Psychologists and Psychotherapists in Los Angeles Area
A previous blog discussed the impact of spirituality on well-being: “Is There Scientific Evidence to Support the Practice of Prayer”. New study that covers many research projects focused on the impact of spiritual and religious beliefs on resilience
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Since COVID often invades the body through the nose, the disease may spread via the olfactory pathways related to the sense of smell. It may also be due to inflammation in the brain, or the loss of sensory input since many people experience a loss of the sense of smell.
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WHAT are the LONG-TERM CARDIAC RISKS of COVID 19?By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. During the first year of recovering from
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Prolonged Grief Disorder can be assessed with the following questions:
Have you lost someone significant to you?
How many months has it been since your significant other died?
For the following questions, please note not at all, slightly, somewhat, or quite a bit.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our experience of grief. Many people are struggling with grief that goes on for more extended periods of time due to the huge numbers of death, the loss of social support for those dying and their family members as people die in isolation and funeral practices are restricted, and the loss of support usually offered through counseling services that are less available.
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HOW can WE STRENGTHEN our IMMUNE SYSTEM?By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. Our immune system faces many challenges, even more as
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The previous two blogs on eating disorders among teenage girls briefly mention the impact of social media. More specifics about this phenomenon are worrisome, to say the least
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Though it is usually thought of as a “white girls’” issue, teens of all ethnic groups, and boys, too, can struggle with eating disorders. Heterosexual boys tend to talk about getting fit, lean, or more muscular. LGBTQ kids may also respond to the anxieties of their identity struggles by using, and misusing food.
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As repeatedly noted in these blogs, as well as in featured articles, on this website, the COVID 19 pandemic has generated substantial increases in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, sleep difficulties, and weight gain for many people.
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Los Angeles County now requires proof of vaccination for most indoor venues: restaurants, grocery stores, exercise gyms, salons, large venues for entertainment including movie theaters, and Dodger Stadium, Universal Studios, or Magic Mountain. Other parts of the state have their own regulations and enforcement procedures. Disneyland, however, located in Orange County, does not require a vaccine credential. Some 21 states, including Texas and Florida, have banned vaccine passports completely.
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Ongoing efforts to encourage people to get a booster for their COVID 19 vaccination in recent months has been demonstrated to be effective by some research completed in Israel. Israel has a nationalized health care system, which is highly developed with digital record keeping, with a relatively small population as well. This contributes to reliable data available quickly, as has been cited in this blog over the pandemic period.
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WHAT are the LONG-TERM (REALLY LONG-TERM) EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE, and HOW has the PANDEMIC IMPACTED THIS? More specifically, sexual or physical abuse victims as children is more likely to die prematurely as adults. Compared to those who did not experience sexual abuse, people who were sexually abused before the age of 16 were 2.6 times more at risk of dying between the ages of 45 and 58 (middle age). Physical abuse before the age of 16 increased the risk by 1.7 times. Neglect increased the risk by 1.4 times.
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Many anxious, isolated, depressed people during this past 18 months of pandemic living have been drinking more. Latest estimates are that more than 17 million Americans struggle with alcoholism, and often don’t receive any treatment for it even if they reveal it to a health care professional
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A “landmark” settlement with United Healthcare in the state of New York requires UHC to pay $14.3 million to consumers nationwide. This was the first ever joint lawsuit filed by a state (New York) and the federal government. The impacted consumers were either denied coverage or given reduced benefits for mental health and substance use disorders
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The recent blogs about “languishing” and “flow”, as part of our entry into this “new normal”, post-pandemic life, can be enhanced with considering how we can develop better habits
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As of mid-August, a record number of children have been hospitalized for COVID-19: nearly 2,000 across the country. This is one impact of the delta variant of the virus.
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HOW CAN KIDS SAFELY RETURN to SCHOOL CONSIDERING the DELTA VARIANT? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. In mid-June when California
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What are the risks of neurological and psychological diagnoses following a COVID 19 episode? Quite significant, according to a study released in a highly regarded journal
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As with other forms of psychological distress, naming it is the first step towards dealing with it. By identifying depression, anxiety, addiction, and other struggles due to the pandemic (see previous blogs), we can begin to take counter steps, including seeking help. The same is true for languishing.
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Have these many months of the COVID pandemic left you feeling “somewhat joyless and aimless”? Not quite burned out and without energy. Not quite hopeless, helpless, and trapped – depressed? Even as life in LA County and California is opening up towards something close to “normal”, are you not looking forward to much with excitement or even pleasure? There is a new term for this feeling of “stagnation and emptiness
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College students are feeling more depression, anxiety, and loneliness than ever before. This is based on a survey of 33,000 students from a researcher at Boston University
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WHAT RISK FACTORS for COVID 19 CAN WE CONTROL? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. COVID 19 became the leading cause
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HOW HAS COVID 19 AFFECTED CHILD MENTAL HEALTH? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. In a word, the impact of the
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WHAT HAS BEEN the IMPACT OF COVID 19 on HOMICIDE RATES? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. During this COVID 19
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HOW DO WE CHOOSE ACTIVITIES ONCE WE ARE VACCINATED? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. Recent blogs have been about vaccination-related
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Two recent blogs have summarized how effective the two earliest vaccines are against COVID 19, both in terms of the clinical studies to establish their efficacy, as well as using the experience in Israel as a real-world case study. In addition to the biological factors involved in vaccine efficacy, there are also psychological factors that impact the efficacy of the vaccine,
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HOW to OVERCOME the FRUSTRATIONS with SCHEDULING an APPOINTMENT for COVID 19 VACCINATIONS By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. In attempting
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WHAT ABOUT A CASE STUDY in VACCINATIONS, SAY ISRAEL? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. The last blog on how effective
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HOW EFFECTIVE ARE COVID-19 VACCINES, REALLY?
The most basic measure of the effectiveness of the COVID 19 vaccines is simple: thus far, only two people have died after being vaccinated, according to reports available. One death in Florida was due to a rare blood disorder, not COVID. One death in California is of still undetermined causes.
A recent Gallup poll reveals that Americans rate their mental health at the lowest level in the prior 20 years. Seventy-six percent rate their mental health as good or excellent, compared to 85% in 2019. Since 2001, ratings of excellent or good ranged from 81% to 89%, as compared to this year’s 76%.
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ADHD presents special challenges with school efforts and homework, all the more in the current remote learning programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being able to sit still and sustain focused effort is all the more difficult when learning is limited to screen time. Please see previous blogs and articles for some of the basic issues involved. Here are some specific strategies to help
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“Measure it.” Evaluate your starting point, or “baseline”, and identify where you need to improve. “Read history.” History, especially of bleak periods, provides context and substance. We can see how people survived the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Civil War,
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Maintaining hope during the recent COVID surge in California and around the country is helpful, even essential, in many ways. Hope reduces anxiety, despair, and of course depression. We have more effective coping skills and recover from disappointments more quickly when we have hope. We are more skilled at problem solving, communicate better, and are more trusting of others.
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CAN WE THRIVE WHEN LIFE FEELS SO TERRIBLE? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. A community website, The Mighty, provides information
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IS THERE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT the PRACTICE OF PRAYER? In dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic, many people are turning to prayer. In the first stages of the pandemic, Google searches for prayer worldwide increased significantly
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In basic biochemical terms, laughter releases nitric oxide, which reduces blood pressure, decreases clotting, and relaxes blood vessels. A study of older men and women in Japan associated laughter with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. A Norwegian study found an association between humor and a longer life, especially for women. Dr. Miller “prescribes” a “deep psychological laugh that elicits tears of joy and relaxation” each day.
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As the COVID 19 pandemic stretches on and on, maintaining your motivation to exercise may be more and more difficult. Even though recent blogs have cited the benefits of exercise for our immune system, as well as it being an antidote to depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties, losing interest and energy for exercise is understandable, even predictable perhaps
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A new study reveals greater risks for infection from cold and influenza viruses for people with “psychosocial vulnerabilities”, which can be applied to risks with COVID 19. This expands on a recent blog about strengthening our immune system.
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Sacks explores a variety of unusual, and mostly very rare, ways in which music comes to dominate a person’s brain, and life. But he also describes how powerfully therapeutic music can be for patients with Parkinson’s Disease or Dementia
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The last few months of blogs have focused on the COVID 19 pandemic: how to cope; how to help our kids cope; dealing with grief; dealing with psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence; risks of losing insurance coverage for telehealth; strengthening our immune system; maintaining exercise.
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