When a couple seeks out therapy, they’ve probably been struggling and stuck for some time. Licensed therapists offer expertise and experience at helping couples work through issues, not altogether different from what an individual therapist might do for an individual who is struggling. Whether the issue is conflict, communication, forgiveness for past hurts or something else, a couples therapist can guide a willing pair through the process of working issues out or deciding what to do next. “People don’t go to therapy just with the equivalent of a headache in terms of the relationship problems,” said Everett Worthington, commonwealth professor emeritus for Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond. “I think when couples feel frustrated and can’t seem to make any headway on the problems on their own, then they start looking for some kind of help.” What is a couples therapist? The American Psychological Association (APA) describes couple and family psychology as a specialty that is “focused on the emotions, thoughts and behaviors of individuals, couples and families in relationships and in the broader environment in which they function.” Marriage and family therapy is “brief; solution-focused; specific, with attainable therapeutic goals; and designed with the ‘end in mind,’” according to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). A therapist may be licensed by the AAMFT to work with couples and families after receiving a…  read on >  read on >

It’s natural for everyone to experience anxiety at different times in their lives. Maybe you’re worried about making a good first impression with your new partner’s family, and you become anxious in the days leading up to the meeting about what you’ll wear. Being anxious even has its benefits, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It can keep you alert when you’re behind the wheel during a snowstorm, for example, or help you better prepare for a work presentation. Yet, for over 40 million Americans, anxiety has affected so much of their lives that it’s considered a mental health disorder. When that happens, it can have major emotional, physical and mental impacts on your health, so learning how to deal with it is important. Here are some science-based, evidence-backed tips on how to deal with anxiety when it pops up, including easy self-care ideas. In addition, anxiety medications are available to help you manage and control your anxiety symptoms. What is anxiety? According to NAMI, anxiety may be considered a disorder when fear or worry prevents you from accomplishing everyday activities. It includes several disorders. Among them are generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder and panic disorder. While the exact causes of anxiety disorders aren’t known, several factors are thought to play a role, according to the Cleveland Clinic. These include…  read on >  read on >

People living in heavily polluted areas of the United States may be more vulnerable to Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. Specifically, the culprit is a type of air pollution called fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is less than 2.5 microns in diameter and comes from car exhaust, burning of fuels in power plants and other industries, and forest and grass fires, researchers say. “We found an association between Parkinson’s disease and exposure to fine particulate matter. In specific, people in the highest exposure have a 25% greater risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to people with the lowest exposure,” said lead researcher Brittany Krzyzanowski, from the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz. “We also found that the regions with the strongest association between particulate matter and Parkinson’s disease were the Mississippi-Ohio River Valley and the Rocky Mountain region,” she said. “Our findings suggest that the regional differences in Parkinson’s disease might reflect that the composition of the particulate matter in some areas may be more toxic than others,” Krzyzanowski added. “We know that air pollution causes inflammation in the brain, which is linked to Parkinson’s disease.” Krzyzanowski said that lowering levels of air pollution might help lower the risk of Parkinson’s, especially in areas where pollution levels are high. “Despite 30 years of research trying to identify the environmental risk factors of Parkinson’s disease, most…  read on >  read on >

Men who have physically demanding jobs and regularly lift heavy objects at work also have higher sperm counts and testosterone levels. A new study that is part of broader effort to explore how exposure to environmental chemicals and lifestyle choices affect reproductive health found the link. “We already know that exercise is associated with multiple health benefits in humans, including those observed on reproductive health, but few studies have looked at how occupational factors can contribute to these benefits,” said study author Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón. She is a reproductive epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and co-investigator of the broader Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) study. “What these new findings suggest is that physical activity during work may also be associated with significant improvement in men’s reproductive potential,” she said in a hospital news release. The EARTH study is a collaboration between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mass General Brigham health care system. For the EARTH study, the researchers have collected samples and survey data from more than 1,500 men and women. The latest study, published recently in the journal Human Reproduction, focused on a subset of this overall group, including 377 male partners in couples seeking fertility treatment. The investigators found that men who reported often lifting or moving heavy objects on the job had 46% higher sperm concentration.…  read on >  read on >

When heart failure strikes, being a lifelong bachelor may mean you might die sooner than women or previously married men diagnosed with the same condition, a new study suggests. Lifetime marital history appears to be an important predictor of survival in men with heart failure, but not women. Specifically, lifelong bachelors had significantly worse long-term survival than men who had been married, separated, divorced or widowed, said senior researcher Dr. David Kao, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. In contrast, women with heart failure who had never been married did not appear to be at higher risk of death than those who had, he added. “These findings suggest that marriage has some kind of beneficial effect for men that helps them survive longer after developing heart failure,” Kao said. “At present, we have not identified precisely what these effects are, but they could include health-seeking behaviors, socioeconomic and family support in older age, or differences in factors like frailty and nutrition, and mood.” The lack of difference in survival between women with different marital histories could indicate that either the same factors are not as clinically beneficial in women or possibly that there are fewer deficits in those traits that are affected through marriage, Kao said. With heart failure, the heart becomes too weak or stiff…  read on >  read on >

Getting good sleep may have long-term benefits — even extending your life span, a new study suggests. Researchers found that young people with better sleep habits were incrementally less likely to die early. About 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns. Study co-author Dr. Frank Qian, a resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School, said his team found a “clear dose-response relationship.” Simply put: The better the sleep, the greater the protection from early death from all causes, including heart disease. “These findings emphasize that just getting enough hours of sleep isn’t sufficient,” Qian said in an American College of Cardiology news release. “You really have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling and staying asleep.” Researchers identified several sleep habits that made a difference: sleeping seven to eight hours a night; having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep no more than twice a week; not using any sleep medication, and feeling well rested on awaking at least five days a week. “If people have all these ideal sleep behaviors, they are more likely to live longer,” Qian said. “So, if we can improve sleep overall, and identifying sleep disorders is especially important, we may be able to prevent some of this premature [deaths].” For the study,…  read on >  read on >