human psychology

Coping with a mental health condition is often anything but easy—and it seems as though gender may play a significant role in the development of mental health concerns and an individual’s battle with mental health. For women, their perceptions of themselves, as well as the preconceptions of others, may influence…

From office parties to kids in full costume attire, it’s obvious every year that Halloween is one of America’s most beloved holidays. This fall, the U.S. is predicted to spend a massive $10 billion on Halloween costumes, decorations, and candy. But why do we love Halloween so much? The answer…

If you ever doubted the mental health benefits of being close to nature, you need look no further than recent research on green spaces and the Covid-19 pandemic. Population studies show that people who lived near green spaces during the pandemic fared better mentally than people with limited access to…

Wiping the dark southern clay from my palms, I prop myself back up on my knees, squinting under the weight of the amber sun. The air around me is dripping with moisture, and birds and insects drone in waves outside the edges of my vision. The young garden around me…

Spending time alone can be a blissful way to recharge our batteries when we feel our social energy levels starting to dip low. We all need some alone time every now and then—but when being alone becomes our daily default mode, the benefits of solitude disappear. And then loneliness sets…

Have you ever walked into a crowded room and sensed negative energy? Do you feel uncomfortable being around someone in a bad mood? Do you avoid certain people because they emit weird vibes? Do you ever cancel plans with friends because “the vibes are off”? What exactly are you picking…

Thinking about arriving at your new destination might be exciting, but getting there is often anything but. Moving can churn up some seriously intense levels of stress; anyone who’s ever relocated to a new home or apartment may understand the feeling well. Relocating can be difficult to manage, without us…

You start feeling tired during the day, so you order a wearable device that tracks your sleep. The data indicates that you’re not spending long enough in your REM cycle, so you begin researching natural sleep aids. You discover an online community of amateur biologists who not only recommend avoiding…

Nothing else has the ability to power us through our workouts and make awkward elevator rides a little bit more bearable. That’s right; it’s hard to imagine a world without music. It’s probably an understatement to say that music is taken for granted; we don’t always recognize the mental sway…

Dopamine is probably the only neurotransmitter that could be considered a household name. News sources, tech bros, and mental health outlets toss the word around like a frisbee. Everyone and their dog seems to know what dopamine is—a feel-good chemical that’s produced in the brain, which rewards us for performing…

You’ve read it a thousand times: Social media apps can wreak havoc on our mental health. Many of us (if not all) have heard that distant “ding” that resonates off the kitchen counter and experienced the sudden surge of curiosity — only to discover it’s a spam message, or worse,…

In case you missed it, there’s a place on the internet called r/AmItheA**hole (AITA) which aims to determine which party should be blamed in ethical disputes. For example, someone posts the following (paraphrased) moral quandary on Reddit’s AITA forum: “My friend’s baby was crying, so I gave her a sip…