Mental Health Archive

The vast majority of New Year's resolutions are forgotten by February. But people don't have to tie their personal improvement to a calendar date. Reinvention can begin at any time, making any day a fresh opportunity to stretch toward a long-wanted goal. People should break down their one-year goal into a process to accomplish it. Helpful strategies include writing goals down; breaking them into steps; tracking progress; being accountable; and tying progress to an event.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time-efficient way for people to improve their fitness and cardiovascular health. Even short bursts of high-intensity activity may trigger the release of mood-boosting brain chemicals. Traditionally, HIIT features 30 to 90 seconds of high-intensity effort followed by an equal or longer period of lower-intensity activity or rest. HIIT variations include fartlek (Swedish for "speed play"), which uses environmental cues to set intervals, and Tabata, which features 20-second intervals of intensity followed by 10-second recovery intervals.

Many of us experience social anxiety from time to time. But when this social anxiousness causes intense distress and starts to impact daily life, it could be indicative of a common condition called social anxiety disorder.

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a potentially debilitating mental health condition marked by recurrent, frightening episodes during which a person relives a traumatic event. Newly released guidelines can help guide treatment; they recommend which therapies are most effective, and which are not recommended.

Virtual mental health care visits have become more popular in recent years. Here's what to know about finding and scheduling care, tech requirements, and making these visits work well for you.

A survey found that one-third of couples reported occasionally or regularly sleeping in separate rooms to accommodate a bed partner. The main motivation behind separate sleeping is to ensure both people get a good night's rest, as sleep can get disrupted by a partner's snoring, teeth grinding, thrashing, sleep schedule, and different sleeping environments. Couples should work together to ensure sleeping apart does not interfere with intimacy, such as scheduling snuggle time, taking naps together, and planning times for sexual activity.

The foundation of a healthy lifestyle consists of lasting habits like eating right, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, managing mental health, and getting routine medical and wellness exams. Even making daily, small steps toward these goals can have a significant impact. Everyday strategies include doing morning stretching, taking regular naps, breathing exercises to manage stress, caring for skin and teeth, and being social.

A 2023 study suggests that older adults who exercise with their spouses might be less physically active than those who exercise on their own.

Nearly three-quarters of caregivers are 50 or older, and more than 75% are women. Research has linked caregiving to many physical and mental effects, including depression, anxiety, pain, and heart disease. Many caregivers don't attend to their own health and may avoid or skip medical appointments. To address these burdens, caregivers can look into respite care, call their local Agency on Aging, ask for help from friends, and schedule telehealth visits with doctors or therapists.