Alexandra Smith

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Articles

How to Break Up With Your Therapist

2 days ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Alexandra Smith |Elizabeth Millard

They say breaking up is hard to do, but breaking up with a therapist can be especially challenging. It’s a unique relationship, rooted in trust and vulnerability, and it’s also transactional, time limited, and inherently lopsided: The therapist may know almost everything about their client; the client likely knows very little about their therapist. When therapy works, it can be life-changing, even lifesaving. But what if it doesn’t work?
Why Is Iodine Controversial?

2 weeks ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Jill Metzler Patton |Alexandra Smith |Elizabeth Millard |Mo Perry

Some integrative-health practitioners see the recent rise in thyroid-related diseases — including hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer — as evidence that we need more iodine than public health guidelines suggest. “Many feel the current adult RDA of 150 mcg per day was provided as a baseline to prevent goiter and is not an appropriate level for ideal iodine balance to allow for its full range of benefits,” explains Malini Ghoshal, RPh, MS.
Can Wearable Devices Help Improve Mental Health?

1 month ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Craig Cox |Jon Spayde |Alexandra Smith

Activity trackers allow us to measure our fitness progress, so could similar wearable devices allow us to effectively monitor — and even improve — our mental health? That’s the question researchers are exploring. They’re intrigued by the gradual embrace of telehealth and the widespread acceptance of digital trackers among people of all ages. And some researchers, including Nuno Gomes, PhD, and Matilde Pato, PhD, believe the answer is a resounding yes.
Depression & Anxiety

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Henry Emmons |Craig Cox |Alexandra Smith

It turns out seasonal affective disorder is not just a winter affliction. Try these strategies to lessen spring anxiety. Late-life depression descends on an estimated 20 percent of older U.S. adults, according to recent research. That may explain my recently sagging spirits — or not. Ketamine may help treat both acute and chronic depression, as well as other mental health disorders like addiction and PTSD. Learn how it works. Learn more about the effect that sugar and inflammation have on your mood.
PUMPING IRONY: Growing Old Can Be Depressing

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Craig Cox |Alexandra Smith |Michael Dregni

Like a certain portion of the American public, I’ve been feeling a little low lately while struggling to find some equilibrium amid what seems like a daily dose of political and cultural chaos. There’s no escaping the zeitgeist, however, so I was oddly pleased the other day to learn that the real source of my sagging spirits may have less to do with current events than with my advanced age.
Can Ketamine Therapy Help Treat Depression and Other Mental Health Disorders?

Feb 3, 2025 | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Alexandra Smith |Kaelyn Riley |Henry Emmons |Mark Hyman

Jacqueline had gone through therapy and been on antidepressants for years, yet she still felt numb, stuck, and disengaged. She was struggling to move past childhood trauma and had become disconnected from her emotions. She wasn’t quite sure how to regain that connection, but she knew antidepressants weren’t doing the trick. “I need something different,” she told me. After nearly a decade practicing traditional talk therapy, I began integrating ketamine into my practice in 2023.
How Does the Vagus Nerve Tamp Down Inflammation?

Nov 21, 2024 | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Mo Perry |Alexandra Smith

One crucial function of the vagus nerve is to dial down inflammation in the body. This occurs through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, explains functional-medicine physician Gregory Plotnikoff, MD. When the vagus is stimulated, it sends electrical signals along its length. These lead to the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that regulates inflammation.
What Is Moral Injury - and How Is It Different from PTSD?

Nov 8, 2024 | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Alexandra Smith |Jill Metzler Patton |Heidi Wachter

Hansen Miller witnessed unforgettable things during his years serving as a captain in the U.S. military. After his honorable discharge from active duty in 2012, he discovered that the hardest part about sharing his stories was not so much the stories themselves but the reactions of the people he told them to. “They’d either assume what I experienced was like whatever they’d seen in the movies, or they’d reflexively say ‘Thanks for your service’ and look away,” Miller recalls.
Why Do We Dream?: A Q&A With Neuroscientist Rahul Jandial

Oct 16, 2024 | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Katherine Lewis |Alexandra Smith

My dreams are often like action movies. I’m being chased by villains, racing to save a child from doom, or trying — vainly — to fly as the ground crumbles beneath me. One time, a dream ended with credits rolling across my field of view as a haunting pop song played.
Why Are Young Adults So Much More Anxious and Depressed Than Teenagers?

Oct 10, 2024 | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Alexandra Smith |Craig Cox |Michael Dregni |Katherine Lewis

Much has been made about the mental health crisis among today’s teenagers — a very real and growing issue — but it’s actually young adults who are suffering the most.