Study shows the negative side to positive self-statements

Image: Stockxpert
In times of doubt and uncertainty, many Americans turn to self-help books in search of encouragement, guidance and self-affirmation. The positive self-statements suggested in these books, such as “I am a lovable person” or “I will succeed,” are designed to lift a person’s low self-esteem and push them into positive action. According to a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, however, these statements can actually have the opposite effect.
Psychologists
Joanne V. Wood and
John W. Lee from the University of Waterloo, and W.Q. Elaine Perunovic from the University of New Brunswick, found that individuals with low self-esteem actually felt worse about themselves after repeating positive self-statements.
[continue reading…]

Image: iStockphoto
This piece of research has me worried! My husband can snore for England and causes me interupted slumber most nights. New research has found that women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.
Research by the University of Warwick and University College London has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men.
[continue reading…]
In the current issue of Time Tiffany Sharples asks the question why do some teens behave recklessly? Is it as a new study published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics would suggest because of the belief that they’re doomed to die young anyway?
In a long-term analysis of 20,594 American teens in grades 7 through 12, researchers interviewed the youngsters on three different occasions: first in 1995, again in 1996, then a final follow-up from 2000 to 2001. At the first interview, 1.4% of participants thought there was “almost no chance” that they’d reach their mid-30s; 2.4% thought it was possible, but hugely unlikely; and 10.9% believed they had only about a 50-50 shot of celebrating their 35th birthday. Researchers discovered that those who believed they were likely to die young were more likely to make potentially life-threatening choices — such as getting into violent fights or having unprotected sex with multiple partners — than teens who weren’t expecting an early death. Link to continue reading
Source: Time
Katie Balestra Washington Post, takes a look at anti anxiety drugs and their problems Anti-anxiety drugs raise new fears
Benzodiazepines, often prescribed to manage anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Originally pushed as an alternative to barbiturates, their use has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. But critics say their long-term effects have gone largely unaddressed. Health professionals and consumers are increasingly recognizing that taking the drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence, often ending with a grueling withdrawal. link to continue reading
The article highlights how routinely these drugs are prescribed, (in 2008, 85 million prescriptions were filled for the top 20 benzodiazepines) , and how their use has boomed. The article concludes:
Some physicians recommend that people experiencing anxiety and panic attacks exhaust other options before turning to the drugs. According to Jerilyn Ross, the director of the Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders in Washington, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective ways to treat anxiety and panic disorders; she said it is effective on its own 90 percent of the time.
Source: Washington Post