By Robert Firestone
The ultimate tragedy of the human condition is our awareness of our inevitable mortality.
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Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, has acknowledged that after the 2012 games, his longtime depression was so overwhelming he thought about killing himself.
Experts I spoke with for this story pointed to a couple of reasons professional athletes are particularly susceptible to mental health issues.
It’s no surprise that when a person gets a diagnosis of heart disease, cancer or some other life-limiting or life-threatening physical ailment, they become anxious or depressed.
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Demand from patients seeking help for their mental illnesses has led to underground use in a way that parallels black markets in the AIDS pandemic. This underground use has been most perilous for people of color, who face greater stigma and legal risks due to the War on Drugs.
The fear of death and dying is quite common, and most people fear death to varying degrees. To what extent that fear occurs and what it pertains to specifically varies from one person to another.
Frank Ostaseski, an internationally respected Buddhist teacher and pioneer in end-of-life care, has accompanied over 1,000 people through their dying process.
For more than 50 years, Ram Dass has watched as other nontraditional spiritual leaders have come and gone while he has remained.
Some people harbor the illusion that rest is a luxury they do not have time for, but the reality is that rest is a necessity.
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The idea behind hypnosis revolves around altering a person’s brainwaves, allowing them to tap into resources within themselves that they cannot reach when fully conscious. Research shows that the approach can help some individuals manage their anxiety.
Although hypnotherapy has been around a long time, it is sometimes considered a CAM therapy and has grown in popularity for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. The following describes more about this approach to treating panic disorder.