A flat tire waylays your carefully-timed departure for a family road trip. Your laptop swallows hours of work with the deadline right around the corner. An innocent mistake in your math causes your bank account balance to dip down into negative numbers. Everyday glitches like these are impossible to avoid: We all have bad days and we all have very, very bad days. Sometimes we have entire weeks or months that are truly awful....
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in social media use. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans in the U.S. use social media. People use social networking tools to stay in touch with family and friends, get their news, and share their political views. This has some researchers wondering about the long-term effects of social media use. Because social media use is still relatively new, there are no long-term studies documenting its effects....
All-or-nothing thinking sometimes referred to as black-and-white thinking or dichotomous thinking, is one of the most common types of cognitive distortions observed in patients with eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and anorexia nervosa. In Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (1980), David Burns identified ten different types of cognitive distortions or inaccurate and problematic ways of viewing oneself and the world. Cognitive distortions may lead to negative emotions and problematic behaviors....
Body mass index or BMI is a measure of body fat based on a calculation of weight and height. refers to a calculation that is based on weight and height. BMI is a dated, biased measure that doesn’t account for several factors, such as body composition, ethnicity, race, gender, and age. Despite being a flawed measure, BMI is widely used today in the medical community because it is an inexpensive and quick method for analyzing potential health status and outcomes....
Pregnancy triggers all kinds of new emotions, physical changes, and of course, lots of questions. From wondering about average baby growth to the safest foods to eat, being pregnant requires your brain to work on overdrive. Fortunately, getting the answers to some of your most pressing questions can be as simple as downloading an app. Technology isn’t it wonderful! Benefits of Using a Pregnancy App You bought the books, took the pamphlets home from the doctor’s office, and printed out every possible checklist and chart you could find on the internet, and now, you’re left staring at a massive pile of stuff....
Self-determination refers to a person’s ability to make choices and manage their own life. Being self-determined means that you feel in greater control, as opposed to being non-self-determined, which can leave you feeling that your life is controlled by others. It states that people are motivated to grow and change by three innate (and universal) psychological needs. The concept of intrinsic motivation, or engaging in activities for the inherent reward of the behavior itself, plays an important role in this theory....
Countless books and scientific studies have explored the mental healing properties of consciously embracing nature. But what if nature isn’t easily accessible? For individuals living in major cities and urban areas, nature’s goodness is often concentrated into parks, green spaces, and potted plants. Key Takeaways A recent study found the presence of planted trees on city streets correlated to the number of nearby inhabitants being prescribed antidepressants.Researchers found having more trees around the home was associated with reduced risk of being prescribed antidepressants, especially for individuals living at a lower socio-economic status....
In psychology, the term “blank slate,” or tabula rasa, actually has two meanings. The first refers to a belief that at birth, all humans are born with the ability to become literally anything or anyone. This belief downplays the effects of genetics and biology on the development of the human personality. What Is Tabula Rasa? Tabula rasa translates to “blank slate.” In therapy, it refers to either the idea that we are solely the product of our upbringing and experiences, or, it refers to the technique therapists use when they themselves become “blank,” and allow the recipient to project their own needs, desires, and beliefs onto them....
A fitness tracker can be a useful tool for boosting your exercise motivation, as well as improving your overall health. While some trackers can be expensive, there are some budget-friendlier models that help you to track activities like running or cycling while also keeping tabs on health and fitness data such as steps, heart rate, and sleep cycles. Before investing in a fitness tracker, think about how you’ll want to use it and what features you’ll need to accommodate your preferences and goals....
If you’re an avid runner or long-distance walker, you know there’s almost nothing more debilitating than having blisters on your foot. The best way to treat blisters is to prevent them, but there are plenty of products to help treat any current breakouts. The best products to help prevent and treat foot blisters contain skin-softening ingredients and will fit the shape and size of the blister. From socks to creams to patches, there are many treatments out there to help relieve the pain from blisters....
Quitting smoking can be a great way to improve your health and reduce your cancer risk, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of tools and resources that can help you on your journey to being smoke-free, including mobile apps that can help you track your progress and stay motivated. In order to choose the best quit smoking app for you, it can be helpful to start by thinking about what you’re looking for in an app and which features might be the most helpful in your situation....
Generally, mixing alcohol with most prescription drugs is strongly discouraged. This is because doing so can cause adverse results that can sometimes be fatal. These effects are heightened when you mix Xanax (alprazolam) and alcohol. Xanax is a drug prescribed for the treatment of symptoms of depression, anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. It belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepine (benzos). It was initially developed as an alternative to Valium because of Valium’s likelihood of being abused....
There are numerous psychological theories that are used to explain and predict a wide variety of behaviors. One of the first things that a new psychology student might notice is that there are a lot of theories to learn. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, Erikson’s psychosocial theory, the Big Five theory, and Bandura’s social learning theory are just a few examples that might spring to mind. What exactly is the purpose of having so many psychological theories?...
At some point during your breastfeeding experience, you may need to pump or express your breast milk. If you are not going to use it right away, you can store your milk to use in the future. Reasons for Collecting and Freezing Breast Milk Women express their breast milk for many reasons. When you collect expressed breast milk correctly, you can freeze and store it for six months or even longer....
Discovering that your child might need more help than you can provide can feel both scary and overwhelming. You might even feel caught off guard when you realize that your child has a mental health issue. And while it can be tempting to blame yourself or wonder what you could have done differently, the truth is that no one is to blame. Just as you would with any medical diagnosis, the key is to find the kind of therapy that will a make a difference your child’s quality of life....
Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) is an FDA-approved central nervous system stimulant used to treat ADHD and binge eating disorder (BED). While is not approved for weight loss, the use of Vyvanse for moderate-to-severe BED can lead to weight loss. What Is Binge Eating Disorder? BED is an eating disorder that was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) in 2013. It involves recurring episodes of binge eating without purging and accompanying feelings of remorse afterward....
The term verbally gifted is used to refer to children who have strong language skills. Verbally gifted kids become competent in a language before other kids their age. They also perform better on verbal and general information tests as well as tests of language expression than mathematically gifted children do. Verbal skills include the ability to understand language easily. That includes grammar as well as creative uses of language, as in poetry....
What Is World Suicide Prevention Day? Suicide is far too common. Every year, more than 703,000 people die by suicide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is one person every 40 seconds. In the United States, suicide is a leading cause of death. World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10th every year to support the worldwide commitment to suicide prevention. By sharing our mental health stories, raising awareness, and taking actionable steps in our local communities, we can prevent suicide....
You’re carrying your baby around the house, doing this and that. As you turn a corner, your baby knocks their head against a swinging door. Or your four-month-old infant has just started to roll, and before you know it, they’ve rolled right into the leg of your coffee table, bumping their head. Or your newly-crawling little one takes off one morning and crawls head-first right into a wall. These sorts of scenarios are all very common—we’ve all been there!...
Infertility—defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after one year of trying—is more common than most people realize. About 15% of couples do not become pregnant within a year of trying, and about 10% do not achieve pregnancy after two years of trying. Although most couples pursue medical help for fertility issues, many also find themselves looking for other ways to boost their fertility, and supplements are a popular way to do this....
