Category Archives: Mental Health

The Real Cost of Physician Burnout

July 1, 2019

In recent years, leading health care organizations have declared physician burnout, or the state of physical and mental exhaustion associated with job stress, a public health crisis. The problem is so pervasive that burnout was added to the list of medical conditions by the World Health Organization in May of this year. Compared to average American workers, physicians are experiencing twice as much burnout, which may lead to high turnover, lower-quality care, and suboptimal patient outcomes. In addition to raising significant ethical concerns, overworked and unhappy physicians are taxing on the U.S. economy, costing the nation $4.6 billion per year, according to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Brain Awareness Month: Probiotics for Mood and Cognitive Function

June 15, 2019

June marks the beginning of Brain Awareness Month, a global campaign to raise public awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Increased recognition of neurological disorders has led to further clinical research and the discovery of important mechanisms of action, risk factors, and indicators of declining cognitive function. More recently, the medical community has focused its efforts on better understanding the gut-brain axis, or the connection between the human microbiome and mental health.  Discoveries continue to implicate the crucial role of the gut in promoting and maintaining cognitive function, mental clarity, and a stable mood.

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Mental Health Awareness Month: Breathing Techniques for Relaxation

May 25, 2019

More people are struggling with anxiety and stress than ever before; anxiety disorders are currently the most common mental illness in the American population, affecting more than 40 million adults. Despite its prevalence, people suffering from anxiety and stress often lack the tools they need to alleviate their symptoms and only 36.9% of them receive treatment. Access to professional help, treatment opportunities, and management techniques may not be easily accessible for everyone looking to improve their mental health, but one crucial element is ubiquitously available – the breath.

Of the many stress coping techniques and lifestyle habits, deep mindful breathing is one of the most important. Breath control has been proven to help subdue the errant stress response – or fight or flight reaction – when it becomes unnecessarily activated by day-to-day events. As chronic stress has been linked to a variety of health conditions such as high blood pressure, suppressed immune system activity, anxiety, and depression, it is important to combat stress reactions with their therapeutic counterpart. A relaxation response, or the state of profound rest, can be elicited through meditation, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and other soothing practices in combination with focused breathing.

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