Army must do more to address soldiers' mental health, review says

SEATTLE — Problems with combat stress in soldiers have escalated so rapidly that the Army has doubled its behavioral health...

Attention deficit disorder often lasts past childhood, study says

Childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder frequently persists into adulthood, bringing heightened risks of additional psychiatric...

Sleep deprivation has genetic consequences, study finds

Doctors know that being chronically sleep-deprived can be hazardous to your health. Night-shift workers, college crammers and all the rest...

Try This: The humming breath, a virtual hug for kids

The humming breath is a great way for children to calm and soothe themselves. It's sort of like a virtual hug, giving you that "everything...

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Heartbreak can take a physical toll

Hope Rising (yes, her real name) says that the day she watched her husband pull out of their driveway for the last time, she collapsed,...

Alzheimer's cases, and costs, projected to swell

As baby boomers enter their golden years, the number of people afflicted with Alzheimer's disease is expected to reach 13.8 million by...

Many mentally ill missing from gun background check system

WASHINGTON — Swept along by the tide of outrage and sorrow after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, Congress passed a law to try to...

Getting your baby to sleep

Few topics get as much airtime with new parents as the subject of sleep, or lack thereof, and few topics are as polemic as sleep training....

A lifeline for parents concerned about a child's mental health

Lynn Goodloe saw her son's grades begin to fall as he developed a knack for getting into mischief at a private Westside high school. Was...

What defines 'cool'

Few things could be less cool than conducting a scientific study on what it means to be cool, but that didn't stop a group of researchers...

Mental health care at stake in 2012 vote

One in five Americans over age 18 suffers from a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. That's upward of 40 million potential voters....

Off-the-couch mental health therapies

When you think of psychotherapy, the first image that comes to mind might be one of a distressed patient lying on a couch, talking, while...

Mindfulness, being in the moment is now of the moment

Every Thursday at lunchtime at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, several dozen people turn off their cellphones and take seats in the bright...

Obese adults should get counseling, federal task force says

In a move that could significantly expand insurance coverage of weight-loss treatments, a federal health advisory panel on Monday...

Medication, therapy help treat anxiety

Karen Smuland has always been an anxious person. But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York's World Trade Center, she had her first...

Supplements for depression: What the research reveals

Struggling with the black dog of depression? The supplement aisle abounds with options for people seeking a non-medicinal remedy —...

This is your mind on meditation: less wandering, more doing

The brains of experienced meditators appear to be fitter, more disciplined and more "on task" than do the brains of those trying out...

Pets and your health: the good and the bad

They cuddle and purr. And they shed. They wag their tails and fetch your slippers. And they shed. They never talk back and they never hold a...

Therapy dogs make the rounds in more healthcare settings

"Pets are embedded in the soul of our humanity," says Dr. Edward Creagan, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as he...

Men juggle too: Competing work and family demands stress out more guys nowadays

A growing number of men are now suffering from the seductive promise that they can have it all: the comforts and rewards of a...

A patient's social history isn't just checked-off answers

Ms. R., a retired nurse, lives with her husband in Dorchester.

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Division of duty is the name of the brain game

You may be lazing by the pool after a visit or two to the swim-up bar, but parts of your brain are always on duty — ready to leap into...

After brain damage, the creative juices flow for some

Artist Katherine Sherwood was just 44 when a hemorrhage in her brain's left hemisphere paralyzed the right side of her body —...

What it looks like inside a migraine

It can be hard to explain how your world looks to someone whose reality is very different. That's especially true for people with epilepsy...

Irreconcilable differences at the end of the day: Men, women and housework

Men, it's your health and happiness or hers. Women, it's your health and happiness or his. At the end of the day, if there's housework to be...

Using video to fight workplace stress

In the eight years Krista Lang Blackwood has been artistic director of a nonprofit choral group, she's heard it all: prospective donors...