Three Pillars for Healthy Living

Each month more information comes out about brain function, nutritional absorption and why we gain weight. Even with all the new information, the three supports for attaining and maintaining our ideal weight continue to be

1. Nutrition: What, when, how much we eat, meaning its important to pay attention to how your diet affects your body and mind
2. Stress Management: From techniques of releasing tensions, both physical and mental, to more supportive "self-talk" approaches
3. Movement: A.K.A. exercise such as walking, swimming, cycling, yoga or even playing Wii
   

Guided relaxation CD’s and Audio/Visual Stimulation (AVS) using a light and sound machine are such easy, rewarding ways to de-stress, you'll want to check them out. These approaches support brain activity for all kinds of desired results, e.g., feeling better, being more productive, performing at your peak, sleeping better, ridding yourself of excessive aches and pains, etc, all of which lead to a healthier, happier life.

For more information on beneficial stress management selections please click here.

Tips for Handling ADHD Children and Adolescents

Here are some tips I picked up recently at the ADDA-SR (Attention Deficit Disorder Association-Southern Region) "Surviving Summer" workshop here in Houston.

Tweens and teens with ADHD respond very well to immediate rewards for desired behaviors. For example, Mom can give her daughter a token every time she does dishes without having to be asked. Or, Dad can give his son a token for taking out the trash. When teens collect enough of these tokens, they can earn a larger reward. This reward doesn't have to be an object. Sometimes rewards are more powerful when they are privileges, such as:

1. Freedom to do or not to do various activities
2. Controlled choices of circumstances, such as where the family eats for dinner that night
3. Something that gives them status in their eyes and the eyes of their peers

Rewards are most effective when given immediately after the child or teen acts in a desired way. Otherwise, they forget about the event, which diminishes the power of the reward.

For other solutions for ADHD, see SmarterWay.com !

When Medicine Won't Work, Turn to Biofeedback

Recently, I attended the Houston Group Psychotherapy Society's annual meeting. During "Ask the Doctor", Dr. Harvey Rosenstock was asked what pregnant women should do when they can't take medication for anxiety and depression. Dr. Rosenstock replied that Biofeedback Training is a good option.

Biofeedback Therapy is also a good option when people can't take medication because of other conditions, including heart trouble. Or when they want a natural, non-invasive approach. Or when their response to medication and psychotherapy doesn't give them the relief they need.

So, just remember "Biofeedback" when medication won't work.

New Book Find

I was at Borders bookstore the other day when I rediscovered Daniel Amen, MD's book called Healing Anxiety and Depression. I was happy to see that Chapter 12, "Gaining Self-Control", was about Biofeedback and breathing techniques. He describes various signs of stress, stress responses, and how Biofeedback can be used to curb stress, anxiety, and other problems. I'm a big fan of Dan Amen books because they're straight forward, easy to read, and very informational.

Fresh Air on "The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain"

National Public Radio recently had an interview with The New York Times' health and medical science editor, Barbara Strauch, about her latest book, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain. In it she debunks the idea that "senior moments", when we forget the simplest things like what we came into the kitchen to do, are the onset of dementia. She says those times are reflections of our brains becoming more distracted as we age, which is normal for humans. In fact, the premise of her book is that our brains are at their peak in middle age. So getting old isn't entirely bad after all!

Expectations of BioVicki's Blog

Flower as fanciful representation of cerebral cortex

BioVicki's Blog will explore numerous perspectives of mind-body-spirit. Our human brains will be the primary focus because it seems that they are the areas that connect body (physical), mind (thoughts), and spirit (inner vitality and guidance).

Upon reflection my anticipation is that the content of this blog will focus on information gained using quantifiable results of scientific method along with experience and abstract concepts. Each seems to validate the other. Perhaps it's somewhat like triangulation, as in sound location, where intersecting angles show where "x marks the spot."

Please stay tuned.