When we are stressed, when we are tired and overwhelmed, it’s easy to hold our breath without even knowing it. And when we do that, we deprive ourselves of oxygen, which, in turn, limits our ability to think clearly in the moment and do things like problem-solving and affect-regulation.
News
New study looks at the impact stress can have on aging and disease
Stress — in the form of traumatic events, job strain, everyday stressors and discrimination — accelerates aging of the immune system, potentially increasing a person’s risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and illness from infections such as COVID-19, according to a new USC study.
New Patient Comment
I just wanted to let you know how I’m doing. For the first time in my life, I’ve been feeling like myself. I feel alive. I feel right here. And everything is going well. If a relationship comes into my life, it’s like dessert. Thank you so much for all you’ve done to help me to understand and know myself better.
Research looks at the toll PTSD has on relationships
Study highlight the importance of understanding associations between PTSD and interpersonal functioning among firefighters. PTSD can affect people who personally experience the traumatic event, those who witness the event, or those who pick up the pieces afterwards, such as emergency workers and law enforcement officers.
Speaker Aims to Improve Mental Health Access for Older Adults
An estimated one in four older adults experiences a mental health condition, including depression, anxiety and substance use disorder, and individuals age 85 or older had the highest suicide rate in 2020, according to the committee. The opioid epidemic has also severely burdened older Americans. Almost 80,000 older adults died from an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2019.
Stress as a risk factor in older adults can be mitigated with intervention
Researchers found, on average, participants who reported more stress in their lives experienced a steeper decline in functional health over three years, and that link between stress and functional health decline was stronger for chronologically older participants.
However, subjective age seemed to provide a protective buffer. Among people who felt younger than their chronological age, the link between stress and declines in functional health was weaker. That protective effect was strongest among the oldest participants.