Dawn Drexel, the mother of missing teen Brittanee Drexel, told WHEC News 10 in Rochester, N.Y. that she believes her daughter may have been kidnapped or may not be alive.

Brittanee, 17, has been missing since April 25 when she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for spring break.

Brittanee’s mother is no longer a stranger to the darkest possible chapter in a parent’s life story: the feared or actual loss of a child.

I have worked with several parents who have survived their own children. I have struggled with them against tides of grief that seem never to recede, but simply to become more expected, so they lose the power to sweep these bereaved mothers and fathers off their feet.

Losing a child lays bare the miraculous connections that can hold families together through thick and thin. No matter how contentious the relationships mothers and fathers may have with their children, the bond between them can’t be reproduced or entirely obliterated. At the ages of 50 and 60 (and older), my patients still want to make sense of the way they related to their parents in childhood, young adulthood and beyond. They are still sons and daughters, even if they have lost their parents.

So Dawn Drexel, brave enough to speak to the media at an unspeakable moment, may wander tonight into Brittanee’s room. Maybe she’ll lie down on her daughter’s bed, maybe she’ll let herself smell her daughter’s pillow. She may think she hears Brittanee’s footsteps or voice or her car pulling into the driveway. That’s no surprise when we consider the sounds of togetherness that come to play like music in the backgrounds of our daily lives, sounds that we stop hearing after a while, maybe because we take them for granted, maybe because no parent’s heart could maintain its rhythm while bearing full witness to the unspeakable, unfathomable beauty of one’s own child. We don’t hear a tenth of what we could, if we thought the music might end.

For those of you reading these words  — the lucky parents out there with children still close enough to hug, I hope you’ll give it a try tonight. Sit for a few minutes and listen to the sounds of your children in the house: their footsteps, their fingers clicking keys on a computer, the opening and closing of their closet doors, their voices on the phone and their breathing as they sleep. Let yourself marvel at the fact that your life has spawned another life and that you have the continuing, rare and wonderful opportunity to shape not only your existence, but that of another human being. Let yourself smile at the thought of their favorite toys (if they’re still young enough), their favorite clothes, the posters on their walls, their best friends, the sports they’ve come to enjoy, the hopes and dreams they’ve embraced.

Stay silent a minute longer. Then close your eyes, think about Dawn Drexel and her missing daughter Brittanee and pray for them both.

I’m going to do that right now. My children are asleep, a few dozen feet away from me. I am a lucky man and I know it.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.

Q: Will keeping a food journal really help me in my efforts to lose weight?

A: This is such a common question because people tend to get lazy with writing down everything they eat.  I have to say though, without a doubt, the answer is yes.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that those who kept food records six days a week — jotting down everything they ate and drank on those days — lost about twice as much weight as those who kept food records one day a week or less.

When keeping a food diary, you should aim to write down everything that you eat, whether it’s a whole meal or a bite of a cookie.  Accountability and honesty are the most important steps to losing weight and keeping it off.  Be honest to yourself about what you eat because every bit counts.  You may start to realize that handful of M & M’s you pick up every time you pass by your co-workers desk.  A lot of the eating we do is subconscious but at the end of the day it all adds up.  Only an extra 100 calories every day can lead to a 10 pound weight gain at the end of the year.  
 
Additionally, when you review a diary, you can often point out problematic cues, triggers and habits that may be contributing to weight gain.  For example, some people may notice they are skipping meals or eating most of their calories at night.  Although keeping a food journal can be hard and time consuming I definitely recommend it.  You become more aware of what you eat and can catch yourself the next time around.

To start keeping a food journal of your own, follow these tips:

• Write throughout the day.  Don’t wait until the end of the day to record what you ate and drank because you will be more likely to forget certain foods by then.
• Focus on portion sizes.  Use measuring cups and/or food scales at home to become more wary of correct portion sizes, especially when dining out.
• Use whatever type of food diary works for you.  It doesn’t matter whether you use an actual journal, email, or your blackberry.
• Don’t skip your indulgent days.  Record even those days when you overeat because it holds you accountable for the good days as well as the bad!
• Eat at home.  By preparing your own meals you’ll have more control over what you consume and what ingredients you put in to make it.  You’ll also save yourself a few hundred calories, helping speed up your weight loss.  

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

Hi Yvonne,
How does losing a testicle affect a man’s sexual response? I had an accident, so I wanna know from someone whose knowledge I can trust (and I think that I am asking the right person), if this loss will affect any aspect of my sexuality, like erection. Or will it somehow reduce my chance to have kids?
Mitch

Dear Mitch,
When a male only has one testicle – whether due to undescended testicles (cryptochidism), testicular cancer, or an accident – in most cases, his fertility will not be affected. His remaining healthy testicle should supply enough hormones and produce enough adequate, viable sperm to fertilize eggs, hence have children. To make sure this is the case for you, be sure to consult with your healthcare provider for information on your particular situation.

When it comes to your sexual response, physically, you should not react any differently in becoming aroused, reaching orgasm, and coming down from climax. Psychologically, however, you may grapple with a sense of loss. Men who find themselves with one testicle may feel inadequate, not as masculine, or self-conscious – all of which can impact his sexual functioning. If you’re concerned that any of these issues are yours, or if you worry about how a partner might react, be sure to talk to a sex therapist about any psychological issues at play. A partner who truly cares about you will make every attempt to be compassionate, supportive, and understanding of your situation. 

Dr. Yvonne Kristín Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

With Hillary Clinton set to concede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama, supporters of the former First Lady have a difficult transition to make. 

Their aspirations to elect their candidate to the corner office took an increasingly divisive tone over the past weeks. Sen. Clinton unconsciously connected her rival to a presidential candidate assassinated while campaigning in the month of June (Robert Kennedy), and her campaign charged that the Obama campaign had a gun to her head to force her to quit the race.

Talk about politics as a blood sport. How does a Hillary Clinton loyalist line up behind her nemesis?

From a psychological perspective, the answer to that question is:  Not right away and not necessarily shoulder-to-shoulder.

Clinton supporters will need a little time to let the final chapters of their candidate’s campaign echo in their minds. They’ll need to grieve the loss of what looked like a sure thing and which has the language of death so closely associated with it.

They’ll need to date the political process for a little while before falling in love again — with the real potential to advance their ideas, if not their candidate.

To rush this process would be to short-circuit it. The wounds inflicted by each candidate on the other are too deep. They can’t be magically healed with a photo op or a raised hand. 

Pretending Clinton support translates in a wholesale way to Obama needlessly inserts falsehood into a movement that all of us, regardless of our politics, would have to admit is fueled by passion.

Hatred of John McCain will not immediately galvanize Democrats into a united force. McCain is, simply put, hard to hate. The most unsympathetic of biographers would not question his patriotism or bravery or character or commitment. 

Not even Obama choosing Clinton for his running mate would bridge the psychological divide here. That would create the immediate specter of a dysfunctional marriage in need of emergent counseling. It would look and feel like a shotgun wedding. And there’s that image of a gun again. Best to steer clear.

No. This will take a little time. And giving voice to that fact, actually verbalizing the idea that Clinton supporters can gravitate into Obama’s orbit, not rocket there, is the best way that Democrats can make it happen, in due time.

Dr. Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel. He is the author of Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty. Visit his Web site at www.livingthetruth.com.