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April Reads: Promoting Mental Health

From stress to depression and beyond, some type of mental health issue affects millions of people in the U.S. Even those without a clinical disorder often face occasional anxiety or bouts of sadness they may not know how to handle.

For people living with chronic pain, treating the mind is just as important as treating the body. That’s because alleviating stress or sadness has the potential to reduce pain in some circumstances, even without taking medication or undergoing a medical procedure. In some cases, pain experienced in the body is a direct result of an emotional disturbance.

The link between physical and mental health is intricate and strong.

We dedicated April to exploring this interaction on Inside Pain. To kick the month off, we explored the nature of anxiety, the many forms it takes, its potential causes, and how it may worsen or otherwise affect a person’s experience of chronic pain. Hint: research shows the connection is powerful. Read What Is Anxiety? to learn more.

After exploring the roots of anxiety and how it manifests in the body, we talked about ways of treating this common mental health condition. The article 6 Treatments For Anxiety reveals ways to dissolve tension that range from the simple to more intensive. Many of the treatments included can be used right now so you can start feeling better immediately.

Later in the month, we dove into more detail about the deeply connected relationship between mental health conditions and pain. In the article, you’ll read about one doctor’s controversial take about the emotional source of lower back pain and discover the insidious way depression affects pre-existing physical conditions. At Arizona Pain, we don’t like to leave you hanging without solutions, so you’ll also learn ways to mitigate the risks so you can feel better and live your best life.

Chronic stress is another problem affecting a huge percentage of U.S adults and teens, and research continues to reveal just how harmful this mental state is to physical health. In How Does Chronic Stress Impact Health?, you’ll read how this natural response to outside stimuli can go awry and impact nearly every system in the body.

Which is worse for you: A high-fat, high-sugar diet or stress? Read this article and find out.

Now that we’ve got you stressed about stress, don’t miss 6 Healthy Ways To Respond To Work Stress. This post gives you easy ways to reduce tension by incorporating simple lifestyle changes and adopting new viewpoints to put things back into perspective. Ahhh. Doesn’t that feel good?

Now that you’ve learned to manage work stress, don’t miss 3 Mindful Practices To Dissolve Stress and Promote Happiness, the ultimate guide for learning how to live in the moment and leave tension behind. You’ll learn about a few ancient practices that continue to thrive, attracting thousands of new students every year who are searching for greater peace.

Researchers also say that spending time in nature is an excellent way to reduce stress and promote mindfulness.

April is a perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors because Earth Day is this month!

In Find Your Center On Earth Day, you’ll learn about the history of the day that started an entire movement and find easy ways to celebrate the planet.

Once you’ve gotten your nature fix, you may be feeling ready to step outside your comfort zone. Those feeling a little adventurous and ready to take stress reduction to the next level won’t want to miss 5 Fun, Unconventional Therapies For Emotional Healing.

This article highlights some out-of-the-box ways to release long-held tension. Whether you’ve tried the more conventional ways and found they didn’t work or are just looking for a fun experiment, you’re bound to find new ways to venture further on the path towards tranquility.

Those readers who may be enduring tough times may be interested to read about a special tool psychologists have long used to gauge how likely a person is to experience a stress-related health event. Now you can use this same tool to measure your own risk. The Holmes Rahe Stress Scale gives numerical values to major life events. Add up the points and measure your health risks.

Those high at risk may want to pay extra special attention to this month’s articles about mindfulness and stress reduction because you have the power to influence how you respond to stress. Reduce stress and improve your health.

Mindfulness practices become more effective with practice. Start today and lower your risk for stress-related health problems.

Anxiety and stress may have reached epidemic proportions as people nationwide struggle with juggling work or school, family obligations, financial worries, or other life tribulations. Meanwhile, people with serious mental health illnesses are also struggling to live their lives, but without the extra support they need. Unfortunately, many people with psychiatric illnesses end up incarcerated.

The prisons have essentially become the country’s mental hospitals, some experts say, but the guards aren’t equipped to handle the needs of the mentally ill. Learn more by reading Behind Bars: The Mental Health Crisis In Prison.

Another disparity present in modern day health care is the availability of care for minorities and special populations. April is National Minority Health Month, a campaign that seeks to raise awareness about shortfalls in care for some of the most at-risk populations and promote ways to promote appropriate care for all. In this article, you’ll learn about the main initiatives happening in April and read about some of the surprising cultural differences keeping doctors on their toes as they try to better serve patients of all ethnicities.

Arizona Pain is dedicated to serving people of all colors, races, and shapes. We strive every day to improve medical care in our corner of the world. With that in mind, we recently opened a downtown Phoenix office catering to the Hispanic community, where Latino patients will find Spanish-speaking doctors who are well-versed in the community’s cultural nuances that affect quality of care.

Meanwhile, rural Arizona faces a critical doctor shortage, and we’re happy to have opened two offices in the northern part of the state. Read about those happenings and Arizona Pain’s latest research news in this month’s post.

If you’re interested in reading more about the state’s ongoing doctor shortage and how it could impact you, don’t miss this month’s article, which also includes the latest medical research and technology news happening in Arizona.

What was your favorite Inside Pain article from April?

Image by NEC Corporation of America