Stop. Right now. And think of some of the young men in your life. Maybe it's your own son. How about that cute kid down the street who is always outside shooting hoops? Would you be surprised to hear that those guys are in the number one age group for testicular cancer?
After my fourth round of chemotherapy, I went into what I now refer to as "The Funk Zone." What helped me the most was my ability to put on my nurse's cap (being a nurse was definitely a Silver Lining during my treatment) and assign myself some healthy coping mechanisms.
I am not claiming that owning a dog will teach your child something noble, like responsibility, although perhaps it will. But, for those of us who are prone to observe the fleeting nature of our lives, owning a dog places you firmly in the present. Call it "dog time."
At the population level, epidemic obesity is incontrovertibly established as a clear and all-but-omnipresent danger. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. And it's those who do so -- who play ping-pong with science -- who frighten the hell out of me.
The issues of mental health and global health are closely linked -- if not one and the same. Similar processes we use to improve our mental health can help us make better, more responsible decisions as a society -- by focusing on the compassion and integrity of our right brain, rather than the judgment, punishment and deception of our left brain.
I know that as a medical student and a fellow miraculous survivor, I should, like Jill Bolte Taylor, maturely and gracefully appreciate the awesome intricacies and tenacious strength of the brain. Instead, I'm totally disgusted by it.
Women today feel like we must do everything, and do it perfectly. We tend to believe that the world will stop spinning if we take even a moment's rest from maintaining these goals. In my life, this is where meditation comes in.
When you go to the doctor, you want to find out what's wrong and how you can get better. In modern-day America, though, what you will get are tests to "rule out" problems rather than figure out what you actually have.
Learning how to center yourself and slow down the mind is an invaluable aspect of health. Meditation is an excellent tool for learning how to be present.
You may think that people with HIV are no different from anyone else, and you're right, for the most part. But if you are living with HIV, here are few ideas for resolutions you may want to think about for the coming year, in no particular order.
This time of year, as every year, exercise equipment and devices to measure activity are promoted as gifts, although I suspect they are about as welcome to the chronic couch potato as a set of expensive knives are to someone who never cooks.
Getting a younger child to settle down in the evening, go to bed, (stay there!) and then actually fall asleep is a big challenge for many parents, and one they struggle with nightly.
It's been 15 years since I stopped smoking, and it's still a source of pride for me. I've gained so much personally by seeing what I can accomplish. I've spent some of the best years of my life already as a non-smoker, and I'm confident some of the best are still to come.
As we pause during this unique time of transition, why not resolve to taking back our lives through intentional choices? In 2013, let's choose to pause deeply, treat ourselves kindly, and include pause as a best practice for creating more connection, meaning, and fulfillment.
In 2012, health care saw dramatic changes on major fronts: advances in patient care, important scientific discoveries, and perhaps most dramatically, in policy. Let's take a selective glimpse at some of 2012's key health stories.
To meaningfully engage men, we need to make it simple for them (and everyone else, of course) to get health care. There's no better way to do that than to deliver health information in an organic way that men are clearly fond of -- through their gadgets.
When organs dysfunction, we get a whole host of symptoms that doctors see so often in their practice. Without the integrative model, these health problems can only be treated symptomatically.
Whether you're a newbie to gym culture or regular fixture at your fitness facility, there is such a thing as "gym etiquette." Remember, everyone who comes to the gym is there to de-stress and have a positive experience.
So here I am, waiting for the arthroscopy that will cut away the torn meniscus of my other knee and advance me toward premature arthritis. I should have seen that beyond the end of the long jump sand pit, but I didn't. I am using this week of waiting to reflect upon my changed condition.
Allison Berkowitz, 2013. 5.01
Brenda Della Casa, 2013. 5.01