Author: fitness-expert
Research by Kevin Beaver at Florida State University has found a link between the low-activity version of the gene MAOA and gang behaviour in men. This gene, which is rarely found in women, has been shown to be related to aggression in men who have been abused as children. Beaver found that men with low-activity MAOA were twice as likely to join gangs as men with the normal version. Furthermore, of gang members, men with low-activity MAOA were four times as likely to have used a weapon, compared to men with the normal version of the gene. This is the…
With the passing of the new year my attention turned to what I want to achieve in the next twelve months. Yet again I find myself resolving to go to the gym more often, and when there, work harder for longer. What is it I want to achieve while I’m there? Well for me the most important reason for working out is that it improves my mental health: a good workout gives me a sense of achievement, purifies my body of stress toxins, and releases the ‘happy’ chemicals, endorphins, that lift my mood. Then there is looking more attractive: as…
For those young men who were lucky enough to return from the trenches following the First World War, they faced, on mass, the trauma of having endured some of the worst fighting in human history. Veterans suffered from nightmares, anxiety, guilt and despair. At the time ‘mental illness’ was seen as deeply stigmatising. Talking therapies were promoted for the new form of suffering that became known as ‘shell shock’. In turn the post war reorganisation of mental health services for veterans, changed the way mental health services were offered to the whole population, a reorganisation that can still be felt to…
Today is International AIDS day, but if you’re straight, this concerns you, so don’t turn away! When I was a young man, I was heavily involved in the service provision of men with HIV. At that time there were no treatments, and men died tragically young. Things are different know. The treatments for HIV are becoming so effective that, if caught early, HIV can be seen as a chronic manageable condition, and the person can expect a normal lifespan. The qualifier in the above statement, ‘if caught early’, is the crucial thing here. The British HIV Association estimate that a…
A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is disrupted. This can be due to a ruptured or blocked brain artery. Plaque or blood clots can block totally or partially the blood flow from the carotid arteries to the brain. When this happens, the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain becomes limited, thereby damaging the cells in the brain. Stroke results in the loss of sensation, voluntary movement, or function in the parts of the body controlled by the damaged part of the brain. In a severe stroke, the person may lose consciousness, or may die. There are…
The number of boys calling the UK child telephone helpline ChildLine is starting to increase. Historically boys have only represented 20% of calls to the service but this has increased over the last 5 years to 33%. The most common concerns of boys calling ChildLine in 2007/8 were: Bullying (12 568 calls). Physical abuse (6 403 calls). Family problems (6 016 calls). Facts of Life (5 362 calls). Sexual Abuse (4 780 calls). Sexuality (3 510 calls). Loneliness (1 817 calls). Rape (1 803 calls). Although it is clear that boys are starting to call ChildLine more, the raw facts…
A team of researchers from the Population Health Research Institute of McMaster University in Canada recently undertook a study to determine how common are the main risk factors for heart disease in the Middle East region. They systematically reviewed research studies on this subject that were published between January 1980 and April 2005. They limited their survey to studies done in the Middle East that were published in English which included at least 1000 participants – and looked for prevalence in these study populations of at least one of the following known risk factors for heart disease diabetes mellitus obesity…
Bullying is a serious matter. I am often invited to hear the ongoing effects in men who have been bullied as a child. Very often the experience of being bullied can leave a man with the world view that other people cannot be trusted. Such paranoia kept the little boy safe, but locks the man he has become, into an unrewarding and isolating experience of the world. Paradoxically, it is also what people who bully adults look out for, and such men often become the focus for bullies in, for example, the work place. What often complicates matters working with…
I was never particularly good at dancing as a young man. I was shy, clumsy and uncoordinated. Then the rave scene came along, and not being able to dance was a bonus, so my confidence improved. Now when I take to the dance floor, the young guns wince. I look more like their father than a contender. Even as a teenager, there was something about dancing that I just didn’t get. The activity always struck me as being intrinsically absurd. Research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences and reported in the New Scientist, however, suggests there may be…
Everything comes in fashions. Mental health research is no exception. As I have reported elsewhere in this blog, mindfulness is currently the flavour of the moment in mental health. By mindfulness, what most people mean is some form of meditative exercise performed by the patient most days. Two recent studies have been published in the journal Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy which indicates that it might be helpful and feasible to use mindfulness techniques in people who hear voices or experience paranoia. This is interesting because this is a population that anecdotally has been suggested are unsuitable for meditation in the…