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Intersection of medical science and psychology, research and clinical practice insights for daily life.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
A program designed specifically with adolescents needs and culture in mind and trying to educate about mental health broadly, including how to create a mental health positive educational environment, training on potentially how to triage or support students who are in difficulty and distress, and increasing knowledge of our campus specific resources.
@drschwank
@unesurcent
Training program for faculty and staff:
- A three-hour virtual asynchronous series of modules and then an optional two hour workshop to apply the learning.
- A one hour e-module for upper school teaching assistant and coaches version.
- Two hour practical workshop.
Preliminary research on the training program has shown: at least pre post improvements and knowledge, reductions in negative attitudes, reductions in stigma, and most notably, increases in confidence in people’s knowledge, their ability to respond and support a student in need.
What can teachers and educators do?
- Non-judgemental listening.
- Be there and dare to ask how students are doing.
- Discuss mental health in school, destigmatising it.
- Create a positive educational environment.
- Triage students that need support.
- Collaborate with psychologists and other experts.
- Adress mental health issues before it’s too late.
- Students with mental health issues just want the be seen.
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Im heutigen Podcast diskutieren Elias Foster Hairdresser & Musician und ich das Thema sustainable fashion. Elias teilt sein Motto zu seiner Mode und Lifestyle und stellte sich kritisch zum online Shopping und dem damit verbundenen Überkonsum und Überfluss an Verpackungen und des Ausblenden der Konsequenzen für die Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit.
Elias sieht die Nachhaltigkeit im Konsum und auch die Freude an den Produkten, durch ein olfaktorisches Erlebnis.
Er kauft gerne in kleinen Shops ein, redet mit den Kreativen hier den Produkten, fasst die Produkte an, duftet an ihnen und schaut sie im Tageslicht an. Alle Sinne sind dabei aktiviert und ergeben damit ein viel erfüllenderes Erlebnis und Erinnerung an den Kauf.
Elias kauft und verkauft auch gerne Sachen in second hand stores und teilte seine top 3 in Züri:
Elias Tipps: Kaufe Neues, das du nicht schon im Schrank hast oder im Gebrauch überlappt.
@drschwank
@unesurcent
@eliasxfoster
www.eliasfoster.com
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
PCOS and infertility challenges part 3
Many women struggle with infertility and a leading cause is often PCOS. Undiagnosed and untreated PCOS. Many women experience symptoms of discomfort that they haven’t sought medical nor psychological support for.
PCOS can cause symptoms incl. infertility and excess facial and body hair, depression, and anxiety. Women suffering from PCOS often report feeling frustrated and anxious about their ability to become pregnant, their weight, excess body and facial hair, and lack of control over their health and bodies.
Stress
PCOS itself is known to cause stress, particularly over the physical symptoms of the condition, such as excessive facial and body hair. This stress can lead to anxiety and depression. It’s more likely to affect younger women with PCOS.
Inflammation
PCOS is also associated with inflammation throughout the body. Prolonged inflammation is associated with high cortisol levels, which increases stress and depression.
High cortisol also increases the risk of insulin resistance, which in turn can cause depression.
A first step to improve symptomatology involves lifestyle changes
Leading an active lifestyle in general may help improve mental health. I.e. low-calorie diets in combination with exercise.
Women with PCOS, who report exercising regularly reduced their symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, and those who said they did at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, were less likely to be depressed.
Medications and supplements
Medications that help the body use insulin such as metformin may improve symptoms of depression in people with PCOS. Metformin may also help with anxiety symptoms.
Hormonal imbalance, including excess androgen (high testosterone), birth control pills may be prescribed to help correct it.
Taking omega-3 fatty acid from fish oil alone, or in combination with Vitamin D, may decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with PCOS.
Complementary and alternative therapies
There may be improvement in depression and anxiety among women with PCOS who receive acupuncture and in people who practice mindfulness 30 minutes a day. Yoga that includes poses, guided relaxation, breathing exercises, and meditation further improved women’s mental health.
Seek support and get care
Seek medical and psychological support early to reduce symptomatology. Treatment for infertility, if pregnancy wish isn’t fulfilled.
@drschwank
@optimalperformancezurich
@unesurcent
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Having PCOS does not mean you can't get pregnant. PCOS is one of the most common, but treatable, causes of infertility in women. In women with PCOS, the hormonal imbalance interferes with the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries (ovulation). Without ovulation, it isn’t possible to get pregnant.
How to get treatment for infertility related to PCOS?
Talk to a fertility doctor about ways to help you ovulate and raise your chance of getting pregnant. You can also use an ovulation calculator to see which days in your menstrual cycle you are most likely to be fertile.
Treatments of PCOS to improve fertility
- Losing weight. If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight through healthy eating and regular physical activity can help make your menstrual cycle more regular and improve your fertility. Find a personalized healthy eating plan.
- Medicine. After ruling out other causes of infertility in you and your partner, your doctor might prescribe medicine to help you ovulate, such as clomiphene (Clomid).
- In vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF may be an option if medicine does not work. In IVF, your egg is fertilized with your partner's sperm in a laboratory and then placed in your uterus to implant and develop. Compared to medicine alone, IVF has higher pregnancy rates and better control over your risk of having twins and triplets (by allowing your doctor to transfer a single fertilized egg into your uterus).
- Surgery. Surgery is also an option, usually only if the other options do not work. The outer shell (called the cortex) of ovaries is thickened in women with PCOS and thought to play a role in preventing spontaneous ovulation. Ovarian drilling is a surgery in which the doctor makes a few holes in the surface of your ovary using lasers or a fine needle heated with electricity. Surgery usually restores ovulation, but only for 6 to 8 months.
PCOS and pregnancy complications
PCOS can cause problems during pregnancy for you and for your baby. Women with PCOS have higher rates of 6:
- Miscarriage
- Gestational diabetes
- Preeclampsia
- Cesarean section (C-section)
- Higher risk of a heavy baby (macrosomia) and of spending more time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
@drschwank
@optimalperformancezurich
@unesurcent
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormone imbalance that causes infertility, obesity, and excessive facial hair in women, can also lead to severe mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
A study supervised by Columbia University School of Nursing professor Nancy Reame, MSN, PhD, FAAN, and published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, identifies the PCOS complications that may be most responsible for psychiatric problems. While weight gain and unwanted body hair can be distressing, irregular menstrual cycles is the symptom of PCOS most strongly associated with psychiatric problems, the study found.
Menstrual abnormalities in women with PCOS was the strongest predictor for mental health issues, particularly when there are so many other symptoms—like beard growth and infertility—that can make a woman feel unfeminine.
Women with PCOS had significantly higher levels of psychological distress than the general population. For more than half of those disorders, the women with PCOS had distress levels statistically similar to those of the female psychiatric patients.
Reame et al. 2014 found that when comparing participants with women in the general population, PCOS women had significantly higher scores on all of the symptoms evaluated and on corresponding psychological distress measures, particularly for anxiety, depression, somatization (the conversion of psychological distress to physical symptoms), and interpersonal sensitivity.
PCOS is estimated to affect 6 to 17 million women aged 18–44 in the U.S. It is one of the most common causes of infertility. There’s no single test to diagnose PCOS, and there’s no cure. The disorder is typically characterized by an excess production of the hormone testosterone, irregular ovulation, and cysts, or fluid-filled sacs, in the ovaries.
How to improve psychological and physical well-being?
-Acknowledging the challenges both the psychological and physical ones.
-Speak with an expert, to relive tension and stress.
-Changing habits can improve symptomatology.
-Exercise improves general, but particularly mental well-being.
-Diet and exercise in combination can boost your body-mind balance and improve symptomatology.
-Seek support for infertility. The earlier the better.
-Talk to other women in the same position and get support from likeminded women, facing similar challenge.
——————-———————————————-
PCOS and infertility challenges part 2
Having PCOS does not mean you can't get pregnant. PCOS is one of the most common, but treatable, causes of infertility in women. In women with PCOS, the hormonal imbalance interferes with the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries (ovulation). Without ovulation, it isn’t possible to get pregnant.
How to get treatment for infertility related to PCOS?
Talk to a fertility doctor about ways to help you ovulate and raise your chance of getting pregnant. You can also use an ovulation calculator to see which days in your menstrual cycle you are most likely to be fertile.
Treatments of PCOS to improve fertility
- Losing weight. If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight through healthy eating and regular physical activity can help make your menstrual cycle more regular and improve your fertility. Find a personalized healthy eating plan.
- Medicine. After ruling out other causes of infertility in you and your partner, your doctor might prescribe medicine to help you ovulate, such as clomiphene (Clomid).
- In vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF may be an option if medicine does not work. In IVF, your egg is fertilized with your partner's sperm in a laboratory and then placed in your uterus to implant and develop. Compared to medicine alone, IVF has higher pregnancy rates and better control over your risk of having twins and triplets (by allowing your doctor to transfer a single fertilized egg into your uterus).
- Surgery. Surgery is also an option, usually only if the other options do not work. The outer shell (called the cortex) of ovaries is thickened in women with PCOS and thought to play a role in preventing spontaneous ovulation. Ovarian drilling is a surgery in which the doctor makes a few holes in the surface of your ovary using lasers or a fine needle heated with electricity. Surgery usually restores ovulation, but only for 6 to 8 months.
PCOS and pregnancy complications
PCOS can cause problems during pregnancy for you and for your baby. Women with PCOS have higher rates of 6:
- Miscarriage
- Gestational diabetes
- Preeclampsia
- Cesarean section (C-section)
- Higher risk of a heavy baby (macrosomia) and of spending more time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
@drschwank
@unesurcent
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
As currently seven month pregnant woman, I feel more energetic and strong than ever before. A completely unexpected experience! I was expecting to feel low of energy, low in mood, huge, and unattractive. None of the above occurred, rather the complete opposite. I feel absolutely amazing, full of energy, up for new projects, ideas, and business opportunities. There’s no mountain high enough for women to climb. Perseverance, self-confidence, dedication, passion, and a clear vision to strive to the top. That’s what reflects me as a person. I’ve never ever given up in my life. No matter how strong the wind blew against me.
If Plan A didn’t work, I chose plan B, C, D, and back full speed to plan A. My passion and dedication to share this with other women never stops. I like to be an inspiration for other women, bring women together to exchange and encourage each other. That’s the goal of UNE SUR CENT, my female empowerment movement.
@unesurcent
@drschwank
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Stress verschlimmert die endometriosen-induzierten Schmerzen, denn er führt zu einem Hormonungleichgewicht und kann die Ursache für einen niedrigen Progesteronespiegel sein, und so die Endometriose-herde unkontrolliert stimulieren. Zudem hat das Stressbedingt erhöhte Niveau an Kortisol im Blut einen entzündungsfördernden Einfluss und ist eine wesentliche Komponente der Verschlimmerung der Endometriose, die ebenfalls eine chronische Entzündung darstellt.
Was tun gegen Stress?
- Kleine Schritte führen zum Erfolg.
- Routinen etablieren.
- Bewegung in den Alltag einbauen.
- Zeit im Kalender für exklusive me-time blockieren.
- Psychologische Unterstützung, lieber früher als zu spät.
- Support ist immer eine gute Idee.
- Ernährungsberatung zur Unterstützung des Stressmanagements.
- Physiotherapie zur Schmerzlinderung und Aktivitätsförderung.
@drschwank
@unesurcent
@optimalperformancezurich
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Stress-reducing activities, such as short HITT-units can reestablish your hormone balance and improve your immune system response. A hormonal equilibrium is essential to reduce symptom severity and general well-being. Exercise or stay active at least 2-3 days a week. Gentle exercises such as yoga, Pilates, tai chi, qi gong or walks combined with 7-15min HITT-units are a perfect choice. Start with the 5min daily exercise rule a day. Manageable routines you can keep up.
How to go about it?
-Routines rock!
-Small steps to a new weekly exercise habit.
-Find an exercise buddy, it‘s so much easier to commit!
-Set yourself reasonable, manageable goals.
-The 5min daily exercise/activity rule.
-Get yourself a nice outfit, that you like to wear during your activities. Motivation matters!
@drschwank
@unesurcent
@optimalperformancezurich
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Implications for Improved Maternal Mental Health
●Expand web-based services in primary care.
●Results pre-COVID-19 clear preference for web-based support.
●Target policy-makers to increase awareness of perinatal mental health.
●Integrate mental health services in community centers.
●Peer support to bridge treatment gap.
Goal: Reduce the population burden of mental disorders through research, training, and advocacy. Passionate about using science to overcome burden of mental health problems. Focusing on major preventable causes of health problems globally.
@drschwank
@unesurcent
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
After a blissful two days for my female empowerment movement @unesurcent, hiking, connecting, inspiring, and empowering each other. I’m enjoying a tranquil dinner by myself in the stunning lobby hall of @suvrettahouse. Life piano music, delicious Italian dinner, and exquisite hospitality, fully embracing my me-time. As an introvert, I knew how essential it was for me to recharge. Staying an extra night to recharge, exercise, solitude hike, swim, relax, dine, high tea afternoon, and enjoy! One of the very best decisions I’ve ever made in my life!! I could feel so clearly, how essential it was, for my physical and mental well-being.
Being 7 months pregnant, with four incredibly intense years of assisted reproductive health in the backpack, and conducting research on the impact of stress during the perinatal period, I’m extra, extra conscious of minimising my stress. Frequent massages, yoga, earlier boundary setting, more exercise time, and emphasising on work I have control over, are some of the strategies I follow.
Me-time, is however the most important of all of them! The days with my female friends learned and supported my strive for me-time too! They all found ways to curb out time for themselves. We all agreed, it’s the way to success, happiness, and a healthy life.
Coming December, the baby being born, I do wonder how it will be with the me-time. That’s why, I’ve arranged a babysitter that’s available from day one, daycare, grandparents visiting to support, and of course my husband taking time off to take care of our baby. We’ve also planned a first getaway in December to return to the amazing @suvrettahouse with him! Continuing a life we both love and don’t want to give up by any means. Couples time being as much to be cherished as me-time, especially after having a baby.
Thankfully, we will bring a baby phone and see with the Suvretta House regarding child care services.
To conclude: Dedication to oneself an essential pathway to life success and overall well-being.
Who of us is however living this credo?
Research has shown the consequences of stress on our physical and mental health.
As women, we’re taught to take a step back and set our own needs, behind others, leading to exhaustion and life dissatisfaction. It’s time to change these antique structures and celebrate the female me-time.
@unesurcent
@drschwank