Category: Human Behavior

Often, we blame our unhappiness on circumstances beyond our control. We let our automatic thoughts, the cognitions that occur to us naturally, to take control of our thinking and thus how we feel. You have more control than you think. Changing your thought processes starts by paying attention to what it is that you are thinking, how you are thinking about something. It is common to fall into the trap of seeing things through a mental filter in which you may make assumptions, see things as only black or white, overgeneralize, unhelpfully label, blow things out of proportion, discount anything ... Read more

What if we create and maintain problems in our life because it provides us with a sense of identity and comfort? For example, the way we hold onto the pain of a break up because that’s the only thing we have left of the relationship, or staying angry at someone for something he did because that’s the only means of having a semblance of control in the situation, or worrying about an unknown in the future as an attempt to have some say over how it plays out. These fixations give us an illusion of power and control and perhaps ... Read more

We live in a culture that is obsessed with love. You need only to turn on the radio, and you will hear love song following love song. Romance movies are likely the highest grossing films, and in almost every novel you pick off the shelf, the protagonist has a love interest. Why is this? Humans are hardwired for connection. Neuroscience suggests that we are neurologically wired to connect with others; mirror neurons in our brains are stimulated when we’re interacting with other people. Literally, when you are talking to someone, pathways in your brain light up to mirror the emotions ... Read more

It seems automatic, something happens and we feel a specific way as a result. Someone says or does something, things don’t turn out how we would like, and we get angry, feel sad, disgusted, etc. We often think, “She made me mad,” or “He really upset me.” In actuality, there is no switch that someone can trip to activate an emotion. When a scenario occurs, it can trigger an automatic thought, but that’s a thought, not an emotion! The two often get mixed up, because the thought quickly leads to an emotion. Emotions then lead to other thoughts and even ... Read more

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….but is it? Although holidays are a time of joy, cheer and laughter for some, for others, the opposite holds true. Research indicates that 1 in 10 Americans will experience depression at one point in their life, and this number increases during the holiday season, which starts at Thanksgiving and goes through the New Year (Https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/statistics-infographic) Research suggests that there are numerous causes that contribute to holiday blues. Below is a list of some of these causes: (Https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/20081217_holiday_blues/index.html) Time Change: When we set our clocks back in the fall, we lose daylight, so ... Read more

Studies have been done for years regarding the physical and mental health effects petting a dog has on humans. However, the realm of pet-assisted therapy is still in its infancy. As researchers learn how and why our bodies respond the way they do when we interact with dogs, the evidence will get more difficult to refute, and dogs may start to appear in more doctors and therapists’ offices.   In 1995, Erika Friedman at the University of Maryland Hospital conducted a study involving 392 people, which found that heart attack patients with dogs were eight times more likely to be ... Read more

A new study published in March’s issue of Science  (Https://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6227/1243.short) suggests that our political views and happiness are linked. Interestingly, the researchers found that people who lean conservative tend to report greater levels of life satisfaction/happiness when asked directly, while those who lean liberal behave in ways that suggest that they are happier (for instance, have more positive posts on social media and display more genuine smiles in photographs). Why might this be – differences in how people wish to present themselves to others, differences in definitions of happiness, differences in political ideology or…? The research is too new to ... Read more

In March, we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day; a time dedicated to recognize and honor the contributions that women have made throughout the history of our country. It is also a time to be mindful of the strong female influences of today and a time to raise our collective consciousness about what we all can do to support women and girls in our society. President Obama was quoted in his State of the Union address last year, “A woman deserves equal pay for equal work.” It was one of the most loudly applauded lines of his speech. ... Read more

Who would have linked being grumpy and longevity together. According to a research from the University of Erlangen-Nuremburg in Germany, grumpy old men and women may live longer. Scientists examined data on expected and current future life satisfaction that was collected over a 10 year period from nearly 40,000 people. They discovered that people who have low expectations for their future happiness experience less disability and die later than those who tended to overestimate their future happiness. The implications are that people who are more pessimistic about their future, may take more safety and health precautions. So perhaps the factor ... Read more