Category Archives: Resiliency

Harvard Neuroscientist: Meditation Not Only Reduces Stress, It Changes Your Brain

30 May 2015

Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, was one of the first scientists to take the anecdotal claims about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness and test them in brain scans. What she found surprised her — that meditating can literally change your brain.

Teacher Shares Story About Traumatic Brain Injury

29 May 2015

Susie Guckin, Reading-Fleming Intermediate School instrumental music teacher, recently released her first book, “The Camouflaged Heart” (Balboa Press; 2015) sharing her personal journey through traumatic brain injury, PTSD, trauma, and the encouragement and wisdom she learned from her experiences volunteering with the wounded warriors of the local U.S. Army base.

Poetry Kept My Patient Alive

26 May 2015

Steve, my patient, fancied himself a poet, first and foremost. Brilliant, yet sadly bedeviled by schizoaffective disorder — a condition somewhere between schizophrenia and bipolar — he feared he would die before his gift was discovered. “I think I’m dying,” he said every week. His poetry reflected this preoccupation. For example:

Photographer Shows What Anxiety Looks Like

25 May 2015

Katie Joy Crawford, 23, has struggled with anxiety for over a decade. She says there were times when it was debilitating and staying in bed seemed far easier than facing the real world.

Music Helps Brain Injury Patients Find Their Voice

22 May 2015

Pianist and guitarist Tom Sweitzer will perform a free concert on May 24 to thank his hometown of Altoona for supporting his early education, which he said, has led him to a successful career in music therapy.

Researchers Find Promising Treatment for Meth Addiction

21 May 2015

A small study has found that Naltrexone, a drug used to treat alcoholism, effectively decreased methamphetamine-addicted patients’ desire for the drug and the pleasure they derived from using it.

When Your Dating Profile Includes Mental Illness

20 May 2015

Christina Bruni seems to have it all. She owns her own co-op, has a gym-toned body and striking good looks, and a career as a librarian. She’s fit and active.