One articulate mother with a PhD describes how my free website manual saved her son from suicide as a result of bullying, when all the schools' efforts failed.| Psychology Today
How self-sufficient are you? Are you willing to be honest if it carries a risk of being disliked?| Psychology Today
Does new research really prove that placebos don't require deception?| Psychology Today
The placebo effect is more than belief—again and again, it has been shown to produce real physiological and neurological changes. Does this mean that the mind can heal the body?| Psychology Today
The placebo effect can improve almost any medical condition—yet doctors all too often ignore it. Here's what it can do for you—and how to take advantage of it.| Psychology Today
For many years, health care professionals have been accustomed to thinking about drinking in terms of just two diagnostic categories: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.| Psychology Today
Viewing troubling media may lead to vicarious trauma in adults and children.| Psychology Today
According to famous physicists, free will is incompatible with a scientific worldview. New research investigating causal relationships suggests that this assumption may be wrong.| Psychology Today
Job hunting is stressful. After many rejections, one can feel crushed, defeated, and deflated. Psychology tools offer helpful ways to respond to painful job rejections and thrive.| Psychology Today
Some researchers have contended, with good reason, that "specific learning disorder" is neither specific nor a disorder and that the label can cause more harm than good.| Psychology Today
Be armed with the knowledge of what these terms used in memory disorders mean.| Psychology Today
Before working to care for or treat someone with dementia, make sure you know what the correct diagnosis is.| Psychology Today
Are you wondering if your forgetfulness is normal? Here are 10 early signs that it might be Alzheimer's.| Psychology Today
Anxiety can lead to a fear of loss and abandonment. But there are ways to break the cycle.| Psychology Today
Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.| Psychology Today
High-school students who do not date are less depressed than those who do, and according to teachers, have better social skills and more leadership qualities.| Psychology Today
Discover how dopamine impacts your mood, motivation, and mental health—and learn simple ways to naturally boost it for a happier, more rewarding life.| Psychology Today
Is human loneliness an issue that corporations can fix?| Psychology Today
Created by Chloe Barron's Own Two Hands| Psychology Today
One simple question can help you prioritize what matters, take back control of your time, and conquer the "Tyranny of the Urgent."| Psychology Today
A rational definition of financial security must be grounded in reality and not someone else’s ideas, experiences, or circumstances.| Psychology Today
Feeling rejected by a friend, family member, or romantic partner is a universally painful experience. Some individuals, however, feel the sting of rejection much more acutely than others and also have an exaggerated fear of being rejected by those around them. These people are said to be high in a trait known as rejection sensitivity.| Psychology Today
The four functions of the body most commonly impacted by grief.| Psychology Today
If you are currently being treated for cancer or are a survivor, try "drawing a picture of health" as part of your wellness plan. It's integrative medicine for mind and body.| Psychology Today
"The more social media we have, the more we think we're connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other".| Psychology Today
Pregnant women usually pay more attention to infant distress compared to women who don’t have children—but this may not happen when they are depressed.| Psychology Today
A persuasive series of research studies with both animals and humans show us that our first instinct really is to be good, kind and compassionate.| Psychology Today
Defining mental disorders is slippery, contributing to rising rates of diagnosis and self-diagnosis. Young people are especially prone to psychiatric self-labeling.| Psychology Today
Psychodynamic therapy is derived from psychoanalytic therapy, and both are based on the work of Sigmund Freud. Psychodynamic therapy is an in-depth form of talk therapy based on the theories and principles of psychoanalysis. In effect, talking about problems in a therapeutic setting can be extremely valuable for the individual. Comparatively, psychodynamic therapy is less focused on the patient-therapist relationship and more focused on the patient’s relationship with their external world.| Psychology Today
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a decline in cognitive function that may include compromised memory, language, or critical thinking. It is considered more serious than expected age-related decline but less serious and concerning than dementia. Some cases of MCI proceed to dementia and some do not, making such impairment especially alarming for some who experience it. A person with symptoms of impairment might begin losing items, for example, or forget scheduled appointments.| Psychology Today
Dementia is a progressive loss of cognitive function, marked by memory problems, trouble communicating, impaired judgment, and confused thinking. Dementia most often occurs around age 65 and older but is a more severe form of decline than normal aging. People who develop dementia may lose the ability to regulate their emotions, especially anger, and their personalities may change.| Psychology Today
Popular media are full of scare headlines and articles about harmful effects of video gaming. But what have researchers actually found? Is gaming really "Digital Heroin"?| Psychology Today
The concept "video game addiction" has been rejected by the APA, by many video game researchers, and by many therapists who work with video gamers. Here is why.| Psychology Today
Video games do not promote obesity, ill health, social isolation, or violence. They do promote friendships, cooperation, self-control, and brainpower.| Psychology Today
What do you think you look like? Body image is the mental representation an individual creates of themselves, but it may or may not bear any relation to how one actually appears. Body image is subject to all kinds of distortions from the attitudes of one's parents, other early experiences, internal elements like emotions or moods, and other factors. The severe form of poor body image is body dysmorphic disorder, where dissatisfaction over a slight or undetectable defect in appearance becomes ...| Psychology Today
You need these three kinds of hobbies to live a truly enriching life.| Psychology Today
Albert Einstein famously said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Through imagination, people can explore ideas of things that are not physically present, ranging from the familiar (e.g., a thick slice of chocolate cake) to the never-before-experienced (e.g., an alien spacecraft appearing in the sky).| Psychology Today
Memory is the faculty by which the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information. It is a record of experience that guides future action.| Psychology Today
Extroversion is a personality trait typically characterized by outgoingness, high energy, and/or talkativeness. In general, the term refers to a state of being where someone “recharges,” or draws energy, from being with other people; the opposite—drawing energy from being alone—is known as introversion.| Psychology Today
Personality disorders are deeply ingrained, rigid ways of thinking and behaving that result in impaired relationships with others and often cause distress for the individual who experiences them. Many mental health professionals formally recognize 10 disorders that fall into three clusters, although there is known to be much overlap between the categories. Cluster A disorders are characterized by odd or eccentric patterns of thinking, such as extreme social detachment, distrust, or unusual be...| Psychology Today
Narcissists have a prominent place in the popular imagination, and the label "narcissist" is widely deployed to refer to people who appear too full of themselves. There's also a growing sense that narcissism is on the rise around the world, especially among young people, although most psychological research does not support that notion.| Psychology Today
Education can shape an individual's life, both in the classroom and outside of it. A quality education can lay the groundwork for a successful career, but that's far from its only purpose. Education—both formal and informal—imparts knowledge, critical thinking skills, and, in many cases, an improved ability to approach unfamiliar situations and subjects with an open mind.| Psychology Today
Genetics is the study of genes and the variation of characteristics that are influenced by genes—including physical and psychological characteristics. All human traits, from one's height to one's fear of heights, are driven by a complex interplay between the expression of inherited genes and feedback from the environment.| Psychology Today
Trust—or the belief that someone or something can be relied on to do what they say they will—is a key element of social relationships and a foundation for cooperation. It is critical for romantic relationships, friendships, interactions between strangers, and social groups on a large scale, and a lack of trust in such scenarios can come with serious consequences. Indeed, society as a whole would likely fail to function in the absence of trust.| Psychology Today
A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as alcohol, inhalants, opioids, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling.| Psychology Today
Learn how to equip your child with tools to handle racial and emotional stressors at school, fostering resilience and pride.| Psychology Today
Gender dysphoria (formerly known as gender identity disorder in the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM) is defined by strong, persistent feelings of identification with another gender and discomfort with one's own assigned gender and sex; in order to qualify for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, these feelings must cause significant distress or impairment.| Psychology Today
From day to day, teenagers can vary in how loved they feel by their parents or caregivers. Yet, feeling more consistently loved means they are more likely to thrive a year later.| Psychology Today
One of life's sharpest paradoxes is that the key to satisfaction is doing things that feel risky, uncomfortable, and occasionally bad.| Psychology Today
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects information processing. People with autism have difficulties with social and communication skills. They have restricted interests and engage in repetitive behaviors. They also tend to experience sensitivity or discomfort from sensory stimulation such as certain lights or sounds.| Psychology Today
Thinking about divorce? This can be terrifying. "How will I know if divorce is the right decision?" Here's how to gain clarity in the fog of indecision.| Psychology Today
All humans are born with biological characteristics of sex, either male, female, or intersex. Gender, however, is a social construct and generally based on the norms, behaviors, and societal roles expected of individuals based primarily on their sex. Gender identity describes a person’s self-perceived gender, which could be male, female, or otherwise.| Psychology Today
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy or usually just "therapy," is a form of treatment aimed at relieving emotional distress and mental health problems. Provided by any of a variety of trained professionals—psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or licensed counselors—it involves examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced by individuals, couples, or families. Therapy sessions refer to structured meetings between a licensed provider and a client with a...| Psychology Today
Every suicide is a tragedy, and to some degree a mystery. Suicide often stems from a deep feeling of hopelessness. The inability to see solutions to problems or to cope with challenging life circumstances may lead people to see taking their own lives as the only solution to what is really a temporary situation, and most survivors of suicide attempts go on to live full, rewarding lives.| Psychology Today
For many women pregnancy is an exciting and nerve-wracking time of life; it can also be a source of anxiety and even depression, especially when concerns are fueled by hormones or by societal expectations. In addition to physical symptoms of early pregnancy such as a missed period, sensitivity to smells and certain foods, and fatigue, women may experience mood swings and the onset of depression. Expectant mothers, in general, should take steps to protect and enhance their emotional well-being...| Psychology Today
Bullying is a distinctive pattern of repeatedly and deliberately harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are smaller, weaker, younger or in any way more vulnerable than the bully. The deliberate targeting of those of lesser power is what distinguishes bullying from garden-variety aggression.| Psychology Today
The term social media is generally used to describe internet-based websites and applications where users can participate in conversations, connect with other people, share their thoughts, and otherwise engage in social networking in a virtual environment. Between them, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok attract billions of daily users around the world.| Psychology Today
Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before. Rather than letting difficulties, traumatic events, or failure overcome them and drain their resolve, highly resilient people find a way to change course, emotionally heal, and continue moving toward their goals.| Psychology Today
Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has. It is a recognition of value independent of monetary worth. Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness and warmth. This social emotion strengthens relationships, and its roots run deep in evolutionary history—emanating from the survival value of helping others and being helped in return. Studies show that specific areas of the brain are involved in experiencing and expressing gratitude.| Psychology Today
Stress generally refers to two things: the psychological perception of pressure, on the one hand, and the body's response to it, on the other, which involves multiple systems, from metabolism to muscles to memory. Some stress is necessary for all living systems; it is the means by which they encounter and respond to the challenges and uncertainties of existence. The perception of danger sets off an automatic response system, known as the fight-or-flight response, that, activated through hormo...| Psychology Today