'Behavioral Health' posts

Your brain is your body’s control center and keeping it healthy helps keep your whole body healthy. Often times, however, our physical ailments take center stage. But did you know that mental health and physical health are connected? This is why it is important for us—from birth to old age—to keep our brains happy and healthy. Whether we do this by working on our daily crossword or carving out time each day to focus on activities that keep us positive, activities that improve brain health improve our overall health, too.

When it comes to maintaining brain health, there are four specific areas on which to focus:

SEATTLE, Feb. 6, 2013 - in light of the critical nature of the topic, Swedish Vice President of External Affairs Dan Dixon was interviewed by two media outlets this week - The Seattle Times and KOMO TV (Channel 4; ABC) - about local hospitals having to 'board' mental-health patients because of the lack of appropriate beds.

Your mental and emotional health are just as important as physical health—it’s difficult to have one without the other. As we here in the Pacific Northwest face a very apparent shift in seasons from summer to fall, the concept of change and adjustment is all around. Learning to adjust to the change in weather offers important lessons in dealing with the continual changes we face in life.

If you’re a native or adopted Washingtonian, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is probably not a new concept to you. This type of depression occurs during the fall and winter months when there is less natural sunlight. It is a yearly affliction that is slowly creeping up on many of our friends and neighbors. Treatments like light therapy and anti-depression medication can help, but what if your changes in mood isn’t SAD? What if your changes in mood aren’t from changes in season?

As we all know from our own personal life experiences, change happens and whether we know it or not, it’s happening all the time. Some changes are small and we are able to “go with the flow;” other times, change can really throw us for a loop. So how do you deal with life-altering change and make the most out of it?

Change ...

Risk is not a four letter word. Well, technically it is. But the point being “risk” does not have to be scary or taboo. Regardless of your age or how healthy you look or feel, we all have “risk factors” and they are as unique as our fingerprints. It’s what we do about our risk factors that matters most.

“Risk” is one way to measure how likely it is that you will experience a heart attack, cancer, stroke, diabetes or any number of things. But what are risk factors, you might wonder?

• Demographics: Age, for instance, can put you at a higher risk for some diseases.

• Behavior: Some habits can increase your risk. Are you a smoker? Smoking ups your risk for just about every nasty disease you’d ever want to avoid.

• History: Your family history (genetics) sometimes plays a role in your risk for disease. Also, if you have a history of high blood pressure, for example, you are at a higher risk for stroke.

• Body changes: Certain changes in our bodies make us more prone to disease. For example, during menopause when the chemicals in women’s bodies change, they are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis (weak bones).

The first step to managing risk is knowing your own risk factors—how your personal demographics, behavior, history and body changes can affect your health. Take a quick, free quiz to figure out your risk for: