The Mental Health Unknowns of COVID-19

For people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a major disruption to familiar ways of life. With changes being implemented rapid-fire in response to the immediate need to slow the spread of COVID-19, relatively little is known about what the long-term, secondary consequences of those changes will be. When it comes to mental…

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Crochet, Crafts and Mental Health

If you’re looking for a new hobby to take up, consider crochet. Why? The results of a recently published study from researchers in Australia give some possible reasons. In that study, the researchers surveyed over 8,000 crocheters to learn about how people saw the hobby as affecting their mental health. The vast majority of the…

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What Happens When College Students Disclose Mental Health Problems?

To disclose or not to disclose? For people with mental health conditions, it’s a common question. On one hand, disclosing your mental health condition is a step toward obtaining accommodations or support in your everyday life. On the other hand, with disclosure comes the risk of running into mental health stigma. A recently published study…

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Are Today’s Teenagers the Most Bored Ever?

Today’s teenagers have an abundance of digital diversions and instant gratifications at their disposal. Yet for this richness of entertainment options, adolescents in recent years might be more bored than their historical predecessors, at least according to a newly published study. The study surveyed over 100,000 eighth-, tenth- and twelfth-graders between the years 2008 and…

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What Makes a “Healthy” Personality?

Do you ever meet someone who just seems remarkably free of stress and comfortable with themselves? You might come away wondering whether there’s a certain set of personality traits that predisposes some people to be happy and successful no matter what life throws their way. This idea is one that’s long appealed to psychologists, as…

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Should Therapists Disclose Their Own Mental Health Struggles?

As a mental health blogger, I don’t have to think twice over pouring my heart out about my own mental health challenges. But therapists are in a more delicate position. On one hand, therapists might want to establish a sense of rapport by mentioning their personal experiences with problems their clients are confronting. On the…

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What Does Aging Mean for Mental Health? It Depends Where You Live

Mental health isn’t something that stays fixed across the lifespan. Everyone goes through periods of better and worse mental health. But as people get older, is there a general tendency for their mental health to improve? According to a new study from researchers in Germany, that might change from one country to the next. The…

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Climate Change Has Mental Health Costs Too

This week, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that we have a window of 12 years before our chance to limit global warming to a 1.5C rise in temperatures slips away. Failing to cap global warming at 1.5C would mean more severe food and water shortages, more poverty, more severe weather, more heat-related…

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Why Meaning in Life Means Better Mental Health for Teens

As I’ve written about before, having a sense of purpose in life is consistently linked with better mental health. It’s hard to be happy when you’re also wondering what the point of it all is. Of course, people’s sense of meaning in life isn’t necessary a fixed quantity. Some studies have suggested a general tendency…

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