Rewire Your OCD Brain – by Dr. Catherine Pittman & Dr. William Youngs

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OCD is just as misrepresented in popular media as many other disorders, and in this case, it’s typically not “being a neat freak” or needing to alphabetize things, so much as having uncontrollable obsessive intrusive thoughts, and often in response to those, unwanted compulsions. This can come from unchecked spiralling anxiety, and/or PTSD, for example.

What Drs. Pittman & Young offer is an applicable set of solutions, to literally rewire the brain (insofar as synapses can be considered neural wires). Leveraging neuroplasticity to work with us rather than against us, the authors talk us through picking apart the crossed wires, and putting them back in more helpful ways.

This is not, by the way, a book of CBT, though it does touch on that too.

Mostly, the book explains—clearly and simply and sometimes with illustrationswhat is going wrong for us neurologically, and how to neurologically change that.

Bottom line: whether you have OCD or suffer from anxiety or just need help dealing with obsessive thoughts, this book can help a lot in, as the title suggests, rewiring that.

Click here to check out Rewire Your OCD Brain, and banish obsessive thoughts!

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  • Science of Yoga – by Ann Swanson

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    There are a lot of yoga books out there to say “bend this way, hold this that way” and so forth, but few that really explain what is going on, how, and why. And understanding those things is of course key to motivation and adherence. So that’s what this book provides!

    The book is divided into sections, and in the first part we have a tour of human anatomy and physiology. This may seem almost unrelated to yoga, but is valuable necessary-knowledge to get the most out of the next section:

    The next few parts are given over to yoga asanas (stretches, positions, poses, call them what you will in English) and now we are given a clear idea of what it is doing: we get to understand exactly what’s being stretched, what blood flow is being increased and how, what organs are being settled into their correct place, and many other such things.

    Importantly, this means we also understand why certain things are the way they are, and why they can’t be done in some other slightly different but perhaps superficially easier way.

    The style of the book is like a school textbook, really, but without patronizing the reader. The illustrations, of which there are many, are simple enough to be clear while being detailed enough to be informative.

    Bottom line: if you’re ever doing yoga at home and wondering if you should cut a certain corner, this is the book that will tell you why you shouldn’t.

    Click here to check out Science of Yoga, and optimize your practice!

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  • Why rating your pain out of 10 is tricky

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    “It’s really sore,” my (Josh’s) five-year-old daughter said, cradling her broken arm in the emergency department.

    “But on a scale of zero to ten, how do you rate your pain?” asked the nurse.

    My daughter’s tear-streaked face creased with confusion.

    “What does ten mean?”

    “Ten is the worst pain you can imagine.” She looked even more puzzled.

    As both a parent and a pain scientist, I witnessed firsthand how our seemingly simple, well-intentioned pain rating systems can fall flat.

    altanaka/Shutterstock

    What are pain scales for?

    The most common scale has been around for 50 years. It asks people to rate their pain from zero (no pain) to ten (typically “the worst pain imaginable”).

    This focuses on just one aspect of pain – its intensity – to try and rapidly understand the patient’s whole experience.

    How much does it hurt? Is it getting worse? Is treatment making it better?

    Rating scales can be useful for tracking pain intensity over time. If pain goes from eight to four, that probably means you’re feeling better – even if someone else’s four is different to yours.

    Research suggests a two-point (or 30%) reduction in chronic pain severity usually reflects a change that makes a difference in day-to-day life.

    But that common upper anchor in rating scales – “worst pain imaginable” – is a problem.

    Doctor holds hands of an elderly woman in a hospital bed.
    People usually refer to their previous experiences when rating pain. sasirin pamai/Shutterstock

    A narrow tool for a complex experience

    Consider my daughter’s dilemma. How can anyone imagine the worst possible pain? Does everyone imagine the same thing? Research suggests they don’t. Even kids think very individually about that word “pain”.

    People typically – and understandably – anchor their pain ratings to their own life experiences.

    This creates dramatic variation. For example, a patient who has never had a serious injury may be more willing to give high ratings than one who has previously had severe burns.

    “No pain” can also be problematic. A patient whose pain has receded but who remains uncomfortable may feel stuck: there’s no number on the zero-to-ten scale that can capture their physical experience.

    Increasingly, pain scientists recognise a simple number cannot capture the complex, highly individual and multifaceted experience that is pain.

    Who we are affects our pain

    In reality, pain ratings are influenced by how much pain interferes with a person’s daily activities, how upsetting they find it, their mood, fatigue and how it compares to their usual pain.

    Other factors also play a role, including a patient’s age, sex, cultural and language background, literacy and numeracy skills and neurodivergence.

    For example, if a clinician and patient speak different languages, there may be extra challenges communicating about pain and care.

    Some neurodivergent people may interpret language more literally or process sensory information differently to others. Interpreting what people communicate about pain requires a more individualised approach.

    Impossible ratings

    Still, we work with the tools available. There is evidence people do use the zero-to-ten pain scale to try and communicate much more than only pain’s “intensity”.

    So when a patient says “it’s eleven out of ten”, this “impossible” rating is likely communicating more than severity.

    They may be wondering, “Does she believe me? What number will get me help?” A lot of information is crammed into that single number. This patient is most likely saying, “This is serious – please help me.”

    In everyday life, we use a range of other communication strategies. We might grimace, groan, move less or differently, use richly descriptive words or metaphors.

    Collecting and evaluating this kind of complex and subjective information about pain may not always be feasible, as it is hard to standardise.

    As a result, many pain scientists continue to rely heavily on rating scales because they are simple, efficient and have been shown to be reliable and valid in relatively controlled situations.

    But clinicians can also use this other, more subjective information to build a fuller picture of the person’s pain.

    How can we communicate better about pain?

    There are strategies to address language or cultural differences in how people express pain.

    Visual scales are one tool. For example, the “Faces Pain Scale-Revised” asks patients to choose a facial expression to communicate their pain. This can be particularly useful for children or people who aren’t comfortable with numeracy and literacy, either at all, or in the language used in the health-care setting.

    A vertical “visual analogue scale” asks the person to mark their pain on a vertical line, a bit like imagining “filling up” with pain.

    A horizontal bar ranging from green at one end to red at the other, with different smiley faces underneath.
    Modified visual scales are sometimes used to try to overcome communication challenges. Nenadmil/Shutterstock

    What can we do?

    Health professionals

    Take time to explain the pain scale consistently, remembering that the way you phrase the anchors matters.

    Listen for the story behind the number, because the same number means different things to different people.

    Use the rating as a launchpad for a more personalised conversation. Consider cultural and individual differences. Ask for descriptive words. Confirm your interpretation with the patient, to make sure you’re both on the same page.

    Patients

    To better describe pain, use the number scale, but add context.

    Try describing the quality of your pain (burning? throbbing? stabbing?) and compare it to previous experiences.

    Explain the impact the pain is having on you – both emotionally and how it affects your daily activities.

    Parents

    Ask the clinician to use a child-suitable pain scale. There are special tools developed for different ages such as the “Faces Pain Scale-Revised”.

    Paediatric health professionals are trained to use age-appropriate vocabulary, because children develop their understanding of numbers and pain differently as they grow.

    A starting point

    In reality, scales will never be perfect measures of pain. Let’s see them as conversation starters to help people communicate about a deeply personal experience.

    That’s what my daughter did — she found her own way to describe her pain: “It feels like when I fell off the monkey bars, but in my arm instead of my knee, and it doesn’t get better when I stay still.”

    From there, we moved towards effective pain treatment. Sometimes words work better than numbers.

    Joshua Pate, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney; Dale J. Langford, Associate Professor of Pain Management Research in Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, and Tory Madden, Associate Professor and Pain Researcher, University of Cape Town

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Encyclopedia Of Herbal Medicine – by Andrew Chevallier

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    A common problem with a lot of herbal medicine is it’s “based on traditional use only”, while on the other hand, learning about the actual science of it can mean poring through stacks of Randomized Clinical Trials, half of which are paywalled.

    This beautifully and clearly-illustrated book bridges that gap. It gives not just the history, but also the science, of the use of many medicinal herbs (spotlight on 100 key ones; details on 450 more).

    It gives advice on growing, harvesting, processing, and using the herbs, as well as what not to do (with regard to safety). And in case you don’t fancy yourself a gardener, you’ll also find advice on places one can buy herbs, and what you’ll need to know to choose them well (controlling for quality etc).

    You can read it cover-to-cover, or look up what you need by plant in its general index, or by ailment (200 common ailments listed). As for its bibliography, it does list many textbooks, but not individual papers—though it does cite 12 popular scientific journals too.

    Bottom line: if you want a good, science-based, one-stop book for herbal medicine, this is a top-tier choice.

    Click here to check out the Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, and expand your home remedy repertoire!

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Related Posts

  • Hold Me Tight – by Dr. Sue Johnson
  • Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    What Doesn’t Lycopene Do?

    Lycopene is an antioxidant carotenoid famously found in tomatoes; it actually appears in even higher levels in watermelon, though. If you are going to get it from tomato, know that cooking improves the lycopene content rather than removing it (watermelon, on the other hand, can be enjoyed as-is and already has the higher lycopene content).

    Antioxidant properties

    Let’s reiterate the obvious first, for the sake of being methodical and adding a source. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant with multiple health benefits:

    Lycopene: A Potent Antioxidant with Multiple Health Benefits

    …and as such, it does all the things you might reasonably expect and antioxidant to do. For example…

    Anti-inflammatory properties

    In particular, it regulates macrophage activity, reducing inflammation while improving immune response:

    Lycopene Regulates Macrophage Immune Response through the Autophagy Pathway Mediated by RIPK1

    As can be expected of most antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, it also has…

    Anticancer properties

    Scientific papers tend to be “per cancer type”, so we’re just going to give one example, but there’s pretty much evidence for its utility against most if not all types of cancer. We’re picking prostate cancer though, as it’s one that’s been studied the most in the context of lycopene intake—in this study, for example, it was found that men who enjoyed at least two servings of lycopene-rich tomato sauce per week were 30% less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who didn’t:

    Dietary lycopene intake and risk of prostate cancer defined by ERG protein expression

    If you’d like to see something more general, however, then check out:

    Potential Use of Tomato Peel, a Rich Source of Lycopene, for Cancer Treatment

    It also fights Candida albicans

    Ok, this is not (usually) so life-and-death as cancer, but reducing our C. albicans content (specifically: in our gut) has a lot of knock-on effects for other aspects of our health, so this isn’t one to overlook:

    Lycopene induces apoptosis in Candida albicans through reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial dysfunction

    The title does not make this clear, but yes: this does mean it has an antifungal effect. We mention this because often cellular apoptosis is good for an overall organism, but in this case, it simply kills the Candida.

    It’s good for the heart

    A lot of studies focus just on triglyceride markers (which lycopene improves), but more tellingly, here’s a 10-year observational study in which diets rich in lycopene were associated to a 17–26% lower risk of heart disease:

    Relationship of lycopene intake and consumption of tomato products to incident CVD

    …and a 39% overall reduced mortality in, well, we’ll let the study title tell it:

    Higher levels of serum lycopene are associated with reduced mortality in individuals with metabolic syndrome

    …which means also:

    It’s good for the brain

    As a general rule of thumb, what’s good for the heart is good for the brain (because the brain needs healthy blood flow to stay healthy, and is especially vulnerable when it doesn’t get that), and in this case that rule of thumb is also borne out by the post hoc evidence, specifically yielding a 31% decreased incidence of stroke:

    Dietary and circulating lycopene and stroke risk: a meta-analysis of prospective studies

    Is it safe?

    As a common food product, it is considered very safe.

    If you drink nothing but tomato juice all day for a long time, your skin will take on a reddish hue, which will go away if you stop getting all your daily water intake in tomato juice.

    In all likelihood, even if you went to extremes, you would get sick from the excess of vitamin A (generally present in the same foods) sooner than you’d get sick from the excess of lycopene.

    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, and also we recommend simply enjoying tomatoes, watermelons, etc, but if you do want a supplement, here’s an example product on Amazon

    Enjoy!

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  • Bitter Melon vs Winter Melon – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing bitter melon to winter melon, we picked the bitter.

    Why?

    Did you remember the “bitter is better” dictum that goes for most plant-based foods? It certainly stands in this case!

    A note on nomenclature before we begin: these two fruits are also known as the bitter gourd and the wax gourd, respectively (amongst many other names for each), but we went with what seems to be their most common names.

    In terms of macros, the bitter melon has more than 13x the protein (and actually adding up to a meaningful amount, at 5.3g/100g), as well as more fiber for the same carbs, making it the better choice all around.

    When it comes to vitamins, the bitter melon has a lot more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, and C, while the winter melon boasts only more vitamin B5. As in, the vitamin that’s in all foods (even its scientific name means “from everywhere”) and in which it’s pretty much impossible to be deficient unless literally starving. All in all, an easy and clear win for bitter melon.

    In the category of minerals, we see a similar story: the bitter melon has very much more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while the winter melon has a modest double-dose of zinc—hardly comparable to, say, bitter melon having over 100x the potassium content, and indeed, in all minerals except zinc, bitter melon had 4x–100x more. Another clear and overwhelming win for the bitter melon.

    Looking up polyphenols, we see that the bitter melon also wins in that regard, shocking nobody, with an impressive polyphenolic profile, especially rich in luteolins and catechins of various kinds.

    In short, enjoy either or both, but there’s a clear winner here, and it’s the bitter melon.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain

    Enjoy!

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  • Healthy Choco-Banoffee Ice Cream

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    Chocolate, banana, and coffee—quite a threesome, whether for breakfast or dessert, and this is healthy enough for breakfast while being decadent enough for dessert! With no dairy or added sugar, and lots of antioxidants, this is a healthy way to start or end your day.

    You will need

    • 3 bananas
    • 2 tbsp cocoa powder, no additives
    • 2 shots espresso, chilled
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • On standby: milk of your choice—we recommend almond or hazelnut

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Peel, slice, and freeze the bananas (let them freeze for at least 2–3 hours)

    2) Blend the ingredients, except the milk. Add milk as necessary if the mixture is too thick to blend. Be careful not to add too much at once though, or it will become less of an ice cream and more of a milkshake!

    3) Scoop into a sundae glass to serve:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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