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The central nervous system (CNS) is comprised of the brain and spinal cord. The three broad functions of the CNS are to take in sensory information, process information, and send out motor signals. The CNS receives sensory information from the nervous system and controls the body’s responses. The central nervous system plays a primary role in receiving information from various areas of the body and then coordinating this activity to produce the body’s responses....

The counterpart to the fight-or-flight response, the relaxation response, occurs when the body is no longer in perceived danger, and the autonomic nervous system functioning returns to normal. Simply put, the relaxation response is the opposite of your body’s stress response—your “off switch” to your body’s tendency toward fight-or-flight. What Is Chronic Stress? During the relaxation response, the body moves toward a state of physiological relaxation, where blood pressure, heart rate, digestive functioning, and hormonal levels return to normal levels....

Whether you are deciding where to enroll your child for kindergarten, or what middle school or high school to send them to, choosing the right school for your child can feel like a very weighty decision. Still, it can be difficult to decide if a Catholic school education is right for your child. Maybe you are concerned about sending your child to a religion-based school in the first place. Perhaps you are not sure if Catholic schools would provide the right kind of educational focus for your child....

Pregnancy and the postpartum period can be a beautiful time, but it can also bring a wide variety of side effects and bodily changes. You may have an aversion to certain foods, develop acne for the first time, or experience increased sweating or body odor. This is normal, common, and happens for a variety of reasons in the period of time after a person gives birth. “A pregnant woman gains up to 10 pounds of amniotic fluid, blood, and other fluids,” says Damian Pat Alagia III, MD, MS, MBA, medical director for women’s health at Quest Diagnostics....

You probably expected to run into a few hiccups throughout your breastfeeding journey, but it’s unlikely that you prepared for the fact that nursing your baby could be punctuated by abrupt negative emotions like sadness, anxiety, or even anger. For people dealing with Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER), the hormonal changes that occur in the moments prior to feeding your baby can trigger fleeting but intensely negative feelings, such as self-loathing and hopelessness....

Public speaking tips for students aim to reduce anxiety that can interfere with giving presentations or speeches in class. These tips can also be helpful for those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) who have difficulty speaking in front of a group or telling a story among friends. Public Speaking Tips If you have SAD and need to give a speech in elementary school, high school, college, or university, it helps to be as prepared as possible....

Every company wants its employees to get along. After all, teamwork is an essential part of a company’s success. But sometimes groups of employees form cliques at work. When this happens, it is detrimental to employee morale and can lead to workplace bullying. Cliques cause employees on the outside to feel like they are less important or worthy than those on the inside. And, that’s just bad for business. Here are the top seven reasons why workplace cliques are bad for your company....

There is nothing worse than getting a call from a teacher or an administrator letting you know that your child has been bullying other kids at school. Despite all your best parenting efforts, your child has learned that controlling, intimidating and harassing others helps them get what they want. It may seem shocking and unfathomable that the child you love and adore has resorted to bullying others. But the truth is, bullies come in all shapes and sizes....

Most people need an outlet to vent about the challenges they are dealing with in life, and knowing you have someone you can turn to in times of trouble can be comforting. But sometimes, one person does all the comforting while the other does all the venting. Displaying empathy and compassion for others is not a bad thing. However, it could get a little overwhelming if you find that you are always the shoulder to cry on....

I was born with cerebral palsy (CP), the most common childhood motor disability according to the Centers for Disease Control, a condition that is the result of brain damage. A lot of my early life was spent in physiotherapy, focusing on the connection between body and mind. Key Takeaways Research on cerebral palsy is still heavily focused on children and their parents.Mental health conditions are more prevalent for those with cerebral palsy....

Studies estimate that 2 million U.S. children have been exposed to a wartime deployment of a military parent in the past 10 years. Some of those children experienced repeat deployments of a parent while other children experienced both parents being deployed. Parental deployment can stir up a variety of emotions in children, ranging from fear and anxiety to anger and sadness. And it can lead to a variety of academic and behavioral challenges for children....

Depending on where your family lives, works, and shops, you may use elevators and escalators on a regular basis and may not give it a second thought. While they are safe, reports of injuries likely suggest that while you may not have to think twice and use the stairs, you should at least think about your child’s safety before letting him or her ride on an elevator or escalator. Escalator Dangers for Children There have been at least 77 reports of entrapment—when hands, feet, or shoes (mostly clogs and slide sandals) get trapped in the escalator—since 2006....

While treatments are available to help manage the symptoms of bipolar disorder, research suggests that around half of all people with the condition stop adhering to their treatment at some point. It is not uncommon for people with chronic health conditions to stop adhering to their treatments to some degree. The non-adherence rates for bipolar disorder are consistent with the rates for other types of chronic conditions. Not adhering to treatment recommendations can lead to worsening symptoms and a poorer prognosis....

First-generation college students often face unique challenges. A study published in Training and Education in Professional Psychology found that first-generation students in professional psychology programs report more economic stress and delayed major personal and professional milestones. Key Takeaways First-generation students in professional psychology programs report greater economic stress. Credit-related stress and graduate school financial stressors were associated with delaying life milestones. No significant differences were found between first-generation students and continuing-generation students in student loan borrowing, general stress, or financial strain....

Major depression can be a significant burden on the life of an individual. It can also impact the life of those around them and those who are dependent on them. Children are particularly vulnerable when their mothers are struggling with depression. This article focuses on the potential effects on the physical and emotional well being of a child when a depressive episode and extreme stress is experienced by an expectant or new mother, the prenatal period and postpartum period, respectively....

If you have a mental health condition, you may worry about disclosing it to your partner. The decreasing yet still present stigma around mental health conditions can make it difficult for you to decide if, when, and how to tell your partner about it. You may wonder when to bring it up, what to say to them, and what their reaction will be. Just like other medical conditions, a mental health condition isn’t something you should have to hide....

Your three-year-old loves bath time and seemed excited about your family’s upcoming trip to the beach. But when you got to the beach, they clammed up, and wouldn’t even dip their toes in the water. Or maybe your baby loved it when you gently held them in the pool, but now that they are a toddler, the mere mention of a pool excursion causes them to break out into a chorus of emphatic “No’s!...

It is not uncommon for parents to monitor their teens’ digital worlds. According to a Pew Research Center survey of adults with teens ages 13 to 17 years old, parents routinely keep digital tabs on their kids. Another survey showed that up to 61% of parents checked the websites that their teenagers visited. Other parents monitored phone calls and messages, while some tracked their teens via their cellphone. How to Monitor Your Teen Online Naturally, most parents feel it is their job to make sure their teen is behaving appropriately online....

On June 16, 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued recalls of several store-brand acetaminophen bottles because they failed to meet child-resistant packaging requirements. Key Takeaways The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled several medicine bottles because they did not meet child-resistant packaging requirements.Medicines that could poison children are required to have child-resistant packaging, but it’s also important to keep bottles out of reach.Parents should also teach kids about medicine safety....

When looking for ways to manage stress, people often overlook one of the simplest and most effective strategies: Create a peaceful home. Because most of our days begin and end at home, having a peaceful home as your base can help you launch yourself into the world from a less-stressed place each day. (Children appreciate this, too!) Barriers to a Peaceful Home Because this seems like such a given, why don’t people put more focus on discovering and assembling the elements of a peaceful home?...