How did a Massachusetts woman end up with two electrodes implanted into her brain? Why is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency developing a controversial, cutting-edge brain chip technology that could one day treat everything from major depressive disorder to hand cramps? How did we get to deep brain…
Are you jaded? Filled with ennui? A so-called millennial who keeps being told to stop asking for handouts? Then oh boy, do I have a fun game for you—let’s figure out what kind of apathy you have!
The active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, is remarkably effective at reducing feelings of anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental anguish in cancer patients, according to a pair of new studies.
Sunday marks the end of Daylight Savings Time. What does this mean? It means things are about to get really, really dark.
A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry launched a thousand ominous articles reporting a confirmed link between depression and hormonal birth control. The finding lends credence to prior research, the side effects section on most prescription birth controls, and years of women’s anecdotal complaints. But most of…
To address the burgeoning “loneliness epidemic” and the demands of an aging population, some think that we should deploy robotic caregivers. A new ad titled “B.E.N. (Biologically Engineered Nursing),” however, suggests that this is a dreadful idea.
Social media can already give others insight into your personal life and mental state (even if you don’t want them to), but according to a recent study, even something as small as your Instagram filter choices can be enlightening.
Our world is crumbling, and thanks to the “miracle” of technology, we now face infinite exposure to just how bad it is. With the 2016 election in full swing—#ImWithHer, #CrookedHillary, #DeleteYourAccount, #Sad!—I, personally, am glued to a stream of morbid news, memes and really shitty Trump tweets.
A discouraging new study concludes that most antidepressants are ineffective for children and adolescents, and may even be harmful in some cases. But the researchers caution that the low quantity and quality of clinical trials are obscuring the true effects of these drugs.
A new government reports shows that suicide rates in the U.S. have soared since 1999, with the most dramatic increases occurring among young white females and Native Americans. So why are Americans suddenly killing themselves in droves? It’s a major public health issue with no easy explanations.
While sitcoms are full of New Yorkers gabbing about therapy, the reality is that many people in the city suffer from mental health issues that go untreated. Health data gathered by city mental health workers shows that one group is overwhelmingly neglected: black New Yorkers.
The photos taken by Farm Security Administration photographers in the 1930s are some of the most iconic images in American history. We’re all familiar with some of the snapshots of craggy-faced farmers, but unseen photos in government archives tell a more complex story of a struggling country. Yale just released a…
A study of new parents out of Germany makes the claim that having a baby is more hazardous to mental well-being than divorce or the death of a partner.
What if you lived in a world where every kid got tested for potential depression when they were in elementary school? This video, from Binghamton University, describes new research on how we’d do it.
Getting pregnant changes a woman’s hormonal state: there’s a normal chemical interplay between mother and fetus. Hormones affect the brain, and their effects can differ in people. So if no one is surprised when a pregnant woman feels elated, why are they surprised when some pregnant women are clinically depressed?
One in ten Americans takes an anti-depressant drug like Zoloft or Prozac. These drugs have been shown to work in some patients, but their design is based on a so-called “chemical imbalance” theory of depression that is incomplete, at best.
The war-time prime minister was haunted by depression but was it also the secret of his success?
A proof-of-concept trial has shown that nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, holds potential as an effective treatment for severe depression in patients who don't respond to standard therapies. Laughter may indeed be the best medicine.
You've heard the self-help gurus who say positive thoughts can bring us happiness, wealth, and success. But there's another side to the story. Here's why positive thinking often backfires — and why many of us are starting to resent it.
Shame and guilt are often used interchangeably, but they're not the same. There are people who are prone to guilt, and people who are prone to shame, and there are major psychological differences between the two groups. So what's the difference?
