Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce

Assistance for Anxiety Disorders by Darra McMullen, Women’s Health Network Writer/Researcher This article is the third and final installment in a three-part series of stories concerning anxiety and depression.   This piece focuses on anxiety and some of the measures people can take in their daily lives to alleviate symptoms and improve outcomes in dealing with this common disorder.               We begin this mental health story by looking at a few basic facts.   According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the U.S., affecting millions of adults, aged 18 years or older.   The true number of persons afflicted is probably unknown due to uncounted sufferers who don’t seek medical help and due to individuals who seek only natural solutions to their problems and thereby, are not noted in any type of medical records.             There are several types of anxiety disorders; among them are: g

Take a Closer Look at Depression by Darra McMullen, Women’s Health Network Writer/Researcher Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to read and think about the December 2017 article concerning anxiety and depression.  That story, which was the first of a three-part series on the conditions, focused on recent news briefs concerning anxiety and depression.  Now, with part 2 of the series, we’ll look more deeply at the details of depression.             Depression affects the whole person, including the body in general, the nervous system in particular, as well as moods, thoughts, and behaviors.  Depression creates effects in eating and sleeping patterns, self-concept, and a person’s reactions to the people and events in his/her environment.             Depressive symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years.  There are several types of depression with varying numbers of symptoms and frequency and duration of occurrence.             Common symptoms of any type of depression in