Description: I will not even ask whether you know what anxiety is, of course you do, especially given how much experience we have all had with it recently. Have you also heard about the Yerkes-Dodson Law? Basically, it says that for most tasks that we take on, a certain amount of stress increases our performance… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Stress
Psychology of Covid: Re-emerging and Adaptation
Description: No matter how you spent the past year I suspect that it was different than the previous 5, 10, or many many more years and that the biggest difference was the nature and extent of your social contacts. Perhaps you got really good at zoom (despite the force personal appearance fixations it can produce);… Read more »
Video Games, Social Media and Mental Health: Research Debates on Screen Time Continue
Description: The debates and the research focused upon the impacts of video gaming and social media use on developing children and youth are heated and ongoing. The primary difficulty in sorting out the effects of video gaming and social media use is tied up in the comprehensive nature of their uptake in the population. As… Read more »
Psychology of Covid: Hitting the Pandemic Wall
Description: Have you heard of something called the General Adaptation system (GAS)? Hans Selye (1907-1982) working at McGill University in Montreal was trying to find a model with which he could use rats to study the impact of longer-term exposure to moderate to high levels of stress. What he came up with as a rat… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19: Stress and Vaccine Efficacy
Description: If you have taken an introductory Psychology course that included a section on stress you may be aware that ongoing stress can have a negative impact upon your immune system. Those with sustained moderate to high levels of stress are at increased risk for things ranging from colds to cancer as a result of… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: What is Caution Fatigue and Do You Have It?
Description: As we head into December (2020) with pandemic numbers spiking and Christmas approaching why is it that some (many?) people are being less vigilant about social distancing and some are even getting angry about increasing restrictions. It is not like this is new. Things are much worse now than they were back in March… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: Is Your Mind Wandering More?
Description: You have very likely seen, heard or read a multitude of things lately about the state of stress and anxiety these days in general and about YOUR state of stress and anxiety as we head into the Covid winter before the vaccine spring that we hope will be coming along. However, putting stress and… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19 and Sleep: Get What You Need
Description: How are you sleeping these (Covid surging again) days? It will likely not surprise you to hear that more people are having trouble sleeping or are having weird dreams or both these days. The direct and indirect stresses and anxieties of the Covid-19 pandemic and the related uncertainties are definitely making it harder to… Read more »
What is Your Brain For? Maybe NOT for Thinking!
Description: When you experience a flair of stress or anxiety what is your first thought? I suspect it is some version of “What is going on in my world that is stressful or challenging”. Especially these days with a raging pandemic, that is not a bad first thought as it can lead to problem focused… Read more »
The Psychology of Covid-19: Uncertainty about Uncertainty Itself
Description: You have heard the Roosevelt quote from a speech celebrating Human Rights Day in 1948; “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Now, without diving too deeply into what that might mean, but taking it as a metaphorical lead, think about this. Uncertainty (of outcomes, processes, and next steps) is a… Read more »
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