Mental Health
Ukrainians Face Lasting Psychological Wounds from Russian Invasion
A psychiatrist who specializes in PTSD and stress describes the trauma that war survivors and refugees commonly experience
"stress"
Psychology
What to Tell Kids about Ukraine: Recommendations from a Psychologist
Children are worried by Russia’s attack and need explanations about what is going on, a family counselor says
Mental Health
COVID Threatens to Bring a Wave of Hikikomori to America
We should work to protect others from falling into long-term social withdrawal
Public Health
Latest COVID Surge Pushes Parents to Next-Level Stress
The new normal this winter is longer drives for kids’ tests, multiday waits for results, drug-store restock alerts and social media tips
Cognition
What Will 2022 Bring in the Way of Misinformation on Social Media? 3 Experts Weigh In
The one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is raising concerns about falsehoods that increase the risk of repeat events
Public Health
The Biden Administration Should Offer Free At-Home COVID Testing
The federal testing strategy has tried to improve availability but still puts the burden on people to find expensive tests that are often in short supply
Vaccines
The Risk of Vaccinated COVID Transmission Is Not Low
After my son got sick, I dived into the data, and it turns out vaccinated people can and do spread COVID
Stressed Out: Causes, Effects and Keeping Calm
Chronic stress makes people sick. The fight-or-flight response activates our bodies to face immediate threats, but that stress system must turn off to allow organs to recover. Constant anxiety keeps the system active, and in this eBook, we examine the effects of ongoing stress and trauma on both body and mind as well as ways to arm ourselves against adversity by managing stress and building resilience...
Mind & Brain
The Growing Economic Burden of Depression in the U.S.
Depression in America costs society $210 billion per year, according to the newest data available, yet only 40 percent of this sum is associated with depression itself.
Is there joy in missing out?
Researchers talk about our attachment to social media in terms of the fear of missing out (FOMO). We can’t look away from our mobile devices because we might miss the possibility to make or enhance a connection...
Mind & Brain
Less Sleep Means More Stress for Teens
Teens stay up late at night and sleep late into the morning, a result of a natural shift in their circadian rhythms. That biological schedule puts them at odds with the adult world, as well as early start times for high school...
Health
Aging: Too Much Telomerase Can Be As Bad As Too Little
How do I knock off thirty years from my age? Faust, the protagonist in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's famous play, poses this question to Mephistopheles in the chapter Hexenküche (Witches' kitchen)...
Health
Fear and Anxiety May Shorten Dogs' Lifespan
For some, it happens in the bathroom. For others, it's the living room. All across America, as fireworks go off on July 4th, many dogs experience varying degrees of fear and stress.
Mind & Brain
Are You Mentally Tough?
Forty seconds before round two, and I'm lying on my back trying to breathe. Pain all through me. Deep breath. Let it go. I won't be able to lift my shoulder tomorrow, it won't heal for over a year, but now it pulses, alive, and I feel the air vibrating around me, the stadium shaking [...]..
Who Needs Stimulants for ADHD?
In 1970, 150,000 U.S. children were taking stimulant medications. By 2007, that number had risen to 2.7 million, according to pediatrician Sanford Newmark of the University of California, San Francisco...
Would Your Dog Make a Good Cadaver Detection Dog?
Sitting on the couch, with your dog curled up by your side looking ever-so-peaceful, maybe youve been overcome by the thought, Gosh, wouldnt Banjo make the most perfect therapy dog!?
Mind & Brain
The Serious Need for Play
Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed
The Potential of LSD, Heroin, Marijuana and Other Controlled Substances in Brain Research
Imagine being an astronomer in a world where the telescope was banned. This effectively happened in the 1600s when, for over 100 years, the Catholic Church prohibited access to knowledge of the heavens in a vain attempt to stop scientists proving that the earth was not the center of the universe. ‘Surely similar censorship could [...]..
Mind & Brain
Creativity, Madness and Drugs
San Diego—Would we have Poe’s Raven today if the tormented author had taken lithium to suppress his bipolar illness? Not likely, considering the high frequency of psychiatric illnesses among writers and artists, concluded psychiatrist Kay Jamison of Johns Hopkins Medical School speaking last week at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego...
Did Your Daddy Raise You to Sing Like That?
When most of us hear birds twittering away in the trees, we hear it as background noise. It’s often hard to separate out one bird from another.
