Back pain is very hard (often impossible) to diagnose and to specify, hence heavy painkillers are thrown at people. But the only way to beat the pain is to understand it. Based on cutting-edge research into back pain and the psychology of pain itself, David Rogers and Grahame Brown have set up the Functional Restoration Service at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham - the UK's leading centre for back pain. Here they have developed the pioneering BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL approach: BIO - How your body processes pain; what physical triggers you have and why; where your body holds pain PSYCHO - where your pain is coming from; what exactly your pain is; the power of your mind to deal with and stop pain SOCIAL - all the environmental factors that will contribute to your back pain, and how, why and when to change them Based on this revolutionary and already hugely successful approach, Back to Life offers a whole new way of dealing with back pain: - Understand the psychology of pain - Debunk the myths - Find the source of your pain - Manage your pain - including all the emotions and anxiety that go with it - Master exercises and stretches - Identify and solve the social factors - Get lasting relief

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women worldwide. Yet most people are still unaware that heart disease is not just a man's problem. Carolyn Thomas, a heart attack survivor herself, is on a mission to educate women about their heart health. Based on her popular Heart Sisters blog, which has attracted more than 10 million views from readers in 190 countries, A Woman's Guide to Living with Heart Disease combines personal experience and medical knowledge to help women learn how to understand and manage a catastrophic diagnosis. In A Woman's Guide to Living with Heart Disease, Thomas explains * how to recognize the early signs of a heart attack* why women often delay seeking treatment-and how to overcome that impulse* the link between pregnancy complications and future heart disease* why so many women with heart disease are misdiagnosed-and how to help yourself get an accurate diagnosis* the importance of cardiac rehabilitation in lowering mortality risk* what to expect during your recovery from a heart attack* how the surreal process of coping with heart disease may affect your daily life* methods for treating heart disease-related depression without drugs Equal parts memoir about a misdiagnosed heart attack, guide to the predictable stages of heart disease-from grief to resilience-and patient-friendly translation of important science-based findings on women's unique heart issues, this book is an essential read. Whether you're a freshly diagnosed patient, a woman who's been living with heart disease for years, or a practitioner who cares about women's health, A Woman's Guide to Living with Heart Disease will help you feel less alone and advocate for better health care.

Across the world, 44 million people live with dementia. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the dementia of parents, partners, siblings or friends. And as much of the world struggles with an aging population, dementia is set to become ever more of a challenge for societies and individuals. But most people who are diagnosed, or who are dealing with the diagnosis of a loved one, feel as though they are alone. This book fills the gap, providing practical information and support for living with, or caring for, Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. With clear and sensible information about recognising symptoms, getting help, managing financially, staying at home, treatment, being a carer and staying positive, this guide will help those with dementia and their families to make sure that they can stay well and happy as long as possible. Includes a foreword by Dame Judi Dench

What happens to men when they become fathers? Why do some men get depressed, and how can we identify those who are? What does this mean for their children and their relationships? What can we do about it? Taking in many different perspectives, this book sheds light on the many aspects of postnatal depression in fathers - an unknown subject to many people. The book includes a review of recent studies and research in this area, looking at the effects of postnatal depression on children and relationships, and an investigation into the reasons behind male postnatal depression, including the social and psychoanalytic factors which go some way to explaining why men experience this depression as well as women. The author talks to Michel Odent, a renowned obstetrician, writer and birth expert. His controversial view that men should not be present at childbirth, and that their presence may indeed this may be a trigger for depression, are central to his discussion. She also talks to Adam Jukes, a psychoanalyst with a wealth of experience in working with violent and angry men, who gives fascinating insights into male behaviour. He claims that we simply don't give men the resources they need to deal with a new baby. The book opens up a discussion of diagnosis and treatment through personal stories from both men and women affected by a father's postnatal depression. It will increase awareness of this under-discussed subject and will challenge preconceptions. Postnatal depression in fathers has consequences for families worldwide, and so this is a book which has relevance for everyone.

Barb Cook and 14 other autistic women describe life from a female autistic perspective, and present empowering, helpful and supportive insights from their personal experience for fellow autistic women. Michelle Garnett's comments validate and expand the experiences described from a clinician's perspective, and provide extensive recommendations. Autistic advocates including Liane Holliday Willey, Anita Lesko, Jeanette Purkis, Artemisia and Samantha Craft offer their personal guidance on significant issues that particularly affect women, as well as those that are more general to autism. Contributors cover issues including growing up, identity, diversity, parenting, independence and self-care amongst many others. With great contributions from exceptional women, this is a truly well-rounded collection of knowledge and sage advice for any woman with autism.

An essential resource for anyone who has a close relationship with a person who is bipolar

This book provides a much-needed resource for family and friends of the more than 5 million American adults suffering from bipolar disorder. From psychotic behavior that requires medication to milder mood swings with disturbing ups and down, this book offers a warm and often humorous user-friend guide for coping with bipolar loved ones, colleagues, and friends. The book includes Guidance for identifying bipolar disorder symptoms and how to get the diagnosis confirmedStrategies for dealing with rants, attacks, blame, depression, mania and other behaviorsCrucial information on medication and its effectiveness and potential side-effectsTechniques for dealing with attempts to self-medicate with drugs and alcoholHow many people with bipolar disorders can care for themselves, get help, feel supported and go on with their own lives

This important book contains real-life illustrative examples and a wealth of helpful strategies and coping mechanisms that can be put into action immediately.

Step-by-step guidance for parents and carers on helping childrenand adolescents achieve dryness.Wetting is a distressing problem that is common in children and canalso affect adolescents. This clearly written book shows parents andcarers how to assess and treat wetting problems effectively.Whether the problem is daytime wetting, bedwetting, or wettingwith soiling, the chapters provide step-by-step instructions andconcrete ideas to help children and adolescents achieve dryness. Allrecommendations are based on the latest scientific studies andguidelines such as those of the International Children's ContinenceSociety (ICCS). Useful charts and questionnaires help identify theexact problem, track progress on a daily basis, and increasemotivation.This practical guide is ideal for parents as well as for teachers,educators, and caregivers.

It is well established that a Mediterranean style diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Now, new evidence suggests that this pattern of eating also reduces the risk of depression, substantially. Inspired by this fascinating new research, dietitian Paula Mee outlines a healthy eating plan based on the Mediterranean diet that is rich in healthy fats, wholegrain, unrefined carbs, and proteins. With over 70 easy-to-prepare recipes included, Mediterranean Mood Food shows that you can stay in great shape physically and mentally while still enjoying delicious food.

If you or a loved one are worried about Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, this pocket guide will help you to better understand the conditions, and how they are diagnosed and treated. Written by leading dementia experts, this book provides clear and concise information on: * Symptoms * Diagnosis and treatments * Getting help and support * Tips for people living with dementia * Advice for carers This is a fully-updated edition of the popular Understanding Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, which featured on the Reading Well Books on Prescription for Dementia scheme.

FODMAP Everyday shares everything you need to know about a low-FODMAP diet, including: why eating a low-FODMAP diet can make a difference with symptoms of IBS and other painful digestive disorders; a basic elimination diet; how to stock a low-FODMAP pantry; and 135 recipes covering the basics, breakfast, easy-to-pack lunches, snacks, dinners, soups, salads, sides, desserts, and baked goods. With sound, up-to-date medical advice and delicious recipes for meals that will satisfy everyone in the family, whether they are following the diet or not, FODMAP Everyday offers real-life, holistic solutions to a painful condition

Mental and emotional disorders have reached epidemic levels in Western societies. Self-doubt, panic-attacks, anxiety disorders and personal fears of all kinds present major challenges to contemporary medical science. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research offers a startlingly original and complementary contribution to the problem. True insight into psychological issues requires knowledge of the influences of spiritual beings, he suggests. In everyday life we are all confronted with metaphysical entities that can hinder or progress our development. Many forms of anxiety and self-doubt derive from such meetings on the border - or threshold - of our consciousness. Further, these `threshold experiences' are exacerbated today by a general loosening of the subtle bodies and components of the human soul. As these constitutional changes persist, says Rudolf Steiner, a condition of `dissociation' becomes increasingly common. A healthy emotional life will only be possible if individuals engage in a conscious practice of personal growth, strengthening their constitution through the action of the `I' or self. The expertly selected and collated texts in Self-Doubt offer numerous cognitive and practical ideas for the improvement of everyday mental and emotional health. Chapters include: The origin of error, fear, and nervousness; Crossing the threshold in the development of humanity and the individual; The polarity of shame and fear; The polarity of doubt and terrifying disorientation; The polarity of scepticism and claustrophobia, astraphobia, and agoraphobia; The origin of panic; Anxiety; The multilayered nature of terrifying disorientation; Healing aspects of the anthroposophical path of training; The spiritual-scientific qualities of fear compared with standardized diagnostic terms and as a basis for therapy.

The primary aim of Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook is to improve the lives of patients with seizures. Both epileptic seizures and nonepileptic seizures (NES) are prevalent and potentially disabling. The Workbook is designed to be used by a patient with seizures in conjunction with his or her counselor. The Workbook contains step-by-step guidelines that enable patients to take control of their seizures and their lives. The companion Treating Nonepileptic Seizures: Therapist Guide enhances effectiveness by providing session-by-session instructions for counselors who use the Workbook with patients with NES. The authors developed this treatment approach based on extensive clinical experience and research with epilepsy and NES. Many patients who have completed the Taking Control process experience fewer seizures, reduced symptoms, and a greater sense of well-being.

On August 4, 2004, Jason Crigler was onstage in a New York City nightclub when a blood vessel burst in his brain. The thirty-four-year-old guitarist, a fixture in the downtown music scene who had played with Marshall Crenshaw, Linda Thompson, and John Cale, narrowly survived the bleed. A string of complications that followed-meningitis, seizures, coma-left him immobile and unresponsive, with his doctors saying nothing more could be done. Meanwhile, Jason's medical insurance quickly hit its lifetime cap, meaning that his policy would no longer pay for his care. Despite such overwhelming circumstances, Jason's parents, sister, and pregnant wife were sure that he was still there, trapped inside his incapacitated body but able to fight his way back. They mounted an intense course of rehabilitation for him even as they fought a healthcare system that was geared toward defeat. In intimate and unflinching prose, Mojie Crigler chronicles her brother's harrowing decline and miraculous recovery. Get Me Through Tomorrow is much more than the story of a medical victory amid a broken healthcare system, however. It is about a sister's metamorphosis from fearful naif to assertive caregiver. It is about families bridging heartache and divorce to find hope. It is about the deep and enduring relationship between siblings-and the love that transforms them.

With four children (three of them triplets!) and a marriage break-up to contend with, some things get a little lost in the mix. Like symptoms. Emma Campbell bravely and honestly offers heartfelt thoughts on what happens when cancer becomes an unwelcome guest at an already crowded party. She shares her own terror and pain, mixed with the heartwarming and unexpected. The extraordinary kindness of people and the gritty detail of battling a life-threatening illness, all while being a single mum to four children. She opens up about her angels and demons, losing and then finding love again, a constant fear of death mixed with the joy and relief of living, the anxiety of cancer returning - then facing it when it does. This book has grown from Emma's blog Me And My Four. Eager to share with her followers in more detail, the secrets, the fears, the triumphs and the terrors that she faces each day, in a life as unpredictable as your own...

People suffering from depression can feel helpless and lost, but a basic understanding of the condition can go a long way to helping to treat it and its symptoms. Depression affects 1 in 5 adults at some point during their lives*, and for many people it can seriously affect their quality of life, as well as having a significant effect on family and friends. This book gives the basic information needed to understand what depression is, how to recognise it, and, most essentially, how to deal with it, including details on: * Different types of depression * What depression can feel like * Medical and holistic ways of treating depression * Things you can do yourself to control the symptoms

100 simple lifestyle changes you can make right now to prevent Type 2 diabetes and reverse a pre-diabetic diagnosis in an easy-to-use, user-friendly handbook. There are currently 84 million people in the United States living with a prediabetes diagnosis-left untreated, prediabetes can turn into full Type 2 diabetes within 5-10 years. While being told you are prediabetic can be scary, Healthy Habits for Managing and Reversing Prediabetes shows you 100 simple habits that you can implement in your daily life to lower your risk of developing diabetes. Healthy Habits for Managing and Reversing Prediabetes is packed with easy, straightforward tips to help you stop diabetes in its tracks. The secret? It's all about lifestyle changes-from eating less fat to incorporating more vegetables into your diet to exercising 150 minutes per week. This handbook will show you how easy it is to apply these changes and many more into your routine to live a full, happy, and healthy life. These simple modifications could be the difference between a healthy diabetes-free life and a diabetes diagnosis. You can control your fate-start now.

"Buy this book and make sure that your doctor reads it too!" - Dr Steve Gilbert, Staff Specialist in Anaesthesia and Pain Management, former Lead Clinician for Chronic Pain in Scotland Chronic pain is much more common than you might think - it affects nearly one-fifth of the population. Chronic pain is defined as any pain that continues for longer than three months. It has a variety of causes including arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, accidents or operations, although sometimes there is no apparent cause. Many people suffering from chronic pain have been told by medical professionals that 'I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do for you', leaving them feeling abandoned and isolated. If you have been told this, or you think this news may be in your future, then this book is for you. Self-management is an important approach to coping better and managing this long term condition. Written with humour, and making use of cartoons and line drawings, this book encapsulates 20 years of pain management courses given by Phil Sizer at Pain Association Scotland to patients, GPs, and other health professionals. Divided into three sections (Understanding, Managing, Coping) Its approach is based on a holistic, bio-psycho-social model of health including CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), positive psychology, relaxation, hypnotherapy, motivational interviewing and coaching. Topics include: introduction by Pain Association Scotland understanding chronic pain - definitions, acute vs chronic pacing - how to avoid over-doing realistic goal-setting stress management relaxation and sleep dealing with flare-ups diet and foods to avoid coping with unhelpful thinking (racing mind, anxiety and negative thoughts) challenging limiting beliefs relationships with others accepting help importance of humour - attitude and values being a person not a condition If you can learn how to make changes and live better with your pain, things will improve, be different, and most importantly, so much better.

YOUR FIRST STEP TO A LIFE FREE FROM ANGER Everyone feels angry from time to time, and anger is a natural and normal way to respond to the things in life that frustrate us. But it is all too easy to allow feelings of anger and displeasure to color your life and your relationships with other people. Managing these feelings is important, as apart from making you difficult to live with, anger has negative effects on your blood pressure and makes you more susceptible to heart attacks, depression and anxiety. A PRACTICAL AND SUPPORTIVE 5-STEP COURSE TO SET YOU FREE FROM ANGER By picking this book up you've taken the first stride to a life free from anger. Using the STEP system - a structured, CBT-based approach that delivers both support and proven techniques for managing anger - you can begin to transform your daily life. Written by an expert author with many years of clinical experience, this book will help you get a better understanding of your anger and what keeps it going, tackle negative thoughts and behaviour, and progress to a healthier, happier outlook - without fear of setbacks or relapse. ABOUT THE SERIES Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes. When that happens, you need clarity of thought and practical advice to progress beyond the problem. The How To Deal With series provides structured, CBT-based solutions from health professionals and top experts to help you deal with issues thoroughly, once and for all. Short, easy to read, and very reassuring, these books are your first step on a pathway to a happier future. They are perfect for self-directed use and are designed so that medical professionals can prescribe them to patients.

Bipolar disorder is difficult at any age, but it can be particularly daunting for teenagers and their families. David Miklowitz, author of the bestselling "The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide", provides invaluable information parents can use to help teens cope - and thrive. His adolescent bipolar treatment program has been tested and refined for a decade. Now for the first time, this book makes it available directly to parents. "The Bipolar Teen" helps parents distinguish between the typical ups and downs of teen life and the symptoms of mania or depression.With coauthor Elizabeth George, Dr. Miklowitz shows parents how to recognize the early warning signs of an episode so they can intervene before it's too late. They show how to strike a healthy balance of medications and psychotherapy, and offer practical tips for getting the most from doctors and from school programs. Crucially, they also demonstrate practical strategies for managing the chaos at home so every family member - including siblings without the illness - can find the stability and support they need. A dozen helpful reproducibles are included.

`I have a small line of red dots on the back of my left hand, where the needle goes in. I have had hundreds of ketamine injections, more than anyone else, perhaps. The needle goes in, and the truth comes out. Sometimes I am a child again. Sometimes I have the innocence of a child, but I am not innocent. I know too much. I have known too much.' With Paper Cuts, Stephen Bernard boldly tests the bounds of what a memoir can achieve. Living through the trauma of childhood abuse and mental illness, he writes to escape and confront, to accuse and explain. Each morning when he wakes, Stephen Bernard must literally reconstruct his self: every night he writes himself a letter to be read the next day. The fractured, intensely personal narrative of Paper Cuts follows a single day in his life as he navigates a course through the effects of mania, medication and memories. The result is painful, unique and inspiring.

How do you find beauty and meaning in the most ordinary things when your life is being pulled away from you by the most extraordinary circumstances? On May 4, 2013, Cat Gwynn found a sizable lump in her right breast. Ten days later the acclaimed photographer was diagnosed with Triple Negative breast cancer--a disease long feared. Her mother had succumbed to breast cancer after a five-year battle. Now it was Cat's turn to live with it. This meant sitting with mortality, difficult side effects, and every other uncertainty being thrown her way. As the treatment protocol intensified, her immune system became more compromised, requiring limited exposure to the world around her. Cat mapped it out: her day-to-day existence was now reduced to about a ten-mile radius. Surrendering to this confined reality, Cat decided to engage in a daily practice of seeking out images with her smartphone that would connect her to the immediacy of life. There was no filtering what she found, only a genuine curiosity to see things as they were and how she chose to frame them. Every thing, detail, and day mattered, all inspiration for mindful expression. Cat didn't set out to make an art project about her experience with cancer, but over time realized it was a conceptual way to show her quest for well-being and willingness to uncover aspects of the world that are normally overlooked. By being present with deep truth, she was opening herself up to her own healing and reclaiming life in the most profound way. - - - Wellness is a state of being, no matter the circumstances you're dealt. 10-Mile Radius is a wake up call. A gratitude practice in motion that moves through limitations and becomes a compass back to one's self.

Many of us are affected by allergies, from the dreaded hayfever - the scourge of the summer - to much talked-about food allergies such as lactose and gluten. Dr Mike Dilkes, one of Harley Street's top Consultant ENT Surgeons, reveals his top tips for living with and treating an allergy. - Find out the difference between a sensitivity, an intolerance and an allergy - Discover how allergies affect your body and why - Learn how to see through the hype and take control of your own symptoms - Prevent attacks and treat outbreaks With a no-nonsense approach to this controversial topic, Stop Allergies from Ruining Your LIfe... The Easy Way provides a straightforward analysis ofthe latest scientific research, allowing you to live the life you want, whatever the season.