A new study reports on the results of a randomized clinical trial that looked at whether the antidepressant citalopram would enhance complicated grief treatment psychotherapy, and if citalopram would be efficacious without it. The article was published online in June 2016 by JAMA Psychiatry. A release from the publisher explains that complicated grief occurs in… Continue reading Clinical Trial Examines Treatment of Complicated Grief
Category: Mental & Emotional Health
Your mental health, including your psychological & emotional health, impacts our daily life. Learn more about the most common mental disorders.
Photographing Your Activities Boosts Positive Feelings about the Experiences
While you might think taking photos would detract from the enjoyment of everyday activities, research published in June 2016 by the American Psychological Association suggests that people who take photos of their experiences usually enjoy the events more than people who don’t. “To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first extensive investigation… Continue reading Photographing Your Activities Boosts Positive Feelings about the Experiences
Living with Ambivalence
There is a social myth that we are supposed to love without ambivalence. If I love my husband, I am not supposed to fantasize about someone else. If I am a good mother, I am not supposed to feel that my children interfere in my life. But the reality is that wives and husbands can… Continue reading Living with Ambivalence
The Beauty of Old Age: A “Higher” Perspective
Most people grasp how crucial it is for children to not miss out on their childhood, but we often forget that it is equally crucial to not miss out on all of life, be it adolescence, middle age, old age, single life, married life, parenthood, or any other phase. Every stage is an incredible gift… Continue reading The Beauty of Old Age: A “Higher” Perspective
Holding on to Old Grievances
Most of us have narratives of our life stories that include some pivotal event. It could be meeting the love of your life or a special teacher who changed your life for the better. Sometimes the pivotal event is a tragedy such as sexual or physical abuse, or an accident or death in the family.… Continue reading Holding on to Old Grievances
The Impact of Celebrity Loss
Even back in the Dark Ages (referring to the time before the Internet, social media, a 24-hour non-stop news cycle and electronics of all manner invaded our lives), news of a celebrity or a public figure’s death had the ability to bring life to a standstill, even if for only a brief moment in time:… Continue reading The Impact of Celebrity Loss
When Estrangement and Grief Collide
There is a type of grief that is rarely discussed or even widely known. It is formally classified as “disenfranchised grief” and sometimes called “estrangement grief”. This kind of grief is not readily acknowledged by society. I do not believe the lack of acknowledgment is intentional. After all, you cannot acknowledge that which never occurs… Continue reading When Estrangement and Grief Collide
In Older Adults, Frailty and Depression Can Affect Spouses
Frailty, a condition that affects 10 percent of people aged 65 and older, can make older adults more prone to disability, falls, hospitalization, and a shorter lifespan. In April 2016, research published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined the effects of frailty and depression on married couples. A research summary released… Continue reading In Older Adults, Frailty and Depression Can Affect Spouses
Blind Spots: Repeating Patterns That Don’t Work
There is a statistical assumption that the future will look like the past. Although psychoanalysis has little in common with statistics, ironically both disciplines agree about this assumption. Psychoanalysts believe there is a great probability the future will look like the past because you choose partners who represent aspects of people in your past—mother, father,… Continue reading Blind Spots: Repeating Patterns That Don’t Work
Can Positive Memories Help Treat Mental Health Problems?
Researchers from the University of Liverpool in the UK have published a study highlighting the effectiveness of using positive memories and images to help generate positive emotions. It has been suggested that savuring positive memories can generate positive emotions. Increasing positive emotion can have a range of benefits including reducing attention to and experiences of… Continue reading Can Positive Memories Help Treat Mental Health Problems?
Becoming Resilient: The Ability To Bounce Back and Thrive
How a person deals with stress can mean success or failure throughout their life. When faced with a stressful situation, a personal setback or trauma, do they feel confident that they can both face and work to resolve the issue? Or do they react to life’s stressors through a lens of frustration, fear and self-doubt.… Continue reading Becoming Resilient: The Ability To Bounce Back and Thrive
Beware of Binge-Watching Negative News
According to the Mayo Clinic, media coverage of tragic events happens almost immediately and continues for days. While being informed is important, there are risks associated with compulsive viewing of reports such as those that came out of Brussels after the bombing on March 22nd 2016.. “You can kind of be bombarded by the news,” says… Continue reading Beware of Binge-Watching Negative News
3 Ways to Lift Your Mood.
Posture is not just important in how you look. It’s also important in how you look at life. Think of all the sayings that correlate the way you look to how you feel – feeling down, eyes downcast, keep your chin up, hold your head high – your posture reflects your mood. Tired and grumpy,… Continue reading 3 Ways to Lift Your Mood.
Labeling Emotions Can Help You Manage Them Better
Is that anger boiling up? Could that tension in your shoulders be a sign of fear, or maybe worry? Are you feeling sad, disappointed, dejected even, or simply a little uncomfortable? No matter what you feel, the ability to accurately label your emotions can help you manage them better, according to researchers. Affect labeling, as… Continue reading Labeling Emotions Can Help You Manage Them Better
A New Treatment for Depression?
Researchers have discovered a chemical that could be an innovative tool to control depression, a severe and chronic psychiatric disease that affects 350 million people worldwide. The research, from the Bruce Hammock laboratory at the University of California, Davis, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involves studies of an… Continue reading A New Treatment for Depression?
Seven Ways to Spring Clean Your Mind
Spring is almost here, and many people will jump into the annual spring cleaning ritual in their homes and offices, trashing the old and getting rid of the clutter. But how many people will be spring cleaning their minds, or getting mentally organized? Of you’re not mentally organized, you’ll be wallowing around unclear about what… Continue reading Seven Ways to Spring Clean Your Mind
Resilience May Be Overrated
Natural resilience – the ability to bounce back from major life stressors – may not be as common or as easy as once thought, according to new research from Arizona State University. The study questions prior claims that resilience is the “usual” response to major life stressors by looking at longitudinal data in a more… Continue reading Resilience May Be Overrated
People with Anxiety Show Fundamental Differences in Perception
People suffering from anxiety perceive the world in a fundamentally different way than others do, according to a study done at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on March 3rd 2016. The research may help explain why certain people are more prone to anxiety. A… Continue reading People with Anxiety Show Fundamental Differences in Perception