Advanced Family Medicine

Stressed? Use These 4 Simple Simple Techniques to Gain the Upper Hand Stress and anxiety are challenges that nearly every one of us face at some point in our lives. After all, modern life is filled with things that can pull us in a million different directions, until we feel like we’re constantly playing catch up. In fact, 77% of Americans regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress, 48% feel their stress has increased over the past five years, and a whopping 1/3 of us feel we’re living with “ extreme stress .” Clearly, stress is a big problem that needs to be handled in order to maximize our physical and mental wellbeing. But how? Dealing with Stress Whenever we  experience stress , the key to healthy management is based squarely on our perception. In other words, when stress occurs, we’re basically left with only 2 decisions: We take responsibility for our stress by honestly asking ourselves how we got into this situation, and what we can learn from it, ...

The Connection Between Mind-Body Medicine & Good Health “ Why don’t you just look at the bright side? ” Has anyone ever said this to you when something bad has happened? Admittedly, it can be difficult to remain positive while life is handing you lemons, and advice such as this often comes off as a bit “new age,” or even as pseudoscience. After all, up until the 20 th  century, “mind over matter” has often been overlooked by Western medicine. But as it turns out, there may a strong correlation between your emotional and your physical health. In fact, according to  this article  posted on the National Institute’s of Health MedlinePlus website, “Over the past 20 years, mind-body medicine has provided evidence that psychological factors can play a major role in such illnesses as heart disease, and that mind-body techniques can aid in their treatment. Clinical trials have indicated mind-body therapies to be helpful in managing arthritis and other chronic pain co...

The Link Between Exercise and Brain Function It’s a well known fact that regular exercise has a wide range of benefits, including improved circulatory health, boosted metabolism, a better night’s sleep, and—perhaps most noticeably—helping you to look your best. But did you know that regular exercise is an important part of keeping your brain healthy as well? It’s true: More and more information is emerging based on medical research that shows a significant correlation between exercise and human brain function. In fact, in one well-designed study, a year of moderately intense aerobic exercise reversed age related brain decline by the equivalent of 1 to 2 years, and seemed to be especially beneficial for people 55 to 80 years old. And as mentioned in  this  study, “staying mentally sharp” outranks social security and physical health as the top priority and concern in the United States.” With this information in mind, where can you begin? How exactly does exercise imp...

Serenity Now! Getting to the Root of Stress None of us seek to be stressed, but more often then not it finds us; a car accident, unexpected bill, and your daughter’s boyfriend. We at  AFM  are no strangers to stress, and we are here help you navigate the difficult times. It has been our experience that taking the appropriate steps early on makes all the difference in mitigating the effects of stress. However, hardly anyone comes to us seeking help for stress, instead patients come in with symptoms indicative of more serious problems; chest pains, shortness of breath, heart palpitations etc. They may think they are having a heart attack, and while it is a relief to find they are not, they may well be on there way to having one if they are not careful. When this happens we never want to send the patient away with only a pat on the back and a couple of aspirin. Instead we are dedicated to helping our patients decipher their symptoms to find the underlying cause(s) of th...