What one exercise can boost feel-good chemicals in your brain while reducing anxiety and improving your mood? The answer is yoga. In a study lead by Chris Streeter, MD he and his colleagues from the Boston University School of Medicine found that yoga reduced anxiety, improved mood, and boosted the anti-anxiety neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) […]
How Trauma Traps Survivors in the Past – A Look at Trauma Therapy with Bessel van der Kolk, MD
One of the perils of trauma is that it can destroy a survivor’s sense of time. But when this happens, how can we help to restore it? Recently, I spoke with Bessel van der Kolk, MD, considered the world’s leading expert in post-traumatic stress. Watch below as Bessel explains how trauma affects our patients’ sense […]
Early Traumatic Events May Contribute to the Development of Eating Disorders
Is it what you’re eating… or what’s eating you? Recent research shows that lack of family support following psychological trauma in childhood can contribute to life-long eating disorders. It’s fascinating to think that physical malnourishment may reflect a lack of emotional nourishment in a traumatic childhood. Jerica Berge, PhD and colleagues from the University of […]
How Trauma Affects a Child’s Brain
We all know that trauma impacts us emotionally, but does it also affect our intelligence? A new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that children who witness their mothers being the victim of abuse, or experience physical or sexual abuse themselves, actually score lower on cognitive tests later in life. […]
Old Before Their Time: The Effect of PTSD on Children’s Telomeres
Stress and PTSD can take a toll on our bodies, minds, and spirits, resulting in damage that can age us before our time. That’s not an opinion − it’s been proven scientifically. It’s no secret that I love learning about telomeres, which are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that keep them from deteriorating. […]