When I get stressed or anxious, my mood is quickly reflected in my son's behavior. He's more likely to be disrespectful and to break rules when I'm stressed. Of course, if I don't break the cycle it creates an awfully vicious circle, because his behavior can make me more stressed. But I just try to remind myself (sometimes more successfully than others) that I am the parent and therefore should be at least a tad more emotionally mature than my 10-year-old.

But it turns out that our stress levels can do more than set off a temper tantrum... it can actually lead to our kids getting sick. A recent study found kids with anxious or depressed parents also had higher sickness levels. The parents' stress can actually lower the child's immunities and lead to significantly higher instances of illness.

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Recent studies out of Japan show that people who are sociable tend to be chubbier than those who are introverted and prone to worry. I don't know about you but I don't find this surprising at all. After all, so much of our socializing happens over food and I know that when I'm in the midst of a string of social events, my pants tend to be a bit tighter than normal.

But you know what? I love my friends, and I love being sociable, and if having a social life means carrying a few extra pounds, so be it -- I wouldn't have it the other way around. What about you?

That said, I think there are ways you can make your social life healthier. Filling up on salads at a large dinner is one way, and reducing the amount of alcohol you consume is another. You can also try to encourage you friends to do something active instead of heading to the neighbourhood pub for wings.

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It seems that all too often these days treating depression is a one-stop-shop for medications. Even the most well-meaning of psychiatrists and general physicians can lose sight of the real issues and think of mood problems as simply a brain chemistry problem and not a whole mind-body-spirit problem. Medications can certainly help, but they're one of many tools that should be used together for successful and lasting treatment. This article on WebMD has some interesting ideas on the components that go into treating depression and anxiety disorders using a combination of Eastern and Western ideas. What's your philosophy?

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As if you don't already have enough stress in your life (trying to lose weight being one of them) your diet may be causing you even more. In a study of mice, those who were switched from high fat/high carb diets to lower fat/lower carb diets showed brain changes and behavior consistent with increased anxiety and increased stress. Also interesting was the fact that the mice were much more willing to go into an unpreferred environment (bright light) to get the "better" diet than they were previously.

So beware, if this is true for people too then even though switching to a healthier diet is still overall a good idea, understanding how you may feel on a subconscious level could really help in the battle to succeed and stick with it.

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