In 1784, an elderly Benjamin Franklin unexpectedly awakened early one morning in the otherwise sleeping city of Paris. If nothing more than to tease his host city, he penned an […]
Psychology, Therapy, Counseling & Mental Health
Better Health – A Laughing Matter
“I think laughter is everything. I need it like water, sun and sleep,” said Melissa Sanderson, 50, of Columbia. “I feel elated, stress-relieved, alive … and, if it’s really good, […]
Could Sound Therapy Be Right for You?
Ancient holistic approaches to healing the body and mind have always existed, quietly closeted under the nebulous label of alternative medicine. Sound – or vibration therapy – dates back to […]
Music and Mental Health
When Janelle Mitchell enters the room of one of her adolescent patients who was recently diagnosed with cancer, she doesn’t bring a stethoscope or bandages. Instead, she might be carrying […]
Travel Offers Brain Boost
Whether they are enjoying a relaxing cruise, a trip to an exotic country or a simple journey through the woods to Grandma’s house, most travelers readily agree that escaping daily […]
The Health Toll of Fight or Flight
Several years ago, while on a routine neighborhood walk near his home in Greenville, Tommy Lewis Neal came upon a large mastiff at the edge of an unfenced front yard. […]
Procrastination Is Not Laziness
“Procrastination is like a credit card: It’s a lot of fun until you get the bill,” English actor Christopher Parker once said. Most procrastinators, and the family and friends who […]
Seasonal Depression: More than just wintertime…this time
Even when he was a teenager growing up in Greenville, in the 1970s, Henry L. Clark recalls feeling down, listless and borderline sad at certain times every year. “We called […]
F.E.T.C.H. Program Nudges Healing Forward
“How do you feel about dogs?” Katelyn Leitner, child life specialist, asks a nervous patient at Prisma Health-Upstate. When the little girl says she loves dogs, Leitner nudges the conversation […]
The Benefits Of Volunteering: Giving Betters Your Health
People often decide to volunteer to make a difference and improve lives other than their own – and an ever-growing body of research suggests that volunteering offers health benefits that […]
Ketamine Treatments for Depression
“I don’t use the word miraculous lightly in medicine, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Richard L. Bowen, M.D., of Charleston Ketamine Center. He has now been administering […]
Control Panic Attacks
I was 22 the first time I experienced a panic attack. It was September of 2001, several weeks after the attack on the Twin Towers. I lived across the river […]