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If you’ve got a normal, hectic American life, it’s likely you don’t eat as regularly or as well as you should. If meetings run long, a child needs to be picked up, or you’ve got a spreadsheet due, the first thing sacrificed is the regularity of square meals–and healthy eating.

The next time you’re feeling peckish, avoid the vending machine and instead indulge in one of these five healthy foods that give you energy.

Bananas
Yes, these handy, easy-to-transport snacks are full of fruit sugars, but they won’t give you the sugar rush-and-crash that a candy bar would. That’s because bananas have a whole lot of fiber that help slow-release the banana’s bounty to keep you feeling full and energized until you can have a real meal. Smear slices with almond butter for an extra protein boost.

Oatmeal
Available in handy packets (although try to avoid the packets with sugar added), a quick bowl of warm, thick oatmeal is full of carbohydrates. Carbs are a prime source of energy, and in the form of whole grain like oatmeal, those carbs are released much more slowly than, say, processed white bread. Oatmeal also offers up lots of B vitamins necessary for metabolism. Stir in a handful of blueberries for antioxidant benefits, as well.

Hummus
This chickpeas-and-olive-oil puree delivers carbs, protein, and fats for a solid energy boost. The presence of bean protein and fat slows the release of carbs, offering you a steady and long-lasting input of energy. Hummus comes in lots of different flavors like red pepper and garlic, and can be used instead of mayo or avocado on many sandwiches. Use it as a dip with raw cut carrots, broccoli florets, sugar peas, and/or celery to boost your vitamin and fiber intake.

Almonds
Almonds are nature’s perfect protein snack. Although they have few carbs, they do have vitamins and minerals that are necessary for peak metabolic function, such as manganese, copper, phosphorus, zinc, and iron. They’re also packed with B vitamins like riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, and folate, Vitamin E, and heart-healthy oils.

Eggs
Eminently portable (when hard-boiled), eggs are packed full of protein. It’s the ideal composition of protein, as well, since our bodies can absorb nearly 100% of it. Included in the humble egg are also all the amino acids that our body needs to build and rebuild muscles. A single egg contains almost a third of our daily requirement of protein, which makes us feel full and helps reduce sugary cravings.

It’s important to note that food not only fuels our bodies but it also fuels our brains. Healthy eating can make a big difference in how we feel, both physically and emotionally.

“In this world,” Benjamin Franklin is purported to have said, “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Were the venerated patriot to be transported to the hyper-competitive, hyper-kinetic twenty-first century, he might very well have added “stress” to his list of life’s certainties.

Though it is inevitable, stress can be managed. Check out these three types of exercise that can help.

Cardiovascular Exercise
Vigorous exercise, the kind that raises your pulse, breathing, and heart rate, has long been determined to proffer loads of benefits to the body. But aerobic exercise like running, jogging, Zumba, and spinning also have a marked effect on the brain.

Science has shown that aerobic exercise, done regularly, can:

• Decrease overall anxiety
• Elevate and/or stabilize your mood
• Improve sleep quality
• Improve alertness and focus
• Increase cognitive function

There’s a scientifically-proven neurological basis to these claims. Cardiovascular workouts reduce stress hormone levels. They also increase the amount of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators, in the brain.

Meditative Exercises
You don’t have to risk your hip or knee joints in order to reduce stress and reap the mental rewards of exercise. Meditation and meditative exercises, including some variations of yoga and tai chi, afford the same benefits.

At Coventry University in Great Britain, a review of eighteen studies on the effects of meditation, yoga, and tai chi on the human genome revealed that mind-body activities work on the genetic level to ease depression and alleviate poor health. This works, in part, by muffling what stress and anxiety can do to your body on the molecular level.

Group Sports
Group sports have multiple benefits. First, engaging in group exercise via a team, whether it be kickball, bowling, dodge ball, or tennis, increases the probability that you’ll stay on track. It’s a lot easier to skip that early-morning sub-zero run than it is to skip a pick-up baseball game when the team is counting on you.

The second benefit is to your mental health. The Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise studied the connection between team sports and mental health in two Australian club sports, tennis and netball. They determined that women who took part in team sports enjoyed stronger mental health and overall life satisfaction than women who worked out on their own.

If you’re looking to reduce stress levels using exercise, don’t make the exercise another source of stress. Be sure to choose a fitness routine that fits your life and makes you happy.

You’ve probably heard the terms ADHD and ADD bandied about indiscriminately. Maybe you’ve been exposed to them in reference to children who have similar symptoms and behaviors, which makes parsing out the diagnosis codes difficult. Check out this brief primer on the difference between these acronyms, and how the diagnosis of patients has changed.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) is actually an outdated term. It used to refer to individuals who have trouble focusing and organizing, but who do not suffer from the constant energetic eruptions of hyperactivity. A child like this may be dreamy, inattentive, quiet, and disorganized, but by no means boisterous or disruptive. This form of the attention disorder is more often manifested in girls and women, but as of 2013, patients are no longer diagnosed with it.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association changed the way the range of attention and hyperactivity disorders are labeled. ADD has been replaced by one of three distinct types of ADHD:

• Primarily Inattentive ADHD
• Primarily Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD
• Combined ADHD

A child exhibiting the inattentive behaviors of what would formerly have been called ADD would now be diagnosed with ADHD-inattentive.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Hyperactivity (along with impulsive behaviors) is what separated ADD from ADHD when ADD was still a recognized diagnosis.

Hyperactivity includes a distinct set of behaviors:

• Impulsivity
• Excessive movement
• Excessive talking
• Difficulty “settling down” for periods of quiet
• Difficulty waiting, taking turns, etc.

Since the 2013 revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a child who exhibits hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors but does not show inattentive behaviors would be diagnosed with ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined
In case the conflation of ADD and ADHD didn’t confuse us enough, the changes in diagnosis have included a third version of the overall condition.

ADHD Combined is, as evident by the label, a diagnosis that includes all three major elements of the disorder: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

Diagnosis labels like ADD and ADHD and others evolve as psychiatric science makes greater strides in understanding the underlying issues. If you’re concerned that someone you love may be suffering from ADHD, contact a mental health professional for testing. The sooner a diagnosis is made, the sooner your loved one can get the help he or she needs.

Workplace stress is inevitable. At some point, you’re bound to deal with an irascible co-worker, an unreasonable boss, an excess of paperwork, or looming deadlines. You may also become overwhelmed if your job is at risk because of potential layoffs or a poor performance review.

Unfortunately, few workplaces have ping-pong tables, Xboxes, and comfort llamas. So check out these 5 more sensible ways to deal with stress at work.

Take A Physical Break
Time is limited but work is unlimited. That doesn’t mean you have to grind through your lunch break. For the sake of your mental and physical health, getting away from the stress-boiler of the office is a great way to shake it off. Whether it’s a walk around a nearby park, a healthy lunch off campus, or a quick trip to the gym, the physical exertion and change-of-pace will do a world of good.

Communicate Better
Stress is sometimes self-imposed. Are you taking on more work than you can physically complete? Are you nursing resentments over unfair workplace practices or preferences? Do you feel that your boss is inflicting unreasonable deadlines?

Get it off your chest by learning how to communicate your concerns in a constructive, positive manner. If, for example, your boss gives you a new project when you already have three others on your desk, pause to ask him how this new project fits in with your other priorities, and then list them. Your boss has his or her own worries and may not realize how hard he or she is leaning on you.

Prioritize And Delegate
Smart workers take the time to prioritize tasks and then tackle the hardest ones earlier in the day when they’re feeling freshest. If you have access to additional help, consider what you can delegate to other workers. If it’s in the budget, send large batches of work out to be photocopied rather than standing over the office photocopier yourself.

Hold The Phones
…and the emails, instant messages, faxes, and texts. If you absolutely have to get something done that requires full concentration, a few hours out of touch with the world may be just what you need to get it done stress-free, efficiently, and well.

Eat And Sleep Healthy
If you’re going to the vending machine several times a day, you’re only making yourself more prone to sugar highs and crashes. And if you’re staying up to finish a project only to arrive early the next morning, day after day, you’re depriving yourself of the sleep your body and brain need to refresh themselves.

Short-term stress is inevitable, but if high stress is part of your everyday life, you may begin experiencing physical symptoms such as insomnia, weight gain or loss, stomach upset, loss of focus, headaches, and overall irritability. For the sake of your health and relationships, make an extra effort to de-stress at work.

Everybody’s had the blues, according to the old Merle Haggard song. Though it’s true that everyone experiences profound sadness during their lifetime, most would agree that there’s a big difference between a temporary bout of the blues and a depression that affect’s one’s ability to cope.

Yet there’s one kind of depression whose key characteristic is how it ebbs and flows: Seasonal Affect Disorder.

What Is Seasonal Affect Disorder?
Season Affect Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that occurs over the span of a weather season. Just like depression, sufferers of this malady may experience all or some of the following symptoms:

• Sadness and/or swings of mood
• Apathy and/or disinterest in activities that were once enjoyed
• Loneliness and/or self-imposed isolation
• Changes in sleep patterns such as sleeping excessively or insomnia
• Appetite changes and/or weight gain
• Anxiety

Since there are treatments for SAD that are unique to the condition, paying extra attention to certain other factors is critical to an accurate diagnosis.

What Distinguishes SAD From Depression?
Depression is a persistent, unrelenting condition that pays no mind to what’s going on out-of-doors. The onset and ebbing of symptoms for SAD, on the other hand, is linked to the time of year. Most suffers find that the symptoms begin in the late fall and worsen through the dark of winter, and they do so every year. In rare cases, some sufferers experience these conditions during the spring and summer.

Researchers believe that the waning of natural light triggers certain biochemical changes. Melatonin levels begin to vary, which can disrupt your circadian rhythms. The reduction of sunlight can also alter the production of serotonin, the brain’s mood-regulating drug.

In order for a mental health professional to make a clinical diagnosis of SAD, two cycles of the experience are necessary to be sure. There are also particular risk factors for SAD to take into account:

• A family history of SAD or depression
• Women are more prone than men; 75% of sufferers are women
• Younger people are more likely to be diagnosed; late-life onset is less common

Many mental health issues share similar symptoms, which can make them hard to accurately diagnose. If you think that you, a friend, or a family member may be suffering from Seasonal Affect Disorder, contact a mental health professional to get the help needed.

Learning is not a simple process. We all hope that our children fly through academic milestones, and we can relate when one or two particular subjects prove troublesome. But what do you do when test scores don’t seem to mirror your child’s abilities, your child struggles with learning issues that seem baffling, and the school psychologist can only offer limited assistance? That’s when a professional psycho-educational evaluation can help.

What Is A Psycho-Educational Evaluation?
The title sounds intimidating, but this kind of evaluation is just a series of tests and empirical observations by a specially-trained psychologist meant to analyze your child’s mental processes and behavior patterns.

By identifying your child’s learning style, processing patterns, and memory abilities, the professional evaluator gets a good look at your child’s fundamental strengths and weaknesses. Armed with this information, he or she can begin to identify any learning disabilities or behavioral issues that may be hindering your child’s full potential.

Fundamentals Of A Psycho-Educational Evaluation
The evaluation itself usually begins by measuring a child’s cognitive skills using a test like the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). This test, done on a computer or with a pencil and paper, measures four aspects of your child’s cognitive abilities:

• Verbal Skills
• Perceptual Reasoning
• Memory Skills
• Mental Processing Speed

This analysis may be followed by an academic achievement test to measure skills in reading, math, and other subjects. Discrepancies between this test and the former can help identify certain learning disabilities.

Depending on the particular challenges your child faces, a third test or set of tests may be administered to evaluate other cognitive and behavioral issues, such as:

• Attention issues
• Executive function abilities such as organizing and seeing a project through to completion
• An overall psychological assessment

The evaluation process can take several hours in one sitting, or shorter periods over a span of a few days.

After all the testing is done, evaluators offer the test scores and as well as a written explanation of what they mean in terms of your child’s situation. The evaluator offers solid advice and recommendations on how to enhance your child’s educational experience based on their individual profile. If the data they collected warrants it, they may also diagnose learning disabilities and recommend accommodations in the classroom so your child can charge forward in sync with his or her peers.

Everyone gets the blues at some time or another. Sadness is a natural emotion and an expected response to setbacks such as a romantic break-up, a demotion at work, or the loss of a friend or relative. Grieving is a process that we all must acknowledge and experience. But since, at first glance, sadness and depression share some of the same symptoms, how do you know when your blue mood is a sign of something more serious?

Duration
Sorrow is usually a response to a specific, disheartening event, a natural emotion that follows personal loss or change. It can continue for a long time, but, in general, the intensity of the experience ebbs, evolves, becomes intermittent, or eases over time.

Depression, although it can be triggered by a single event, is far more stubborn. The duration and intensity of the sad feelings (among other emotions) are markers that determine the difference. Depression doesn’t easily ebb and can quickly change for the worse.

Despair
Although sorrow is one of the emotions that the clinically depressed can experience, it is only one of many. Sufferers of this malady often express feelings that go far deeper than what would necessarily be expected of someone grieving a particular event or series of events. Some of those feelings include:

• Hopelessness
• Pessimism
• Guilt
• Worthlessness
• Helplessness
• Despair
• Emptiness

Debilitation
Although sorrow can surely cause a loss of appetite, insomnia, and many other physical symptoms, red flags should fly if those symptoms persist and multiply to the point of inhibiting normal function. One of the hallmarks of clinical depression is a raft of physical conditions, such as:

• Ill-defined maladies, such as headaches, backaches, cramps, etc.
• Sleep pattern changes, including fatigue, restlessness, insomnia, oversleeping
• Appetite changes, to the point of sudden weight gain or loss, or digestive issues

Disposition
Whether we’ve experienced it or not, we’ve all seen people grapple with sadness. We expect tears, withdrawal, and a period of mourning. But those who suffer from clinical depression often exhibit mood and behavioral changes that aren’t usually expected from someone with “just” the blues. These may include:

• Cognitive trouble, such as difficulty in making decisions, remembering things, and concentrating for any length of time
• Personality changes, such as becoming withdrawn or irritable and losing interest in what once brought joy
• Self-harm (such as cutting) or suicidal thoughts

Grief is an emotion, but depression is a mental health issue that can be treated by medical professionals. If you believe that you may be experiencing some of the signs and symptoms of depression, never hesitate to call a mental health professional to get the help you deserve and need.

A common misconception among parents is that ADHD predominantly affects overactive boys. This has led to a rash of undiagnosed cases of girls afflicted with the disorder. Many women don’t present symptoms of ADHD until later on in life. Often times, these symptoms appear differently than in males. Why does this occur? What is The Hidden Reason ADHD Often Goes Undiagnosed in Girls?

What ADHD Looks Like in Girls
The symptoms of ADHD in boys can be disruptive. In the classroom, at home, running errands–ADHD can rear its ugly head. With girls, the symptoms are much different. Girls with ADHD will appear distracted and detached from their surroundings. This leads to major anxiety issues developing for girls at younger ages. In addition, girls will show a lack of organization skills (executive functioning) that affect their grades, friendships, and relationships with parents. This lack of control in their minds tends to drive them towards other issues in their lives including eating disorders. This is a much different view of ADHD than in boys. Girls aren’t jumping off the walls and running around like crazy.

Misdiagnosing ADHD in Girls
Studies on ADHD focus mainly on the behaviors demonstrated in boys. The hyperactive, young male who is fidgeting and constantly moving. When a girl begins to show their own symptoms of the disorder, it’s immediately thought of as a different issue than ADHD. Parents and some teachers may say that it can’t possibly be ADHD because that mainly affects boys. These girls aren’t performing to their maximum potential and ability. They are placed in remedial classes at school, even though they may be way above that level. Girls also may avoid social groups and spend their time alone or withdrawn.

Depression is a symptom of the ADHD in girls at young ages. They may be described as spaced out or constantly daydreaming. The disorder, for girls, seems to manifest in at the mind rather than in outward physical expression. Children don’t always understand what’s going on in their own brains at this time and girls with ADHD may internalize these issues. Why are the other children different? Why am I different? Why can’t I focus? What is wrong with me?

Parents will take their children to see specialists assuming the issue is psychological. Luckily, these specialists are getting better at understanding the complexities of the disorder. Many, however, aren’t lucky enough to get to the point where they actually get to see a specialist to aid them. They suffer in silence while everyone around them tries to figure out what’s wrong with them.

Confusion
ADHD tends to run in families, leading to potential confusion of the disorder. If either or both of the parents of a child have undiagnosed ADHD themselves, it’s easy to say that the child is just acting like they did when they’re younger. They’re fine now as adults, so the child will be too. They say that the child just needs to grow out of whatever phase they’re going through at the moment. This is, unfortunately, all too common of a sentiment among parents of girls with ADHD. Not admitting to a problem or saying it’s just a passing phase can do long term damage to a child. This confusion only plays tricks with the ADHD mind. The symptoms of the disorder occur but the child has no way to understand what’s happening and no support system to assist them in getting through the problems.

Times Are Changing
ADHD is everywhere at the moment. It’s a hot topic–anyone with a child who is running around and/or loud is automatically assumed to have ADHD. If only it were that easy, then we could solve many of the problems for these children. ADHD is a spectrum–what affects some, may not affect others.

The sooner we understand these differences both medically and culturally, the quicker we can help these children. Parents need to learn, understand, and aid when symptoms of ADHD present themselves in their girls. It can often be different for them than it can be for boys. Assisting with them now will lead to a decrease in future long term issues that these children face when they grow older.

While we often like to think of ourselves as experts on ourselves, when it comes to mental health, trying to self-diagnosis can commonly lead to inaccurate treatment. The convenience of the internet search may often mislead us; given that every symptom search will lead us to some type of prognosis. It’s easy to diagnose yourself, but the likelihood that it will be accurate is not probable.

Misdiagnosis
Diagnosis is complicated and multi-layered. There are a number of subtleties a mental health care professional will consider when it comes to diagnosis. When we self-diagnosis, we might look at a particular symptom as a factor of our condition, but the reality is that a symptom can have many underlying reasons that we may not have considered. A clinician can discern how each specific symptom plays a role and can make the appropriate diagnosis.

Missed Diagnosis
Often times medical diseases can impersonate psychological syndromes. A self-diagnosis might lead us to believe we have a psychiatric disease, when the reality may be that the symptoms were related to an undetected medical condition. Symptoms related to hyperthyroidism, migraines, drug withdrawal, or an irregular heartbeat can appear psychological. Even more worrisome are more serious medical conditions like a brain tumor that can be the cause of symptoms. It’s best to seek a professional for a trusted diagnosis.

Under/Over Diagnosis
Self-diagnosis most commonly leads to underdiagnosis or overdiagnosis–both of which are dangerous. Examining ourselves is tough to do objectively, we often overlook things that we simply cannot see. The anxiety or depression we may be experiencing could be masking other disorders that are dangerous to ignore.

On the other hand, self-diagnosis may lead us to believe we are demonstrating symptoms of a disorder. We might think we have ADD, depression, or a sleep disorder that we aim to treat, when the symptoms may actually be related to something entirely different. Either way, self-diagnosis can add unnecessary stress that only adds to the situation.

Doctor-Patient Relationship
A healthcare professional is well studied in the field of mental disorders and they are there to support you and give you the help you need. The doctor-patient relationship is one you and your doctor should feel comfortable with. While many doctors may be interested in hearing your thoughts and will respect your opinion, it’s important to keep in mind that they have the experience to carry out a proper diagnosis.

It is important that you feel you can trust your doctor. If you feel that this is not the case, please seek a professional that you feel you can have a rapport with.

Neuropsychological, psychological and educational evaluations are commonly administered by professionals as a means to achieve accurate diagnosis–this can not be self-duplicated. Your health is most likely of great value to you, and self-diagnosis can lead to negative repercussions. The treatment you desire can be achieved under the guidance of a professional in a way that works for you when you have caring and thoughtful healthcare professionals on your side.

Speech imperfections are not uncommon in children and there are things you can do to support your child’s growth. There can be a number of factors that determine a child’s development in speech and language. Some of those factors are beyond your control–be it hereditary, growth patterns and physical maturity, or their environment–any of these can play a role in their development.

What to Notice
If you are feeling concerned about your child’s speech development, the first step is to start taking notice. Stuttering, lisps, and lengthy pauses in speech can all be indicators of speech imperfections. Hearing problems can also be associated with speech issues as well. Having an understanding of speech and language development benchmarks can be useful to tracking your child’s progress.

Ways to Help

Read
Reading books aloud with your child can be one of the most beneficial ways to boost their speech and language development. It exposes them to higher levels of vocabulary and helps their brain build recognition of speech patterns.

Encourage Sharing
Talking, reflecting, and sharing can not only help your child with their verbal expression, it can increase memory and listening skills. Help your child see the value in words both as ideas and forms of expression. Spending time talking with your child will allow you to build deeper connections and understand their thinking. If you need prompts to help get the conversation going try looking at family photos or chatting about a recent activity you did. Take a family trip and discuss the experience before, during, and after. The more you talk the more practice with speech your child gets.

Reduce Stress
When challenges are present, it’s normal for our brains to become overworked and stressed. If your child is uncomfortable, avoid forcing them to speak or correcting their speech, as this can lead to increased stress or feeling of shame. Instead find ways to relax with your child. Take time to slow down and spend some quality time together. Follow your child’s lead and let them become the center of attention. This will not only help to calm the emotional stress, it can also build self-confidence and acceptance.

Helping your child with speech imperfections is ongoing work. Seeking the help of a professional is the best way to support your child’s speech development–allowing you to identify their precise needs. Children experiencing issues in speech development benefit from the support and understanding of their struggle. Spending quality family time can alleviate the pressure and offer your child plenty of verbal practice in a safe and loving environment.