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Fear is a deeply rooted human response that helps keep us safe from dangerous situations. It is the feeling and physical reaction most of us would experience upon encountering a dangerous animal or getting too close to a cliff edge.

Even though we sometimes experience fear in situations that are not life or death – think public speaking or having a difficult conversation with a family member – these experiences rarely keep us from living our lives to the fullest.

Some fears, however, are irrational, persistent, or both, and can hamper people from living healthy and productive lives. Phobias are uncontrollable, persistent, and irrational fears about certain situations, actions, or objects, often divided into two categories: avoidance and reaction. These may range from fear of heights and spiders to going outside or being in tight spaces. Some of these objects and situations are easy to avoid, but some are present in everyday life.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is commonly used to help someone with a phobia learn methods to deal with their fear. CBT helps people learn how to live with and overcome their fears. Professionally guided exposure therapy is also a helpful treatment, especially for people with phobias of specific objects or situations. It gradually brings the person closer to the object of their phobia to help desensitize them to the phobia. Sometimes doctors will also recommend anxiety medications or sedatives for occasional use.

If you are experiencing fears of specific situations or objects that interfere with your daily life, speaking to your doctor or a mental health professional is a great place to start.

Sources:

Phobias | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Therapy for Phobias: What Are the Options? (healthline.com)

What vitamin does the human body produce when it is exposed to the sun? Vitamin D! This vitamin is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, supporting overall health, muscle function, and brain cell activity. It is essential for maintaining bone strength from head to toe.

The amount of vitamin D your skin makes depends on many factors, including the time of day, season, latitude, and your skin pigmentation. Studies have shown that individuals with darker skin pigmentation require longer or more intense ultraviolet radiation exposure to synthesize sufficient levels of vitamin D. If you have darker skin, you tend to make less vitamin D in the sun than people with lighter skin.

Depending on where you live and your lifestyle, vitamin D production might decrease or be completely absent during the winter months. Sunscreen, while important for skin cancer prevention, can also decrease vitamin D production. If your doctor suspects you’re not getting enough vitamin D, a simple blood test can check the levels of this vitamin in your blood. Chronic deficiencies may cause hypocalcemia, a calcium deficiency disease, and hyperparathyroidism, which can produce the following symptoms:

• Bone fragility, especially in older adults
• Osteoporosis
• Bone pain
• Fatigue
• Muscle twitching or pain
• And more

Many older adults don’t get regular exposure to sunlight and have trouble absorbing vitamin D. To boost your levels, you could take a multivitamin with vitamin D and eat foods high in vitamin D, such as egg yolks, cheese, mushrooms, fortified milk and cereals, and more.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161618#symptoms
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-d/art-20363792