Welcome back to Wise & Well Weekly, helping you make tomorrow a little better than today. I’ve reformulated the newsletter based on feedback from you, to make it more streamlined and more informative.
The articles you’ll find highlighted here each Friday are written by journalists, doctors, psychologists, physical therapists and other professionals, and published in Wise & Well or Aha!, two publications I founded on Medium. The links here are “friend links” so that even if you’re not a Medium member, you can read the full stories. Every article is professionally edited to ensure they are informative and enjoyable to read.
I welcome your feedback, and if you find this newsletter useful, please share it with friends or loved ones who might enjoy serious, accessible, science-backed insights for better health and well-being, without all the hype. — Rob
How to Talk So Your Doctor Will Listen
This nurse knows how doctors think, so she knows how you should talk to them to make sure you get the treatment you need. It starts with understanding that doctors are just people, too, so don't be intimidated, and if you must play hardball, here's how. Lots of practical tips here, including:
Be respectful, of course, but keep in mind that doctors are ordinary people just like you and me. That doctor that’s making you so nervous? They’re probably holding a pen they stole from the nurse (again) because they can’t seem to keep track of their own, and there’s a good chance they spilled coffee on their shirt in the car this morning. Trust me, they are mere mortals. It’s their job to listen to you and answer your questions, so don’t be afraid to speak up.
—Andrea Romeo RN, BN
10 Things Your Therapist Wishes You Knew About Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy might seem like the last place you want to be. In her psychotherapy practice, this psychologist often sees hesitation in clients. Often it's due to myths and misconceptions about what what therapy is really about and what therapists actually do. So here, she clears up all the misinformation, starting with:
Psychotherapists experience joys and sorrows in their own lives, just like you do. They make mistakes and are imperfect, just like all humans. But their job is to keep their personal lives separate from their work with you.
—Gail Post, Ph.D.
Warts and All: Myths and Misconceptions about Warts
Warts are icky. On that much we can agree But they are not the stuff of witches. They don't have roots. And whether you can suffocate them with duct tape remains an open question. This dermatologist lays out what you can do, and the recommendations are surprisingly varied, ranging from complex treatments to "do nothing."
Warts aren’t caused by a spell or a toad’s kiss but by the human papillomavirus (HPV) that infects the top skin layer, causing it to rapidly grow. It is contagious and transmitted by touch, so you can catch the virus by sharing towels, razors, or other personal care items, which explains the high occurrence in kids.
—By Annie Foley
The Type of Exercise You Choose Doesn’t Matter
It's common to get hung up on trying to do the right type of exercises. But as this physical therapist explains, if you want to get stronger, faster, more powerful, and improve endurance—or any of the above—what matters most is exercise volume and intensity, not which activities you choose.
The next time you hear an exercise is dangerous or harmful because it puts you in a “compromised position” or it “increases force or pressure,” ask for research to support the claim. All exercise increases force or pressure on the body. That’s how the body adapts!
—Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, OCS
The Myth of the Loneliness Epidemic
Yes, loneliness is a problem. But this writer, who has battled loneliness much of his life, says words like "crisis" and "epidemic" are simplistic and inaccurate, sensationalizing the problem without helping solve it. His thought-provoking essay dismantles the prevailing view among many healthcare professionals and the media. His deep dive goes way back:
Loneliness by itself is already tricky to grasp. As a field of study, it’s also relatively new. The term loneliness (as we know it today) started appearing in the English language around 1800. And the first time loneliness was somewhat successfully measured was in 1978. So, the scientific community is still in the early stages of understanding loneliness.
—Stephan Joppich
Let’s Stop Using Confusing Names for Psych Drugs
The labels given to many psychiatric drugs — "antidepressants," "antipsychotics," and "mood stabilizers" — mislead rather than inform, because most are effective for more than one condition, this psychiatrist explains.
This leads to confusion among patients, who want to know why their condition is being treated by a drug from the “wrong” category. It causes suspicion among those who fear that their doctor who prescribed an “antipsychotic” to treat their depression, or anxiety, or sleep problem, must secretly be thinking that they’re really “just crazy.” These unhelpful drug category names also appear to influence prescribers to use certain medications when more suitable options may be available.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
Cosmetic Surgery Skyrockets, Despite Serious Risks
Elective plastic surgery and so-called "minimally invasive" cosmetic procedures are soaring, both in actual number and in search interest. But the industry, and social media influencers, typically underplay the risks, if they're mentioned at all.
More Americans typed nose job into Google’s search engine over the past year than part time job. And they searched plastic surgery more than cataract removal, C-section or joint replacement, the three most common surgeries in the country.
—Robert Roy Britt
Is the End of Polarization in Sight?
I needed this story! Polarization feels so ingrained in US society that it seems there's no end in sight. But research reveals that the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers are more divided on natioal political issues than are Millennials and Gen Z. Once older generations are largely out of political offices, a greater consensus is expected to emerge.
We expect that in the future, highly partisan members of the Silent, boomer and Gen X generations will exit and no longer be part of American political life. They will be replaced by millennials and Gen Zers, who are less likely to define themselves as strong Republicans or Democrats. The greater consensus among young people today may lessen polarization.
—Sally Friedman and David Schultz
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