Description: I am willing to bet that you have already heard something about the practice of if not the term being used for forest bathing. No, it does not involve getting wet in the woods (unless perhaps it is raining). The term comes out of Japan (shinrin yoku = forest bathing) where the practice of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Health Psychology
Mental Health Thermometers
Description: You drop into your doctor’s office and tell them you are not feeling well. Assuming COVID is not the issue (which would likely be picked up at the front desk of the clinic using screening questions) what is one of the first things the doctor will likely do? Take you temperature, right? (Or ask… Read more »
Perfectionism: A Growing Problem That Needs A Wider Perspective
Description: Are you aware of the consistent finding that the rates of perfectionism among adolescents and emerging adults have increased dramatically over the past 20 to 30 years? Young people driving themselves to be perfect, holding themselves to I possibly high standards, and believing that doing so is essential to moving forward positively in life… Read more »
Aging Attitudes, Aging Health and Ikigai
Description: Quick question! How are attitudes towards aging and aging related health related? I am guessing but I suspect your answer to that question was something like; they are related in that as your health declines your attitudes about aging become more negative. That does seem to make sense. Those of us in our late… Read more »
Risk-Taking While Sleeping
Description: Imagine that you were tasked, perhaps by a large insurance company you were working for, with coming up with a way of measuring individual risk -taking propensity. Some companies are doing a version of this already by rewarding drivers who do not have any accident claims with lower rates. Some companies are also looing… Read more »
Ways of Knowing the Brain and Mind: Indigenous Perspectives
Description: Think about this question: Is neuroscience (brain science) universal or does it, or should it, vary across diverse cultural communities? On the one hand, brains are brains, right? On the other hand, a HUGE part of what goes into mental health, wellness and dealing with mental illness IS culturally linked isn’t it? Which of… Read more »
Coping in and Anxious Uncertain World: Yes You CAN!
Description: You do not need me to tell you that we are living in uncertain times with a (hopefully) waning pandemic and an invasion of a democratic country (Ukraine). Aside from the stresses associated with these events there are also boatloads of uncertainty about what it all means, about where it is all going, about… Read more »
Is Microdosing (With Hallucinogens) Effective or is it a Placebo Effect?
Description: Here is a “design a study” challenge. You may have run across discussions of recent research looking at the therapeutic use of drugs that are or were considered recreational and illegal, e.g., LSD, Ecstasy, or Psilocybin (magic mushrooms). What you may not have run across yet are discussion of more recent research looking at… Read more »
The Happiness Professor and Strategic Burnout Avoidance Breaks
Description: I do not know if you notice but stories about specific areas of Psychological research seem to pop up in bunches. I take this to be a reflection of there being a particular issue or need that is emerging around that point in time and the folks writing articles are looking for things, or… Read more »
Would You Know If You Were Burned-Out?
Description: I suspect you probably know quite a bit about stress, about how it feels, about what it does to your ability to manage, to work, to focus, or to relax. You likely know that you have limits relating to how much stress you can manage before you cannot keep functioning well. But did you… Read more »
Books for Success!
