Tag: help
-
How Literature Teaches Compassion Over Condescension
Matthew Clemente, Ph.D. and David Goodman, Ph.D. In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the 20th century Czech novelist Milan Kundera unpacks the etymology of the word “compassion.” Languages that derive their understanding of compassion from Latin (com-, “with”; passio, “suffering”) tend to view compassion as synonymous with pity. Understood as such, compassion is the recognition of another’s suffering…
-
Navigating Parenthood With a Mental Illness
Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy MD Mental health conditions are common. One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness and global estimates show at least 50 percent of us will experience a mental health condition in our lifetime. Decades of research have documented the relationship between parental mental health and that of their children: The mechanisms are complex…
-
Young Creators Are Burning Out and Breaking Down
By Taylor Lorenz ( New York Times) Lately, it’s been hard for Jack Innanen, a 22-year-old TikTok star from Toronto, to create content. “I feel like I’m tapping a keg that’s been empty for a year,” he said. Spending hours shooting, editing, storyboarding, engaging with fans, setting up brand deals and balancing the many other responsibilities that come…
-
You Are a Very Particular Person
Timothy A Carey Ph.D. A couple of days ago I wandered over to the café which is just a short stroll up the road from my house. I ordered my usual double-shot espresso and then moved off to the side to wait for my name to be called. I frequently enjoy these short interludes when…
-
The Conflicting Science of Social Media and Mental Health
Austin Perlmutter M.D. As of 2023, the United States has almost 250 million social media users. That number climbs to nearly 5 billion people worldwide and is expected to reach 6 billion by 2027. The average person spends an astonishing two and half hours of their time on social media each day. To put that into perspective,…
-
You Are Not Your Diagnosis
CooperRiis Healing Community By: Kimberly Nelson, MA with Courtney Kelly Receiving a diagnosis is a significant milestone on the road to recovery. It clarifies courses of treatment, supplies precedent, and gives rhyme and reason to symptoms that may otherwise be confusing or even scary. “Identifying a set of experiences with a name can often be…
-
Who Cares?
Sandra Parker Ph.D. Climate disasters, power-hungry narcissists, fake news, identity theft, rising food prices … Has a sense of overwhelm begun to permeate as you scroll through your feed? Do you feel a certain weariness around caring? If so, you are not alone; compassion fatigue has worsened for many people post-pandemic, leading to sleep difficulty, irritability, and numbing. Many of…
-
“Back to School Blues” May Be Worse Than Just Blues
Peter Gray Ph.D. Schooling has a halo around it in society’s eyes, and halos tend to interfere with perception and judgment. Maybe that’s why nearly everyone, including journalists, whose job it should be to keep their eyes and minds open and report honestly to the public, continues to ignore the ever-growing evidence that school is…
-
How Gratitude May Mitigate Loneliness
Finding ways to overcome loneliness can improve health. Rita Watson MPH Researchers began reporting on the effects of loneliness even before the pandemic forced people into isolation and social distancing. Although the preponderance of the research focused on the elderly, even young people can feel lonely. Social isolation is what someone experiences when they are without connections…
-
“Aha” Moments: Buds of Beauty and Brilliance
Bruce Wilson Ph.D. An epiphany is a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you. Really effective counseling emanates from sessions that nurture and encourage these powerful atypical moments. One of the primary goals of any psychologist is to help people to move away from…