Read moreResearchers began studying the children in Romanian orphanages after the nation’s brutal and repressive government was overthrown in 1989. At the time, there were more than 100,000 children in government institutions. And it soon became clear that many of them had stunted growth and a range of mental and emotional problems.
Read moreMoreover, as the journalist Oliver Burkeman noted in “The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking,” “Ceaseless optimism about the future only makes for a greater shock when things go wrong; by fighting to maintain only positive beliefs about the future, the positive thinker ends up being less prepared, and more acutely distressed when things eventually happen that he can’t persuade himself to believe are good.”
Read moreA team of economists’ newly published report in the American Journal of Public Health suggests states that have legalized medical marijuana may see a reduction in suicide rates in young men.
The researchers took a close look at state-level suicide data over a 17-year period, from 1990 to 2007, from the National Vital Statistics System’s mortality detail files.
Read moreRelationship problems and conflicts arise for so many reasons, from finances to child-rearing. And often disagreements can boil over into full-blown, foot-stomping, voice-raising, door-slamming battles.
With time, perspective, and calm communication, most of these relationship conflicts can be resolved and the relationship repaired.
Read moreStuck thoughts… the brick walls that form a prison around your mind. The harder you try to get rid of them, the more powerful they become.
I’ve been wrestling with stuck thoughts ever since I was in fourth grade. The content or nature of the obsessions has morphed into many different animals over the course of 30-plus years, but their intensity and frequency remain unchanged.
Read moreFor most of my career as a teenager I was preoccupied with being cool, with cultivating a counter-culture, bohemian persona (assuming clove cigarettes, On the Road, and a pile of mixed tapes constituted “bohemian”). Rolling my eyes at my mother was a near-constant affectation.
I was certain that I knew it all; I had the rest of my life all figured out and I rejected anything that didn’t fit with my narrow understanding of the world.
Read moreResearchers at the University of Auckland wanted to find out if the secret to a happy marriage was due to doing what your partner wanted most of the time or doing what you felt was right.
The study, which involved a New Zealand couple, had to be abandoned before the 12 day period because the man fell into a deep depression as a result of the exercise.
Read moreOne of the hallmarks for intelligent people is an obvious tendency to ignore the “accepted” behaviour of the general public. Smart people seem to have their own agendas and their own schedules. A recent study by the London School of Economics indicates that insomnia is a natural tendency of the intellectually elite amongst us. It doesn’t appear to be a fluke, either.
Read moreOne theory in psychology research suggests that we all have a happiness “set-point” that largely determines our overall well-being. We oscillate around this set point, becoming happier when something positive happens or the opposite, afterwards returning to equilibrium.
Read moreWhether it is due to a busy and hectic schedule or you’re an individual who often struggles with sleep, we can often find ourselves tired and sleep-deprived. Making sure you get enough sleep is crucial to a happy life – that is, a life where you don’t fall asleep on public transport – but in reality, not many people can simply slip into a peaceful slumber at a reasonable 10 pm bedtime.
