Emotional Health and Well-Being

Don't Overlook the Importance of Being Physically Active

As the parent of a toddler, I find that I am often calling out reminders during my son’s play with other children. I tell him, “Be gentle!” He hasn’t learned to talk yet and I don’t know how much he understands, but I am always on my toes to make sure that he plays nicely.

An interesing study out of Brandeis University and University College in London and published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine reports that spouses in bad marriages face greater risk for serious health problems.

The study goes on to say that marital problems affect men and women equally, increasing both spouses' risks for stroke and heart disease. Read more »

Several months ago, we had a young lady in her teens visit our clinic from the States for an eating disorder. Over the four-year period preceding her visit with us, her weight fluctuated between 70 and 165 pounds.

I find the way in which today's generation of Koreans celebrate Valentine's Day to be quite interesting and amusing.

In Korea, Valentine's Day is reserved for women to give chocolates and other presents to their boyfriends or men they wish would become their boyfriends. Read more »

From Our MailBag:

Dear Dr. Kim,

Thank you for sharing the article on choosing a life partner. I am not yet married, but want to get married in the near future. Your article really helped me clarify what I should be focusing on.

I'm just curious, can you tell me about the traditional Korean view of marriage and how Korean people usually pick a spouse?

Thank you very much,

Kathy Mcleod Read more »

A recent study in the journal Child Development (September 14, 2005) reports that even the mildest hints of anger or hostility in their environment significantly raises the stress level of physically abused children for a prolonged period of time, even if the conflict has nothing to do with them.

The investigators of this study suggest that this heightened response system in physically abused children may explain why many of them are so often distracted at school. Read more »

The following is an excerpt on marriage from Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love , by Kent Nerburn. Many thanks to Mr. Nerburn for graciously encouraging us to share his thoughts with our guests.

***

Sometimes marriage seems easier to understand for what it cuts out of our lives than for what it makes possible within our lives. When I was younger this fear immobilized me. I did not want to make a mistake. I saw my friends getting married from reasons of social acceptability, or sexual fervor, or just because they thought it was the logical thing to do. Then I watched as they and their partners became embittered and petty in their dealings with each other. I looked at older couples and saw, at best, mutual toleration. I imagined a lifetime of loveless nights and bickering days and could not imagine subjecting myself or someone else to such a fate. On rare occasions, I would see old couples who somehow seemed to flow in each other’s presence. They seemed really in love, not just dependent upon each other and tolerant of each other’s foibles. It was an astounding sight, and it seemed impossible. How, I asked myself, can they have survived so many years of sameness, so much irritation at the other’s habits? What keeps love alive in them, when most of us seem unable to even stay together, much less love each other?

Do you know anyone who just doesn't get along with his or her significant other? Here is an important question for him or her to consider: Read more »

In 1976, two researchers by the names of Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin conducted an experiment to see what would happen if they changed levels of control among residents in a nursing home. Residents in one group were allowed to choose a houseplant, and were informed of several choices such as when to water their plant and how much to water their plant. They were asked when they would prefer to receive visitors, whether or not to watch the weekly movie, what to have for breakfast, and so on. Individuals in another group were told that a nurse would choose and care for a houseplant for each of them, and then instructed on what they could have for breakfast, when they could have visitors, and when to watch the weekly movie. After eighteen months, the researchers found that people in the first group, those who had exercised choice and control, scored higher on tests measuring activity and happiness compared to individuals in the second group. They also found that fewer people in the first group had died, compared to the second group. This is not the only study to suggest that the degree of personal responsibility we take for our actions can determine our health and degree of happiness. Read more »