Health Guide

Natasha M.’s comment: I never go out anymore. How can I? I never know when I will have to get to a bathroom really fast! It’s so embarrassing. I have to be so careful about...

Is denial a bad thing? Denial is a normal part of adjusting to the diagnosis of a chronic illness. In the denial stage, we feel numb. We feel as if we have been transported into...

If I am diagnosed with RLS during pregnancy, what are my chances of having this condition permanently? In most pregnant women with newly developed RLS, symptoms will resolve near the time of delivery. In a...

We have heard that if our daughter is heavy as a baby, she will never escape being heavy. Is this true? This is true in many children. Currently, a large ongoing study from the United...

My husband and I, along with our parents, are heavy. Is this a hereditary or genetic problem? Undoubtedly, an element of genetic inheritance is involved in excess weight. In fact, two syndromes are clearly genetic:...

I’ve heard people say that there is an “epidemic” of obesity. What does that mean? How bad is the problem in the United States? The World Health Organization has noted that there are 1 billion...

What is the role of trauma in the creation of anxiety? This question raises complicated, far-reaching, and deeply compelling issues. Asking one question in this area raises even more questions than it provides definite answers....

What is social phobia? Social phobia is, in its essence, an extreme fear of social interactions. It can be experienced as being scared of riding the elevator at work, going on a date, eating in...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by intensive obsessions and/or compulsions which patients experience and which absolutely interfere with workings of their minds and lives. Obsessions are commonly known as worries, fears, thoughts, or feelings that one...

Generalized anxiety disorder usually comes across in the patient who does not worry about any one topic or fear in particular, but instead always characteristically worries. It is a free-floating anxiety that might be described...