Anxiety

Facebook is great for reconnecting with old friends from high school and college. But for those still in school, the popular networking site could do more harm than good. That's according to Larry Rosen, a psychologist at Cal State Dominguez Hills who's been studying the effect of technology on people for more than 25 years. Recently, he's done several studies on how the social networking site affects children. He made his case Saturday at the American Psychological Assn.'s annual convention in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.

CHICAGO — Batteries made in America for America and backed by America. That's how politicians hailed Ener1. The company tapped the country's top scientists at Argonne National Lab in Illinois, and U.S. taxpayers pledged up to $118 million in federal stimulus funds and $80 million in state and local incentives to help Ener1 produce cutting-edge battery technology for electric cars and the U.S. military. "This is about the future. And the question is which nation is going to seize the future.

Ever since the 2007 introduction of direct-to-consumer genome-wide tests — assays that scan a patient’s DNA and report his genetic risk of developing 20 to 40 common diseases — observers have wondered if telling regular folks they’re more likely to develop illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer would trigger extreme anxiety, or would result in increased use of unnecessary and expensive tests. Apparently it does not, according to researchers at Scripps Health in La Jolla.

"Once Upon a Time in Anatolia," the exquisite sixth feature by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, is a police procedural as existential inquiry, set in a remote dreamscape of mystery and foreboding. In the search for a murder victim's body, a caravan of cars makes its fitful way over the rolling Turkish steppes, carrying men of law and science and the confessed killer. The journey begins in darkness and moves into the clear light of day, by which point many things are revealed and nothing is as it seems.

Latinos have higher rates of diabetes than other ethnic groups. They also appear to have higher rates of having both diabetes and a mood disorder, such as anxiety or depression, according to a new study presented this week at the American Psychiatric Assn.'s annual meeting. Researchers examined the medical records 129 adults diagnosed with diabetes at a rural health clinic in Imperial County, in California, to assess the rates of mood disorders in diabetic Latinos and to determine which illness appeared first.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that she can't be sure what she was watching in the now-iconic Situation Room photograph showing President Obama and his top security advisors during the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. But she suspects her dramatic pose may have more to do with Washington's notorious pollen count than any emotional reaction to the operation unfolding before her. Clinton called the period "38 of the most intense minutes. " Photos: The death of Osama bin Laden "I have no idea what any of us were looking at at that particular millisecond when the picture was taken," she told reporters after a meeting with Italy's foreign minister in Rome.

With the threat of a government shutdown only hours away, Robyn Knutson on Friday decided to take control: She raced from Orange County to the Federal Building on Los Angeles' Westside and got in line at the passport office. "We didn't want to take the risk, so we ran up here as quickly as we could," said Knutson, whose 12-year-old son needed an expedited passport for a school trip to Fiji in three weeks. "It's been stressful. " Even though congressional negotiators and the White House reached agreement on a spending bill in the final hours, the possibility of a midnight shutdown was enough to raise the anxiety level among many Americans to bright red. For federal employees, the time had come to mobilize shutdown plans — even if they had to ditch them at the last minute.

Arthur Firstenberg, who says he is hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, saw the house at the end of a narrow lane as a refuge from physical and neurological symptoms that have plagued him for three decades. "It's been difficult because of my electromagnetic sensitivities," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty finding a house that I could be comfortable in." So in September 2008, he bought the home on Barela Street, a few blocks from the newly redeveloped downtown rail yard here.

Mexican migrants are more prone to mental health disorders compared to Mexicans who were born in the United States, researchers reported Monday. The researchers compared survey data from 2,519 non-migrant Mexicans and 554 recent Mexican migrants. They found that moving to the United States increases the risk of depression, anxiety and other mental health problems in people ages 18 to 35. Mexican migrants ages 18 to 25 had the highest risk of depression -- more than four times the rate seen in same-age Mexican peers who were born in the United States.

Yoga has many proven health benefits, but does it stand up to other forms of exercise? Researchers pitted it against a walking routine and found that those who practiced yoga showed greater improvements in mood and anxiety. Researchers randomly assigned 19 people to an Iyengar yoga program and 15 to a metabolically matched regular walking regimen. Both groups took part in the programs for an hour three times a week for 12 weeks. Study participants were tested several times to measure mood and anxiety.

Anyone who's had a bad day, then flipped the car radio on and caught the first notes of a favorite song knows how quickly music can lift the spirits. But can that momentary burst of musical power be tapped more strategically to make you a better, happier, more productive person? All that and more, say the psychologist-entrepreneur authors of the new book "Your Playlist Can Change Your Life. " Like sex, drugs or really good food, music causes the brain to release dopamine, a brain chemical key to addiction and motivation.

In the fading evening light, Jeff Snider played catch in the middle of the street with his 14-year-old son, the baseball thwacking their mitts. They stepped out of the way and waved when cars passed. The friendly neighborhoods in hilly Oakwood, a picture-perfect suburb nestled against Dayton, belong in a brochure for the American Dream. But the tranquillity hides a churning discontent. A lanky high school math teacher, Snider worries about the mortgage and the cost of sending four children to college.

The $25-billion settlement of the foreclosure mess is good for homeowners and good for the housing market. But it's better for banks. Not that this means homeowners are getting a raw deal. The settlement money will be used to lower people's debt and interest rates, and provide a little cash to those who lost their homes to funky foreclosure proceedings. All that's welcome. As U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. put it, the settlement "holds mortgage servicers accountable for abusive practices" and "requires substantial changes in how servicers do business.

Question: For several years I have been undergoing psychotherapy for a nervous illness, which has now been diagnosed as a general anxiety disorder. I live at an apartment complex that does not allow pets, but my psychiatrist has recently urged me to get a companion animal, which she thinks would give me a positive relationship that would alleviate my anxiety. A friend helped me find a very nice cocker spaniel puppy that was up for adoption. I asked my community manager to allow me to adopt this dog and bring him to live with me. The manager refused, telling me that he was only obligated to allow a service animal such as a guide dog. He said he did not have to accommodate a pet that merely kept me company.

Even as anxiety-ridden individuals play it safe in low-yielding bank accounts, professional investors are showing renewed confidence in the stock market. Bullishness among institutional investors has reached its highest level since last summer, and their buying has been powering the stock market's surprising early-year advance, according to a new analysis by TrimTabs Investment Research. The Dow Jones industrial average is up almost 4% in the first three weeks of January. It should be noted that such bullishness isn't necessarily positive.

South Carolina's Latino population — and its share of illegal immigrants — has surged in recent years, and the anxiety has surged as well. The number of Latinos in the state jumped 148% from 2000 to 2010, one of the largest increases in the nation. Republican Gov. Nikki Haley pledged, as a candidate in 2010, to bring South Carolina an Arizona-style law cracking down on illegal immigration, and she signed one in June. The anxiety was evident at Monday night's Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, when a flurry of boos erupted after journalist Juan Williams mentioned that front-runner Mitt Romney's father was born in Mexico.

Public speaking can be stressful, especially when it comes with the job. Witness King George VI, whose stuttering set off a royal crisis when he had to speak calmly to his jittery subjects during World War II. Some of us can relate -- and it has nothing to do with stuttering. Julie Deardorff in Julie’s Health Club blog reports on how to overcome public speaking anxiety. Here's what she says: "To combat the embarrassing blushing, shaking or sweating that may occur, invoke the 'quieting response,' a five-minute technique that occurs automatically with practice, said [Jonathan]

Simi Valley Hospital is presenting a free lecture on anxiety, panic attacks and phobias on Monday. Curtis Ohashi will discuss the causes, symptoms and treatments of these problems. Ohashi will also take questions during the two-hour presentation, which will start at 7 p.m. The talk takes place at the Aspen Outpatient Center in the Education Room, 2750 Sycamore Drive, in Simi Valley. For more information, call 582-5000.

Mitt Romney has made his successful business career a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, saying his hands-on experience in corporate America is precisely what the country needs. But when it comes to showing sensitivity to the economic anxiety many Americans are feeling, he has proven to have a less-than-deft touch. A fresh example came Tuesday as Romney campaigned across South Carolina for the state's Saturday primary and discussed his personal income and the possibility, under pressure, of releasing his 2011 tax return for public examination.

I have high-functioning autism, and I also write poetry. Having autism is extremely hard. However, having high-functioning autism can sometimes be even harder. For example, when a high-functioning autistic person communicates with a stranger, often the stranger doesn't realize the person has a disability; therefore you are looked upon as odd, scared and sometimes even stupid. In third grade, I stopped going to school due to severe social anxiety. After three months of staying home, I was able to start attending school part time.