A friend offhandedly told me recently, “It’s so easy to get my daughter to behave after her birthday – there are so many new toys to take away when she’s bad!”
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Dogs are helping people regulate stress even more than expected, research shows
In a 2022 survey of 3,000 U.S. adults, more than one-third of respondents reported that on most days, they feel “completely overwhelmed” by stress. At the same time, a growing body of research is documenting the negative health consequences of higher stress levels, which include increased rates of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune conditions and even dementia.
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How metacognition — thinking about thinking — can improve the mental-health crisis
The science of metacognition studies how the mind can understand and control its own processes. Written by Brendan Conway-Smith, Carleton University Republished with permission from TheConversation.com In these times of virtual meet-ups, negative news overload and widespread uncertainty, it’s fair to say it has been a tough time for our brains. If you’ve been feeling mentally subpar, you may…
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State lockdowns are creating a mental health disaster
Although state lockdowns have served governors well as a heavy-handed show of force, the policies are a patent neglect of the many nuances inherent in human action. They have led to a host of unintended consequences, including the emergence of a new health crisis—a dangerously sharp rise in mental illness. Though states are gradually wading out of lockdown, the damage…
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What to do about the antidepressants, antibiotics, and other drugs in our water
There’s no way around it, the headlines are disturbing. And they come, not from tabloids or click-bait blogs, but from papers published in scientific journals. They describe fish and birds responding with altered behavior and reproductive systems to antidepressants, diabetes medication, and other psychoactive or hormonally active drugs at concentrations found in the environment. They report on opiods, amphetamines and…