Health Expert Jerry Kennard shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/4182/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/4182/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/4182/index http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/150076/understanding Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:01:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard One of the first steps in giving support to someone with depression is to ensure they receive professional help. This is a big step and one that will almost certainly help the person towards recovery. There is no quick fix for depression however, so the emotional and practical support offered by relatives and loved one's will make a huge difference to the recovery process. In this Sharepost I'm focusing on the aspect of understanding depression,... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/150076/understanding http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/150054/personality Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:37:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard There is a certain type of person who seems needy, indecisive and clingy. More than most they seem to need reassurance, advice and have a need for someone else to take the lead. In an attempt to ingratiate they will readily take on the beliefs and values of the other person and lose all sense of individuality or personal difference. They dread being alone and when this happens they feel even higher levels of anxiety. In short, they rely almost... http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/150054/personality http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/150052/makes-depressed Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:56:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Of late, I've been writing about some of the broader issues of life and this is reflected in at least a couple of my recent Shareposts (living a flatlined life; turning around the signs of burnout). I don't want to give the impression that most people feel miserable about their working life, so my aim is to provide a little more in the way of balance, but to point out what could happen if your relationship with work becomes a bit too... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/150052/makes-depressed http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149945/positive-provoking Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:28:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Anxiety is generally viewed as a fairly negative emotion. It's a necessary evil, operating as a counterbalance to us taking too many risks, bad decisions and as a way to prepare us for fight or flight. Anxiety can also intrude into people's lives in a way and to an extent that results in illness. No wonder we give it such a bad press. We've come to associate anxiety with the negatives in life, yet anxiety can be present even when things in life... http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149945/positive-provoking http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149921/turning-burnout Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:38:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Once, you were a high achiever, full of enthusiasm and energy about your work. You'd put in the hours and more. You'd defend your work, extol its virtues: you felt part of something bigger than yourself. Then, at a point you can't quite recall, all this began to change. Maybe you put it down to feeling a bit tired and a little out of sorts? But these new feelings and thoughts slowly took up residence. Increasingly you began to question the worth... http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149921/turning-burnout http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149693/flatlined-life Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:28:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard There comes a point in most people's lives when they begin to reflect on what their life is about. It's a moment that can affect anyone at any age but for people in their midlife it perhaps feels more poignant. Middle age can feel like a tipping point: the start of a decline from which there is no return. Because there's no chance of putting the clock back it's a time of possible regret, of chances missed or opportunities passed over.   Our... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149693/flatlined-life http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149580/miserable-year Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:13:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard It's January 24th. This, according to some researchers, qualifies it as the most miserable day of the year. Now I'm looking out of my window. It's raining, cold, gloomy and altogether bleak. If today qualifies as the most miserable 24 hours in a year it's not such a bad deal. Maybe the best thing is to seek distraction in work or watch a good movie - or two?   But we can't just accept the notion of a single miserable day without at least... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149580/miserable-year http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149547/responsible-doctor Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:24:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Over the past few years there has been a considerable shift in our relationship with medicine. People of my generation were pretty well indoctrinated into the idea that sickness almost belonged to medicine. You gave yourself over to the doctor and you followed their orders. These days the picture has changed and many of our doctor-patient interactions are in the form of information sharing and agreeing on treatments.   The medical... http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149547/responsible-doctor http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149306/aid-values-respect Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:52:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard This Sharepost stems from several conversations and comments. Maybe it's come about because of those huge bonuses and big pay awards we see splashed across our TV screens. How, we ask, in times of job losses, the economic downturn and pay squeezes, can some people justify giving themselves a multi-million dollar bonus? These conversations are bad for your health - I suspect - if some of the red faces and anger I've seen is anything to go by.... http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/4182/149306/aid-values-respect http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149128/depression-stay Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:38:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard People who have experienced more than one episode of depression ask, quite reasonably, whether they are ever likely to be well? The answer they receive is often ambivalent, but nearly always with a hint of optimism, reflecting the fact that no two people are alike. Still, as we learn more about the course of depression it becomes clearer who is most at risk from chronic depression, and what the most effective treatment and preventative methods... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/149128/depression-stay