Your Mind Your Body

The latest string of bad economic news – long-term unemployment at record high levels, more foreclosures and few new jobs being created – spells continuing stress for many Americans and is contributing to their gloomy outlook about the economy. As a clinical psychologist, some of my patients tell me they feel like the folks who were trying to cap the oil spill in the Gulf–each day feels more disheartening and more overwhelming than the last. Being out of control to fix one’s life can quickly lead to anxiety, and even clinical depression, if left untreated.

Filed under: Lifestyle & Behaviors, Resilience, Stress | No Comments »

We fathers have tremendous power to benefit our kids and partner. For instance, and according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, kids who are raised with fathers are less likely to abuse substances, to underachieve academically, to be defiant, to break laws, to be obese, to become pregnant and to experience a wide array of toxic stresses. However, the more experience I get as a dad, husband and psychologist, the more I look at all of this differently. I offer three insights and close with a link to a weekly exercise for you to do with your children.

Filed under: Children, Parenting, Relationships, Work/Life | 1 Comment »

Me stressed? No way! Actually, we know that everyone – men and women, children and teens – often feel stressed. In today’s world, there’s no such thing as a stress-free life. It’s natural and necessary for our survival. But if our bodies are always feeling stressed, then physical and emotional problems happen.

We hear a lot of talk about women and mothers being stressed. But even though it’s not talked about as frequently, guys feel stress too. We typically have different ways of handling it than women – meaning, many men try to not show it or talk about it. That’s one of the reasons we often associate stress with women and not with men.

Filed under: Lifestyle & Behaviors, Parenting, Stress | 1 Comment »