fullcortex.net

WHAT IS IT?
Stress is your reaction to anything-good or bad-that upsets your body’s balance. When you’re under stress, your body goes through a number of changes. This is the so-called fight or flight response, a reaction to danger or excitement that dates back millions of years. Our ancestors had to fight for their food and flee or defend themselves against enemies. This response, which provides quick bursts of oxygen and energy, helped them survive. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
People who quit smoking usually don’t decide to quit because of all the bad news about it. They already know it’s bad for them. Often, experts say, smokers quit because they simply get fed up with being controlled by the habit.

Still, the facts about smoking are as true as ever. It kills more Americans than auto and airplane accidents, AIDS, cocaine and heroin overdoses, and murder combined. Smoking tobacco, in fact, kills about 400,000 men and women each year, Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
Sleep is safe harbor, the source of renewal of body and soul for most of us. But for 70 million Americans, it’s a nightmare: They can’t get to sleep, or can’t stay asleep through the night. And it’s not just their problem: Lack of sleep causes 100,000 driving accidents with 1,500 deaths every year. Researchers estimate that as many as two-thirds of adults in this country don’t get enough sleep. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
For most of us, headaches are a minor nuisance. But people who get the headaches known as migraines must cope with sharp, throbbing pain that disrupts their sleep, work, and play.
Many people describe migraine pain as feeling like the jabs of an ice pick. Beyond that, the pains can vary widely: They often start on one side of the head and may then spread to the other side. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
If you have a head, you have felt it ache. In fact, headaches are one of the most common human ailments. People get many types of headaches, but most-90 percent-are tension headaches. When you have one, you get a dull, steady pain in the scalp, temples (the flat areas on either side of the forehead), or back of the head. The people who get headaches most are in their twenties through fifties, women more than men. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
We all feel a bit blue once in a while, perhaps after a loss or setback, during an illness, or when we’re under a lot of stress. Such moods are normal, and they pass with time.

But sometimes those feelings don’t go away. Instead, they become a stubborn sorrow that can last for weeks or months at a time, or comes and goes for no clear reason. This is the illness that doctors call depression. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
We all have highs and lows-we feel lively and happy one day, a bit blue the next. But for some people, mood swings can get out of control. The result is bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression): sudden swings in mood from wild elation to the deepest gloom.

These mood shifts can happen fast, though sometimes an “up” or “down” can last for weeks. A person with bipolar disorder may also enjoy long stretches of normal moods between the highs and lows. Continue reading →

WHAT IS IT?
People with anxiety disorders often feel severe panic or constant long-term tension. For them, normal worries can progress into extreme fears that can lead to problems with other people, their jobs, even the routine tasks of daily life.
Anxiety disorders affect about 19 million Americans. The most common are:
Generalized anxiety disorder: severe long-term tension for no clear reason. Continue reading →