The simple act of breathing in and out provides the perfectopportunity for relaxation.

Creating mindful awareness is the greatest benefit of meditative breathing exercises.

Although the evidence of it’s efficacy is anecdotal, doctors agree that the results are real and effective when targeted at reducing stress.

Here is a sample, follow the link for more exercises to calm your nerves.

Progressive Relaxation

How it’s done: To nix tension from head to toe, close the eyes and focus on tensing and relaxing each muscle group for two to three seconds each. Start with the feet and toes, then move up to the knees, thighs, rear, chest, arms, hands, neck, jaw and eyes — all while maintaining deep, slow breaths. Having trouble staying on track? Anxiety and panic specialist Dr. Patricia Farrell suggests we breathe in through the nose, hold for a count of five while the muscles tense, then breathe out through the mouth on release.

When it works best: At home, at a desk or even on the road. One word of caution: Dizziness is never the goal. If holding the breath ever feels uncomfortable, tone it down to just a few seconds at most.

Level of difficulty: Beginner

The Mediterranean Diet has long been considered to be the perfect diet to maintain a healthy weight, however, a few new benefits have been discovered along the way.

As well as offering a lower incidence of illness and general wellbeing include a boost to the brain!

The research involved data on more than 11,000 university students over a period of four years. Dietary intake data was taken at the beginning of the study and self-perceived quality of life was measured after the four year monitoring period. In order to ascertain whether the Mediterranean diet was followed, consumption of vegetables, pulses, fruit, nuts, cereals and fish was positively valued whereas consumption of meat, diary products and alcohol was negatively valued.

Participants reported greater feelings of wellbeing and rated their quality of life as being greater

Anorexia and Bulimia have been brought into the public awareness by those suffering, however, a broad range of eating disorders occur within the spectrum and can be just as damaging and life threatening.

Orthorexia, Pregorexia, Binge Eating, Anorexia Athletica, and Drunkorexia are the names given to the various disorders of those struggling with body image.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness and the need to recognize illness and intervene is an important part of the cure.

A catch-all label that includes dozens of subdiagnoses, EDNOS applies to patients who don’t meet the exact criteria for anorexia or bulimia but still have very troubled relationships with food or distorted body images. Today, EDNOS diagnoses significantly outnumber anorexia and bulimia cases. “The atypical has become the typical,” says Ovidio Bermudez, M.D

If you make good decisions about your physical and your emotional health, you literally can slow down or even reverse the brain’s aging process, according to award-winning psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen, author of “Use Your Brain to Change Your Age.”

By organizing your mind your life will fall into step.

Margaret Moore’s book “Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life” written with Dr. Paul Hammerness, offers tips to help you to become more organized and more fulfilled.

The connection between disorganized minds and unhealthy habits is compelling. The National Institute of Aging concluded from a recent study that symptoms of a disorganized mind, namely impulsivity, chronic negativity, high stress and multitasking, all correlate with higher weight. For example, adults in the top 10% rating for impulsivity (most impulsive) weighed an average of 24 pounds more than those in the bottom 10% rating for impulsivity.

Whether or not you have an organized mind depends upon your ability to “drive” your attention and keep it focused when you’re under pressure or faced with challenging conditions.

Managing stress, staying focused and knowing when to “put on the brakes” are just a few strategies endorsed to help you to organize your life.

This iconic photo speaks volumes and still resonates today.

Rates of depression on the rise during the current financial recession.

More Americans commit suicide each year than die in motor vehicle accidents. Every year, more than 500,000 people attempt to take their own lives in the US and 30,000 of those attempts are successful. Of course correlation and causation aren’t the same thing, but there seems to be strong evidence that those who are being most hurt in the current economic crisis are killing themselves in ever greater numbers.

There is free help and counseling for those struggling with depression.

Risk factors for stroke are strong predictors of future mental impairment.

Maintaining cognitive health is important for everyone as they age but for those who are already at risk for stroke the need is more urgent.

The volunteers were followed for an average of more than four years. After eliminating from consideration any who had had a stroke, the researchers found 1,907 who were cognitively impaired. After controlling for age, sex, race and education, researchers found that high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy independently predicted cognitive impairment, and the more risk factors a person had, the greater the risk for mental problems.

Feelings of nostalgia at Thanksgiving time are nothing to be ashamed of.

In fact, celebrate your natural tendency to over sentimentalize everything and even cry at the site of mom’s pecan pie.

That’s why this time of year, TV and radio ads are filled with smiling families sitting around a large table in holiday sweaters, passing the dinner rolls. Even if you’re far away from home, companies want you to believe that buying those same dinner rolls will fill your heart with holiday joy. Turns out, it works.

Thanksgiving foods trigger memories of time spent with family and loved ones. And given the way our memories work we really edit out the bad and focus on the good.

Scent memory is very strong and can transport us to a simpler carefree time.

So just sit back and enjoy; soak it all in for one big day of feasting and a walk down memory lane.

1 in 5 American adults is on some kind of mood altering drug.

Antidepressants are the psychiatric medications used to treat mood disorders that are defined by having depressive symptoms.

The most widely used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of drugs that includes medications such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline) and Lexapro (escitalopram). Less used, but a popular alternative to SSRIs are serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs); some of the commonly used medications in this drug class include Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (duloxetine).

Women 45 and older are the most frequent users of anti-depressants.

Two major factors to help older women overcome depression.

Less time watching television and more physical activity are the best cures for depression.

The women who exercised the most were about 20 percent less likely to exhibit the signs of depression. However, their risk of depression increased the more hours they spent watching TV each week.