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Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Every Monday on The Verywell Mind Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW, interviews authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and other inspirational people about the strategies that help them think, feel, and do their best in life. Meet Maffio Maffio, whose real name is Carlos Mendoza, is a Latin GRAMMY Award winning music producer, composer, and artist. He’s collaborated with top Latin musicians such as Akon, Nicky Jam, Ozuna, and Anuel....

Heading back to school after a summer away often brings about a complex array of emotions for teenagers. There’s the excitement of being with their friends more regularly and an eagerness to jump back into learning. Of course, there’s also some natural hesitation about taking new classes, homework, and the social scene. This year may feel even more stressful for teens after multiple years of navigating COVID protocols, political and economic strife, and hearing about school shootings....

Induction of labor is when the childbirth process is initiated with the help of certain medicines or techniques before it naturally begins on its own. Typically, a pregnant person will have their labor induced when delivering early is clearly the healthiest choice for themselves or their baby. Since there are some risks associated with inducing labor, the decision to deliver before your due date is an important one that you will make with your doctor or midwife, usually later in your pregnancy, That said, there are a few instances when you might know earlier in your pregnancy that induction is the safest route to a smooth delivery....

Grief is defined as the process of reacting to a significant loss while bereavement is the period of sadness that follows. While in most cases, bereavement usually refers to the loss of a loved one, it may also refer to the loss of employment, a physical ability, possessions, or other events. Bereavement is a complex period of time that is considered normal and may be accompanied by a variety of emotional reactions, behavioral responses, and thoughts....

During the peak of the pandemic, colleges and universities were among the most impacted organizations in the country. Not only were the majority of them forced to shut down their campuses and send their students home, but they also had to instantaneously change how they were educating students. Classes went online and universities did their best to get comfortable with teaching and learning over video-conferencing apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams....

Taking kids to public places can strike fear in the hearts of even the most seasoned parents. Kids tend to act out, especially if they think their parents may be less inclined to discipline them in front of an audience. The grocery store is a really common place for kids to have meltdowns. While some kids are bored, others are overwhelmed by the lights, sound, or activity. And many of them see lots of treats they really, really want or exciting things they want to touch....

Anger is a normal human emotion. Everyone gets angry from time to time. It can be at a person (such as a spouse, coworker, or complete stranger), an object (such as a parking meter), or a situation (such as a missed flight or a traffic jam). Anger can also give us helpful information, such as when a boundary has been violated. Anger can take various forms and range in severity from mild annoyance to intense rage....

Many people decide to go “cold turkey” when quitting smoking—that is, they stop smoking all at once without medication or nicotine replacement products. Quitting this way isn’t easy. While it might work for some people, it’s not the most effective method of smoking cessation. Those who are most successful in quitting smoking cold turkey know what to expect and prepare themselves for withdrawal symptoms and cravings. People choose to go cold turkey for different reasons, but one is the desire for a clean break from their smoking habit....

Mental health conditions are disturbances in a person’s thinking, feeling, or behavior (or a combination of these) that reflect a problem in mental function. They cause distress or disability in social, work, or family activities. Just as the phrase “physical illness” is used to describe a range of physical health problems, the term “mental illness” encompasses a variety of mental health conditions. What Is Mental Illness? The American Psychiatric Association defines mental illness as a health condition that involves “changes in emotion, thinking, or behavior—or a combination of these....

Music therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the naturally mood-lifting properties of music to help people improve their mental health and overall well-being. It’s a goal-oriented intervention that may involve: Making musicWriting songsSingingDancingListening to musicDiscussing music This form of treatment may be helpful for people with depression and anxiety, and it may help improve the quality of life for people with physical health problems. Anyone can engage in music therapy; you don’t need a background in music to experience its beneficial effects....

Speech sound disorders are a blanket description for a child’s difficulty in learning, articulating, or using the sounds/sound patterns of their language. These difficulties are usually clear when compared to the communication abilities of children within the same age group. Speech developmental disorders may indicate challenges with motor speech. Here, a child experiences difficulty moving the muscles necessary for speech production. This child may also face reduced coordination when attempting to speak....

A recent study in Biological Psychiatry found that the state of executive functioning during puberty affects how young people may adapt to the stress surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Key Takeaways COVID-19 has proven to exacerbate stress, depression, and anxiety in both young people and adults.Teens have yet to develop the full array of cognitive skills to readily navigate the mental health and emotional effects of the pandemic. With brains that are still developing, kids and teens have less capacity to cope with stressful situations and are more likely to internalize that stress....

If someone with bipolar disorder goes untreated for a period of years, could he or she begin to experience rapid cycling bipolar disorder or become resistant to treatments for the condition? If normal life stressors initially set off bipolar episodes in someone, in time could episodes of the illness appear in that person without any such triggers? Some research says the answer to these questions is yes, and some clinicians have speculated that the reason may be a process that has been termed “kindling....

By some estimates, roughly 4 billion people across the world use networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This usage has prompted mental health experts to investigate whether the enormous popularity of social media plays a role in depression. Research suggests that people who limit their time on social media tend to be happier than those who don’t. Studies also indicate that social media may trigger an array of negative emotions in users that contribute to or worsen their depression symptoms....

Your toddler has been up half the night with a stuffy nose. During the day, they are tired, irritable, and their nose won’t stop running. You’re pretty sure it’s that cold that’s going around. And while you know there’s no cure for the common cold, you want to know what you can do to help them feel better. We reached out to three pediatricians to give us the low-down on what to know about toddler colds, and some safe and effective ways to treat them....

What Is Anxious ADD? While not a clinical diagnosis, “anxious ADD” refers to someone who meets criteria for the neurodevelopmental disorder ADHD and experiences clinically significant symptoms of anxiety. Symptoms typically interfere with their functioning in multiple areas. ADD Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a term previously used for what would now be diagnosed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Predominantly Inattentive Presentation....

If you’ve spent any time on natural parenting websites or pages, you’ve probably noticed people talking about lotus births. Lotus birth, also called umbilical non-severance, is when the umbilical cord is left completely intact, still connecting an infant to the placenta, until the cord naturally separates from the belly button. This typically takes about 3 to 10 days. This unusual practice is often touted as being more “natural” and more “peaceful" for both parents and baby, but lotus birth isn’t without its share of controversy or risk....

What Is Meditation? Some key things to note about meditation: Meditation Meditation can be defined as a set of techniques that are intended to encourage a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. Meditation is also a consciousness-changing technique shown to have many benefits on psychological well-being. Meditation has been practiced in cultures all over the world for thousands of years.Nearly every religion, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has a tradition of using meditative practices....

Sensory play has an important role in development. When you talk about the senses, most kids over a certain age can rattle them off without problem: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Any and all of these can be incorporated into sensory play. What Is Sensory Play? Sensory play includes any type of play that engages one or more of a child’s senses, primarily the sense of touch. The young child needs to handle and feel materials and objects to learn and develop....

“I can’t stop thinking about you” can be a way of expressing interest in a romantic relationship, but what does it mean when you can’t get someone off of your mind. There are times when people might take precedence in your mind, particularly at the outset of a new romance. The whirlwind of emotion and feelings of fledgling love can make it difficult to focus on anyone other than the object of your affection....