Dr. Kristen Brendel

03/02/2026

02/18/2026

A study finds that people who did one specific form of brain training in the 1990s were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next 20 years.

12/24/2025

Warm holiday wishes from my family to yours!

11/28/2025

This is very similar to health anxiety OCD. I am seeing this more and more since the pandemic. The good news is whether its OCD or an eating disorder, the interventions are the same- CBT based therapy or ERP.

Orthorexia nervosa is a pathological obsession with eating “clean” or “healthy” foods. People who have this condition focus on their diet so strictly (and so restrictively) that it takes both a physical and mental toll.

Behaviors associated with orthorexia typically include:

◾Engaging in restrictive or ritualized eating behaviors.
◾Creating and strictly following rules about which foods are and are not healthy.
◾Feeling guilty and anxious when confronted with foods that don’t fit these rules.

These behaviors share many characteristics with anorexia nervosa. The difference is that people living with anorexia restrict the quantity of the food they eat, whereas people living with orthorexia focus on the quality of the food.

There aren’t many studies that evaluate the effectiveness of treatments for orthorexia. But experts say cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may help, especially an approach called “exposure and response prevention” that aims to reduce eating-related obsessions. It has been proven effective for conditions like OCD. This type of therapy involves slowly reintroducing you to foods you fear, while a trained therapist helps you learn to recognize and redirect your intrusive thoughts about food. They can also teach intuitive eating principles and mindfulness strategies.

11/27/2025

Wishing you all a joyous day!

11/26/2025

Interesting article!

More children and adults are being diagnosed with ADHD in some countries. Science is helping to understand why — and how best to provide support.

11/24/2025

When my clients have this issue, I give them very similar suggestions. Ultimately, what's most helpful is for the brain to focus on something benign that also requires a little effort, like assigning a number to every letter of the alphabet and then spelling people's names with numbers. Usually, people are back to sleep well before each letter has a number. I also suggest an exercise that's rooted in EMDR called the container exercise. Where you have an imaginary container with a lid, and you go through an entire process of imagining yourself walking to the container, describing it in great detail, using all five senses, and then quickly naming the distracting thoughts you're having and putting them in the container. You then close the container and put it away. Every time there's a new thought or even emotion, you go through the process again. It's quite boring, detailed, and therefore effective. I do this one myself, and it's my ace in the hole. Pro-tip- Make sure the container and where you're keeping it have neutral to positive associations.

If you're reading this at night while trying to fall asleep, perhaps give it a go. Let me know how it worked out for you. Sleep well!

If racing thoughts are stealing your sleep, these strategies can help you calm your mind and get more rest.

11/20/2025

Great news!

The Northwestern Medicine Dauten Behavioral Health Institute will aim to redefine behavioral health by using new diagnostic and treatment approaches, according to a news release announcing the gift.

11/17/2025

A worldwide movement to sing gentle songs to the dying provides comfort, peace and release to both the suffering and the singers

11/11/2025

Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you!

11/02/2025

If you experience any symptoms related to less sunlight this time of the year, here is my prescription that will likely help quite a bit.

1. Get a Happy Light that's cordless and rechargeable and use it for 20 minutes while you're getting ready in the morning. The cordless feature means you can move it around with you as you're making your coffee and brushing your teeth. Do not use it in the second half of the day, as it can disrupt your sleep cycle.

2. Have an orange daily. It's like consuming sunshine as well as fiber and Vitamin C. We need more fresh foods in our diet, too.

3. Take Vitamin D. Don't take high doses unless prescribed by your physician. I take 2000 IU daily this time of the year with food for better absorption.

4. Get outside each day and walk for any distance possible.

5. Stay hydrated- very important. Please drink plenty of water daily!

10/14/2025

Acceptance is one of life’s hardest skills, but also one of the most essential. It means opening up to the full range of our emotions so that love and purpose have space to grow.

In this article, I share how I’ve been practicing acceptance myself, even in the bittersweet moments of watching my youngest son grow up. And I offer some simple ways you can build this skill before life really demands it.

Read the full article here: https://stevenchayes.com/the-bittersweet-art-of-acceptance-2/