Social isolation increases risk of early death, study finds

People who are socially isolated are more likely to die prematurely, regardless of their underlying health issues, according to a study of...

Anger issue: When phone goes from mobile to aerial

On a recent evening outside a San Fernando Valley movie theater, a young man startled passersby when he hurled his cellphone onto the...

False-positive mammograms take mental toll, study finds

Long after learning that a troubling reading on a screening mammogram was just a false alarm, women continued suffering negative...

L.A. County backs bills on outpatient mental health treatment

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has thrown its weight behind Laura's Law — which allows counties to create court-ordered...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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.

Put your stress on vacation

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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...

A teen's friends are a powerful influence

My parents had it pretty easy with me when I was a teenager. I was a bit of a nerd. I earned straight A's in school, ran for student...

Pain and heartache are bound together in our brains

Like a jab in the arm with a red-hot poker, social rejection hurts. Literally. A new study finds that our brains make little distinction...

Bilingualism good for the brain, researchers say

Does being bilingual give young children a mental edge, or does it delay their learning?

'Black Swan's' psychological spin

The premise