Ask anyone headed to watch the next Marvel flick: It’s hard not to idolize the heroines and heroes within the realms of popular fiction. Whether they’re on the silver screen, in books, TV series, or even video games, many of us admire these depictions of larger-than-life characters. But, even though…
It’s day 2 after your arrival home from a fun, meaningful, and memorable vacation. You’re back at work and you feel down, almost disassociated from the business around you. Everyday reality feels drained of color and emotion. Unofficial diagnosis: You have the post-vacation blues. But what if you’ve just returned…
As the name implies, micro-cheating occurs when partners use small gestures or actions to engage with someone outside of their relationship in a flirtatious manner. Micro-cheating can happen when we cross the line with coworkers or friends, spend too much time secretly scrolling through our ex’s social media, or even…
First, let’s clear up one thing: There’s nothing inherently spooky or dangerous about mental health conditions like dissociative identity disorder (split personality) and schizophrenia. But that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from exploiting these conditions again and again in their horror movies. Cinematic depictions of people with mental health disorders can range…
Perhaps it’s something about the magnetic allure of narcissistic personalities — or maybe it’s our own dark, inner desires to focus intensely on ourselves that spark interest in narcissism. Whatever the case, we know a lot about the extroverted, grandiose persona typically associated with narcissists — but introverts can be…
You’ve probably heard about forest medicine, how spending time in the woods can lower your stress levels, improve your mood, bolster your immune system, and perhaps literally recharge your body (when you’re barefoot). It all seems so obvious, considering that homo sapiens evolved in tandem with their ecosystem. But if…
Thriveworks conducted an in-depth analysis of over 54,000 data points to identify the Top Mental Health Terms for 2021, determined by how each term has grown in usage over the past five years. This research assessed how 71 mental health terms were used across online, print, and broadcast sources. The…
The oncoming car ignores their red light and slams into the side of my Subaru as I turn left. My tires squeal in protest as I’m pushed sideways across the intersection by the impact, but before I know it, the crash is over. The tunnel vision wears off — I…
You may not remember when The Human Genome Project completed its 13-year massive undertaking in 2003. The researchers involved with the project finished mapping the entire human genome sequence, which represents the full 20,000-25,000 genes that we carry in our DNA. Every trait that can be physically expressed is contained…
My dad is a psychologist—growing up, I remember him helping all types of people, from inmates prepping for parole to other children and teens who were having behavioral issues. As someone from a poor family and a rough area of Chicago, his life lessons were always insightful, if a little…
For the seventh time this morning, I ogle at my wrist, shuffling through the features on my smartwatch until I can see my heart rate. It’s bumping along at a cool 102 bpm. I’m sweating slightly, nervously tapping my foot against the carpet. Whether it’s from this third cup of…
It wouldn’t surprise me if cavepeople worried about getting canceled. Steal someone’s share of the weekly mammoth meat and you’d probably be ostracized by the clan, forced to make your own fire in a lesser, lonelier cave. Until your people forgave your transgression and invited you back into the fold,…
