In honor of this month’s World Health Day and Earth Day, we bring you resources about nature’s benefits on mental health. We also round up some resources on how to deal with anxious feelings about climate change. Bottom line? The greener we are, the happier we tend to be! If…
Green spaces offer us an abundance of mental health benefits, whether that space is a home garden, lawn, or collection of house plants. The color green has a short wavelength and is easy for our eyes to pick up—plus, shades of green have been shown to promote relaxation, encourage positive…
Loneliness is a negative state of mind that can be harmful to our mind and body. Prolonged periods of loneliness are as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Not only does dealing with loneliness increase our risk of suffering a stroke, heart attack, or immune system damage, loneliness can…
The widespread use of the term “vibe” has taken the concept of human “energy reading” mainstream. You can explain vibe awareness in some intriguing ways, attributing emotional transfer to everything from precognitive perception to panpsychic reality. Certain holistic therapies like Reiki and acupuncture aim to work directly with the…
If you’ve ever had to relocate to a new apartment or home, you know how taxing moving can be. Moving stress might be explained by Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which says that among other essentials like food, sleep, and warmth, humans need a stable home environment to achieve peak…
Gender may play a significant role in the development of mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression, creating unique circumstances for women. Unfortunately, women are also more likely to be viewed as frail or fragile for expressing what they’re suffering from to those around them. And many fear that…
Biohackers and neurohackers are tech-inspired problem-solvers who want to find DIY ways to “upgrade” their biology and cognitive abilities. Biohacks run the gamut from the socially acceptable (exercise, coffee) to the extreme (hyperbaric chambers, microchips embedded under the skin). The concept of biohacking can make us explore what we value…
With people everywhere falling head over heels for Disney’s “Encanto,” it’s the perfect opportunity to highlight the emotional impact of music on our lives. Even science is proving that our love for music is a genetic trait, a uniquely human experience. Though the “Encanto” soundtrack is quickly becoming beloved, under…
A form of “mental dieting” known as dopamine fasting has quickly become popular with millenials. While it’s impossible to “fast” from a naturally occurring brain chemical, that doesn’t stop some people from trying. This strict practice aims to restore the brain’s natural flow of dopamine by restricting the dopamine faster’s…
Instagram and TikTok are two of the most popular apps for Gen Z and Millenials — but what are the negative effects and do they outweigh the positives? When 85% of our mental processes rely on our sense of sight, Instagram’s carefully cultivated news feeds and filtered photos can negatively…
Human beings evolved moral emotions through living in complex societies where everyone benefits from phenomena like empathy and reciprocity. As far as morality is concerned, there’s a natural progression from sharing mammoth meat around a campfire to posting on the Reddit forum Am I the A**hole? (AITA). We like AITA…
Character bonding is when we start to emulate the personality traits of fictional characters that we admire and/or feel drawn to. There’s nothing inherently harmful about character bonding; just remember that there is a distinction between them and you. While people may be drawn towards different fictional characters based on…