung the moon.
Dogs have a natural way of helping to reduce stress and anxiety, lift our spirits, provide a sense of meaning, purpose, and connection, and improve our physical health. Even if you aren’t able to have one of your own, you can still reap the benefits by spending time with friendly dogs in your neighborhood or even volunteering at the local animal shelter. It’s a win-win for both you and the canine who gets to savor your undivided and adoring attention.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. “I almost don’t feel comfortable being relaxed.” That’s what “Pretty Little Liars” actress Tammin Sursok recently told Dr. Daniel Amen in an episode of Scan My Brain, a video series featuring high-profile individuals who share their brain SPECT scans and open up about their mental health. In the past, a previous doctor suggested that Sursok try Xanax. “I tried a half of one and it felt so foreign to me, that feeling of being relaxed, that I did not feel comfortable,” the actress said. “If I feel too relaxed, I get more anxiety.”
Sursok’s reaction is more common than you might imagine. Perhaps you can relate. When you have a free hour in your day, are you able to kick your feet up and read a great book for pleasure, listen to music that makes you happy, or just let your mind wander? Or do you feel antsy about “wasting time” and throw some clothes in the washing machine, grab a book that you should read for work, or feel guilty about not being productive?
Why is it so hard for some people to relax? A host of common issues inside the brain might be to blame for keeping your mind spinning.
Why is it so hard for some people to relax? A host of common issues inside the brain might be to blame for keeping your mind spinning.
Some people with low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is commonly seen in people with ADD/ADHD, tend to be excitement-seeking and conflict-driven. For these people, relaxing is just another word for boring. Big thrills—whether they come from bungee jumping, taking a spontaneous road trip, or even having an argument—boost dopamine in the brain. Sursok, whose brain SPECT scans showed activity patterns typically seen in those with ADD/ADHD, says she sometimes finds herself searching for that dopamine rush by creating conflict in her close relationships. “Things will be going really well, and I’ll be having a great day with my husband and then something will trigger me, and I will go straight to getting that feeling up, getting my heart to palpitate.”
Relaxation Rx: Boost dopamine in healthier ways to reduce the need to seek excitement or conflict. You can increase the neurotransmitter naturally by eating a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet and taking nutritional supplements like green tea, rhodiola, and ginseng.
2. Your emotional brain is overactive.
When the brain’s emotional centers and fear centers are overactive, it can be associated with depression and anxiety. If you have this common brain pattern, you may stay busy as a way to distract yourself from your anxious thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. When the world calms down around you, it’s like those worries and depressed moods come into sharper focus.
Relaxation Rx: Practice mental hygiene by challenging the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that creep into your mind and prevent relaxation. Supplements that calm the emotional and fear centers of the brain include saffron, omega-3 fatty acids, and GABA. Bright light therapy and the scent of lavender may also help.
3. Your sympathetic nervous system is stuck in overdrive.
Our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is the fight-or-flight response that makes us feel anxious and afraid. Our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the relaxation response that counterbalances the SNS and helps us calm down after a heart-pounding incident. When the nervous system is healthy, they work in concert to help us manage stress. Chronic stress or prolonged trauma, however, can interfere with the body’s relaxation mechanism. When trauma is severe or prolonged or it leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the SNS can get stuck on, making you feel restless, anxious, panicky, hyperaroused, hypervigilant, or sleepless. If this is the case, even when you try to relax, you aren’t able to shake off those feelings.
Relaxation Rx: If the SNS is stuck on, calm it with meditation, prayer, hypnosis, guided imagery, diaphragmatic breathing, and calming supplements, such as GABA, magnesium, or theanine. For PTSD, therapeutic interventions such as EMDR may be helpful.
4. You stress about relaxation.
When relaxation is just another task on your to-do list, it can be counterproductive. And if you approach it with a perfectionist attitude, it could backfire. For example, checking your heart rate monitor every few seconds as you engage in deep breathing or meditation to see if your level is going down may actually increase feelings of anxiousness.
Relaxation Rx: If this sounds like you, don’t make relaxation a chore. Rid yourself of expectations and just breathe, take a walk, or meditate without any goals. And remember, self-care isn’t one size fits all. Try a variety of activities and hobbies to see what works for you.
5. You fuel your brain with distressing news.
If you’re hooked on watching or reading the news, you’re basically feeding your brain a steady diet of disturbing deaths, disasters, and divisive politics. You’re flooding your mind with toxic thoughts that activate the brain’s fear circuits, making you feel chronically anxious and afraid. It’s hard to relax when you’re constantly on edge and your brain is seeking out the next impending disaster around the corner.
Relaxation Rx: Limit your media consumption and subscribe to news outlets, such as the Good News Network, which specializes in highlighting the positive things that are happening in our world. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Do you find yourself asking “What?” throughout the day because you can’t make out what people are saying? Hearing loss can be very frustrating, but it can also have significant emotional and mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. Even more concerning is the fact that a growing body of research shows that hearing loss comes with increased risks for cognitive decline and dementia.
Hearing loss can be frustrating, but it can have significant mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. Even more concerning, it comes with increased risks for cognitive decline and dementia.
That’s bad news for the 2% of 45- to 54-year-olds, 8.5% of 55- to 64-year-olds, 25% of people ages 65 to 74, and 50% of adults ages 75 and older who experience hearing loss that is disabling, according to the latest statistics from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. How does hearing loss impact mental health and cognitive function?
HEARING LOSS, DEMENTIA, AND THE BRAIN
Years of scientific evidence point to a connection between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and brain function. In a 2011 study, hearing experts at Johns Hopkins followed 639 people for approximately 12 years. The researchers found that people with severe hearing loss are 5 times more likely to develop dementia than those with healthy hearing. In people with moderate hearing loss, the risk for dementia was tripled. Among those with mild impairment, dementia was twice as likely to develop.
Additional findings from the Johns Hopkins team show that cognitive decline occurs more quickly in those with hearing loss. In their 2013 paper in JAMA Internal Medicine, adults with hearing loss experienced cognitive decline 30-40% faster than those with healthy hearing.
Neuroimaging studies show that hearing impairment shrinks the brain. A 2014 study in Neuroimage revealed decreased overall brain volume in older adults who were hard of hearing. Reductions in volume were also found in specific brain regions, including the right temporal lobe. The temporal lobes are involved in hearing and understanding language, as well as memory, moods, and learning. More brain imaging research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms at work in hearing loss and its associated mental health symptoms and cognitive decline.
HEARING IMPAIRMENT, MENTAL HEALTH, AND COGNITIVE DECLINE
Hearing experts have also noted an increased risk for emotional and mental health issues among those with hearing problems, including tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ears. The following common psychological conditions seen in people who have trouble hearing are also linked to increased risk of cognitive decline.
Depression
It’s understandable that losing your hearing can make you feel sad and blue. People who aren’t able to make out what others are saying miss out on so much. At family gatherings or holiday celebrations, grandma may feel left out of all the fun because she can’t follow the conversation. A wealth of research points to a connection between hearing impairment and depression. According to a 2014 study, 19% of adults with hearing loss experience mild symptoms of depression while more than 11% struggle with moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Other research from 2019 shows that as many as 1 in 5 older adults with hearing problems experience symptoms of clinical depression. Having depression later in life is also linked to a 70% increased risk for dementia, according to findings in Archives of General Psychiatry.
Stress and anxiety
Losing your hearing can provoke a flood of stressful and anxious thoughts: Will I lose my job if I can’t follow critical conversations at work? What if I can’t hear my phone and I miss an important call? What if I don’t hear the smoke alarm, and I die in a fire? Will I become completely deaf? Anxiety tends to increase as hearing loss worsens. On the flip side, a 2018 study demonstrates that stress has been associated with the onset of ringing in the ears and the worsening of tinnitus. And research in BMJ Open has also tagged anxiety as a risk factor for dementia.
Anger
Irritability and frustration are common in people with hearing difficulties as well as in their loved ones. Not being able to hear what someone is saying can lead to misunderstandings and may trigger angry outbursts that negatively impact relationships. How you view your hearing loss also plays a role in your emotional well-being. For example, perceiving hearing loss as a disability is linked to feeling angry, according to a study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders. In addition, research in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease notes that anger is associated with risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing dementia.
Loneliness
When you’re struggling with hearing loss, you may find yourself retreating from your friends and family. The embarrassment of having to ask people to repeat themselves may make you shy away from social gatherings. This is backed by decades of science showing that hearing loss is associated with social isolation and loneliness, especially among women. This can feed a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, or anger and contribute to cognitive decline. A 2020 study shows that loneliness is linked to a 40% increase in the risk for dementia.
COPING WITH HEARING LOSS AND RELATED SYMPTOMS
When hearing starts to fade, it’s important to address the issue rather than ignore it or hope it will go away. The condition tends to be progressive and untreated hearing loss is associated with increased risk for mental health problems and cognitive decline. If you do struggle with such issues, don’t hesitate to seek help. Learning to cope with the feelings you’re experiencing is just as critical as getting help for your hearing.
Cognitive decline, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues associated with hearing loss can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. When someone is experiencing a psychotic episode—seeing people who aren’t there or hearing voices that no one else can—it feels just as concrete as rational thoughts do. A person suffering in this way has lost touch with reality and cannot distinguish what is real from what is not.
The term “psychosis” is actually a multifaceted symptom, not a disorder unto itself. It can be part of a lifelong or a temporary psychiatric illness or be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Approximately 3% of the U.S. population will experience a psychotic episode at some point in their lives, and each year about 100,000 young adults or teens will have their first such episode. New research shows these numbers could be increasing due to COVID-19.
Approx. 3% of the US population will experience a psychotic episode at some point in their lives, and each year about 100,000 young adults or teens will have their first such episode. These numbers could be increasing due to COVID-19.
One theory about why this could happen involves the body’s own defense system. In order to fight off COVID-19, the immune system goes into overdrive by releasing a flood of immune cells in what is called a “cytokine storm” to attack the invading virus. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of this natural process is significantly increased inflammation which can adversely affect the body and brain.
A research study published in the journal, The Lancet, analyzed the medical records of more than 236,379 patients who had COVID-19. They found that 1.4%—or 3,309— of them suffered from some form of psychosis within 6 months of their recovery from the virus.
Although most people who get it will not have any unusual symptoms, cases of COVID-related psychosis have been increasingly observed. Another report about 42 cases of psychosis in people stricken with the virus was published in Neuroscience Letters. The doctors who authored the report noted that in many cases, it is difficult to know if their psychotic symptoms were the result of inflammation in the brain, if a person was predisposed to developing a psychotic disorder, or if their symptoms stemmed from other contributing factors such as isolation and stress during the pandemic.
Nonetheless, the relatively quick onset of new psychotic symptoms can be very concerning and confusing to the patient and their loved ones.
Symptoms of Psychosis
Psychotic symptoms occur on a spectrum that ranges from mild to severe levels of impairment. These symptoms are often very distressing and can interfere with major domains of functioning, such as interpersonal relationships, work or school, and self-care. They include:
Delusions: Tightly held beliefs that are neither grounded in nor supported by objective evidence, such as a person believing the FBI planted microchips in their teeth.
Visual or auditory hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there or having unusual bodily sensations.
Disorganized thinking: Having tangential and/or loose associations with thought processes, as well as something called “word salad” which is incoherent speech that randomly mixes up words and syntax.
Abnormal or disorganized movements: Agitation, rigid or bizarre postures, mutism, unusual facial expressions, and catatonia during which there is an absence of physical movement or verbal communication.
Diminished emotional expression: Monotone speech and reduced eye contact and facial and hand movements while talking.
“Negative symptoms”: A lack of self-directed initiation to engage in activities (avolition); diminished interest in speaking (alogia); decreased ability to experience pleasure (anhedonia); and disinterest in social interactions (asociality).
6 Types of Psychotic Disorders
There are several psychiatric conditions that are characterized by psychotic symptoms and these manifest in varying degrees of severity and impairment as well as lengths of time.
This is the most common and debilitating psychotic disorder. It is a chronic psychiatric condition that is marked by recurrent episodes of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior, and negative psychotic symptoms. Approximately 0.3% to 0.7% of people in the U.S. are diagnosed with this disorder.
2. Schizophreniform Disorder
This condition is like schizophrenia, except the course of symptoms lasts between 1 and 6 months.
3. Schizoaffective Disorder
Someone with this condition will have the same symptoms of schizophrenia and concurrently have a sustained episode of major depression or bipolar.
4. Delusional Disorder
A person with this condition will have delusions that last longer than one month, and there are numerous subtypes that include:
Erotomanic type believes someone is in love with her/him despite not being romantically connected.
Grandiose type is convinced they have a wonderful—but unrecognized—talent, insight, or contribution.
Jealous type is certain their spouse/significant other is being unfaithful.
Persecutory type believes that others are after them in some way through spying, harassment, following, trying to poison, etc.
Somatic type has delusions around sensations and/or functions in their body.
5. Brief Psychotic Disorder
A person with this condition has psychotic symptoms that last one month or less. Although the onset can be anytime in life, first episodes are more common during the mid-30s. If a person has one brief psychotic episode, it’s very possible they’ll have more during their lifetime.
6. Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder
As the name implies, this is diagnosed when a person has delusions and hallucinations that occur during or after intoxication from a drug (i.e. alcohol, marijuana, opiates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, LSD, and amphetamines) or during withdrawal from the substance(s).
Because of the recurrent thought disturbances and breaks from reality, psychotic disorders are among the most challenging mental health conditions to have. Fortunately, treatment with antipsychotic medications (and other meds), along with the support of psychotherapy and case management, is possible for someone who suffers from one of these conditions to keep their symptoms in check.
Psychotic symptoms and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Peer pressure is nothing new, especially among teens and adolescents. The influence peers wield on their social circle has long been associated with driving behavior—both good habits and bad habits. For example, seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others, or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
This is especially alarming in light of the dramatic increase in self-injury among teens since the pandemic began. According to an analysis of healthcare claims by FAIR Health, claims for intentional self-harm as a percentage of all medical claims for adolescents aged 13-18 skyrocketed by 99.8% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. Experts suggest the number of teens engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury could continue to increase.
Seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the act of purposely harming oneself without the intention of taking one’s own life. People who hurt themselves often have a history of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, being bullied, childhood neglect, or sexual assault. They may turn to cutting, skin-picking, burning, or other forms of self-mutilation as a way to numb their emotional pain.
NSSI is most frequently seen in adolescents and young adults. Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health indicates that 17% of adolescents report at least one incident of self-harm. That’s higher than the 15% of college students who say they have engaged in self-injury at least once, according to a 2011 study in the Journal of College Health. And it’s more than 3 times higher than 5% of adults reporting self-harm. Approximately 65% of those who engage in NSSI are female, but experts suggest the behavior is likely underreported in males.
STUDY FINDS SELF-HARM IS SOCIALLY CONTAGIOUS
Long-standing research shows that among adolescents, exposure to a peer’s suicidal behaviors raises the chances of dangerous copycat actions. Newer findings in a 2020 Canadian study in Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica indicate that having knowledge of a friend’s nonsuicidal self-injury is significantly associated with an adolescent’s own involvement with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
In this study, researchers administered the following 3 questions about NSSI and suicidal behavior to 1,483 Canadian adolescents ages 14-17.
In the past 12 months, did any of your friends deliberately harm themselves but not mean to take their life?
Sometimes people deliberately harm themselves but they do not mean to take their life. In the past 12 months, did you ever deliberately harm yourself but not mean to take your life?
In the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider taking your own life or killing yourself?
Based on the responses, females indicated awareness of a friend’s self-harm at a rate of nearly 3-to-1 compared to males. Compared to boys, girls also reported higher rates of their own engagement in NSSI (girls 11.4%, boys 3.4%), suicidal thoughts (girls 8.5%, boys 4.3%), and suicide attempts (girls 4.8%, boys 2.3%).
SELF-HARM AND MENTAL HEALTH
A wealth of scientific evidence shows that NSSI is associated with other mental health conditions. Among people who engage in self-harm may also struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, dissociative disorders, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
The team of Canadian researchers also analyzed mental health status and its effect on NSSI, assessing any diagnoses for major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD, oppositional disorder, or conduct disorder. They found that adolescents who met the criteria for an anxiety disorder or depression were more likely to say they knew a friend who had been involved in self-harming behaviors. Those with some form of anxiety—including certain phobias—ranked highest with 28.6% reporting knowing a friend who engaged in self-injury. Among teens with depression, 20.4% said they knew peers who tried to hurt themselves.
Engaging in NSSI as an adolescent also has detrimental effects on mental health in adulthood, according to findings in a 2020 study in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. In this study, researchers followed students in grades 7-8 for 10 years. Compared to youngsters who did not engage in NSSI, those who repeatedly injured themselves as adolescents exhibited significantly higher rates of anxiety, stress, NSSI, and problems with emotional regulation a decade later.
HELPING TEENS PREVENT OR HEAL FROM SELF-INJURY
Preventing and healing from self-harm is possible. Recognizing that NSSI is socially contagious is an important step in identifying an adolescent’s risk for self-injurious behaviors. Providing teens with strategies to handle peer pressure—for example, saying no like they mean it, disagreeing respectfully, or asking questions—can be beneficial in the prevention of this increasingly common problem. It is equally critical for parents to know the warning signs of self-harm, including scars, frequent cuts or bruises, far-fetched tales about how an injury occurred, wearing long sleeves even in summer, carrying sharp objects, declining academic performance, and social withdrawal.
In addition, addressing any co-occurring mental health issues should be part of an NSSI treatment plan. Investigating brain health with functional brain imaging may also be beneficial as it can reveal underlying abnormal activity. A 2019 brain imaging study found decreased brain function in regions of the brain that play a role in emotional regulation. Finding solutions that enhance overall brain health and emotional well-being is key to overcoming nonsuicidal self-harm.
Self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here.
