“Fandom can provide a powerful social support network for the participating individual, and for some it is their only social support network. As such belonging to a fandom group can be a powerful coping mechanism as social support is critical to mental health and coping,” Dr. Syd Miller, host of On-Call with Dr. Syd, shares via email. “Fandom can also provide a source of validation for yourself, your values and your interests. These are all critical factors in developing a healthy self-esteem, which is also critical to good mental health. This may be particularly important in the teen years where individuation is occurring, when teens are developing a sense of self.”

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Therapist Syd Miller says those feelings most likely did not disappear over summer vacation. “Parents are terrified by the thought that when they drop off their child at school or put them on the school bus, it might be the last time they ever see their child alive again,” he tells Yahoo Life. Miller says these feelings are real, raw and extremely challenging to process.

So how can parents manage both their own anxieties — and those of their kids — as classrooms begin to reopen for a new school year?

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Everyone is afraid of something. However, “uncontrollable, irrational, and lasting fear” is categorized as a phobia and can often be debilitating. (more…)

It’s natural to want to do anything to get a child to stop screaming/tantruming – especially when something like separation anxiety – that so easily pulls at our hearts’ strings – is involved

“Separation anxiety, a fear of being separated from your parents, begins around the age of nine months and is considered developmentally normal until the age of three years when most children will have outgrown this anxiety,” says Dr. Sydney B. Miller, Ph.D, C. Psych, an associate professor in the department of psychology at Concordia University and the former host of On-Call with Dr. Syd. “If the anxiety continues beyond three years of age, the child might be developing separation anxiety disorder, which is a more serious but still very treatable condition.”

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Dr. Syd Miller, Ph.D., C. Psych adds, “From a mental health perspective the most important thing you should never do after 60, is to think of your age at all! Many people have argued that with increasing longevity, 60 is the new 40. From a positive aging perspective there are many more healthy productive years ahead of a person at the age of 60.”

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You don’t have to agree on everything in order to enjoy a satisfying relationship. However, it’s important to align on big issues or at least have a plan to work around major differences.

“Ask whether you share the same core values and beliefs regarding marriage, children, and spirituality,” says Syd Miller, PsyD. “These issues may not be relevant now, but they will be in the future. If you do not share the same values this is probably not the long-term relationship for you.”

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Part of the divorce progression is leaving the past in the past, accepting the things you cannot change and moving forward to new pastures. It sounds easy on paper, but you really need to invest the time and do the work to make this important step successful. How do you do that so you can survive and thrive in your “new reality?” It simply starts with not letting any negative thoughts weigh you down because bad energy is draining, not good for the complexion, and gives off a bad attitude. The goal is to be a magnet and attract everything good so you can get your happy ever after. Enter Dr. Sydney Miller. Dr. Miller is a renowned psychologist in Canada and former host of “On-Call with Dr. Syd” on iHeart Radio. In addition to helping people cope with stress, depression, burnout, anxieties, fears, relationships and family issues such as a divorce, Dr. Miller is also a professor at the Department of Psychology at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

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Sydney B. Miller, Ph.D., a Canadian psychologist, told Healthline the study shows the effect depression and a bad diet can have on one another.

He noted the relationship can be “modifiable.”

“One explanation for this relationship may be that plasma cholesterol levels taken from a bold sample may reflect brain cholesterol concentrations, and those may affect central nervous functioning, including depression,” Miller said.

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