If you ever doubted the mental health benefits of being close to nature, you need look no further than recent research on green spaces and the Covid-19 pandemic. Population studies show that people who lived near green spaces during the pandemic fared better mentally than people with limited access to…
Most people like to think of their brains and their bowels as completely separate units. Gray matter is where the higher thinking happens, where one contemplates art and one’s place in the universe. The gut is where our breakfast cereal goes. It’s a region of the body we only tend…
Dealing with stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges can feel overwhelming. And the thought of talking to someone — especially your mom, dad, or another primary caregiver — about those challenges can feel overwhelming, too. But in most cases, opening up about how you’re feeling and what you’re experiencing…
Let me paint you a picture. It’s 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and you’re feeling stressed out, yet bored. You’re eating your lunch at your desk because you want to give off the impression that you’re working hard. You take a personal phone call and pretend to be speaking…
We all feel lonely sometimes—say, when we’re drowning in work and too busy to hang with loved ones, or after a tough breakup from a significant other. This loneliness is often discouraging and, for some, loneliness transforms into depression. Sometimes resolving depression isn’t possible by ourselves, especially when our friends…
This was supposed to be the year when we collectively recovered from our pandemic trauma, found greater happiness in the workplace, and renewed loving relationships with our friends, our family, and ourselves. Did it all happen the way we mapped it out last New Year’s Eve? Probably not. But based…
For tens of thousands of years humans have been passionate about their fur babies. The deep bonds between Homo sapiens and other animal species seem so common and obvious that they’ve only recently been studied scientifically. So how did we get from throwing food scraps to wolves at the outskirts…
Even scientific literature has described infertility as “the most upsetting experience” of a person’s life. This seems to be more true for women than men, since their minds and bodies usually bear the greater burden of infertility treatment. It’s pretty clear how culture, biology, and identity can all align to…
What’s the next best thing to being a multi-millionaire? Feeling like a multi-millionaire. We’ve all fantasized about that moment when we scratch our lotto ticket and see the winning numbers. What do we do first with all our bags of money? The exercise reminds me of the “miracle question” that…
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…
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 probably don’t think twice about turning on the news or reading the latest stories online about what’s happening in the world. But did you know that too much news exposure can seriously harm your mental health and wellbeing? People are consuming more media than ever before. Even before COVID,…
