All posts tagged: adults

Why So Many Adults With ADHD Still Feel Wounded by School

Why So Many Adults With ADHD Still Feel Wounded by School

Published by Jenni Sidey

“Tell me about a place you would never want to go back to—not a destination, a setting.” It’s a question I sometimes use in therapy because it gives people something concrete to hold onto. Broad questions about childhood can be hard to answer. But this one tends to unlock something specific, and for many adults with ADHD, the answer comes quickly: School. Often not just “school” in general, but a particular classroom, teacher, or stretch of years that felt confusing, discouraging, or humiliating. The Messages That Linger When adults with ADHD reflect on their time in school, the details differ, but the themes are remarkably consistent. They remember being described as: capable, but inconsistent bright, but not applying themselves disruptive, distracted, or careless Or the dreaded P word: not reaching their potential. These descriptions were written in report cards, spoken in meetings, or implied through daily interactions. At the time, they may have seemed like routine feedback. But those messages tend to stay with us, buried. Years later, I have watched capable, thoughtful adults read …

I was a professional fairy. The kids made the job magical – but the adults could be a nightmare | Australian lifestyle

I was a professional fairy. The kids made the job magical – but the adults could be a nightmare | Australian lifestyle

Published by Sam Flores

From the age of 16 to 22, I was a children’s entertainer. Most often a fairy, sometimes a witch, ballerina, princess or mermaid – with conspicuous legs underneath her tail. One time, hilariously, a ladybug. The hourly rate was excellent, the costumes were cute and the tiny customers even cuter. My special skills were memorising every child’s name, preparing hundreds of fairy-bread triangles, vacuuming a party space in full costume, singing while I applied sparkles to the eyelids of my pint-size revellers, and driving a small hatchback car filled with 50 bubblegum-pink helium balloons. Oh, and the position required a strong tolerance for the behaviour of parents. Of course, the job taught me about children. Their belief in magic starts to wane about age four but it lingers till shortly after they reach double digits. Boys and girls are equally likely, when presented with a choice of prizes, to select lipstick, nail polish and glitter eye shadow. The truth of who a person is or could be? It’s already there, when we’re tiny. Group dynamics …

Most U.S. Adults Read a Book Last Year

Most U.S. Adults Read a Book Last Year

Published by José Betancourt

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Most U.S. Adults Read a Book Last Year There tends to be a lot of hand-wringing about whether American adults read books anymore, and every year, we get a survey or two offering “good” or “bad” news. Here’s the thing: it’s just a number, and reading books is among a billion things people can do with the free time they have. But a recently released survey from Pew Research offers some fascinating insights into the reading habits of American adults. Last year, 75% read at least part of a book (not bad!), print was the preferred format (though audiobooks are on the rise), and few were involved in a book club. People Are Paying $1,000 to Read Among Strangers While data may suggest that fewer people are involved in book clubs, that doesn’t mean reading isn’t a social …

Kids Who Were Allowed To Be Their Authentic Selves Have These 11 Major Advantages As Adults

Kids Who Were Allowed To Be Their Authentic Selves Have These 11 Major Advantages As Adults

Published by Jenni Sidey

Growing up in an environment where you didn’t have to constantly adjust who you were leaves a different kind of imprint. Of course, not everything you did was perfect, but you were given enough space to explore your identity without feeling like you had to earn acceptance by forcing yourself to be something you’re not. Kids whose parents allowed them to be their authentic selves when they were growing up develop a kind of foundation that offers them major advantages in their adult lives. It influences how someone makes decisions and how comfortable they are in their own skin. Over time, those differences become easier to recognize because they shape how someone moves through everyday life. Kids who were allowed to be their authentic selves have these 11 major advantages as adults 1. They make decisions without second-guessing their core identity Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock Choices don’t feel like a negotiation with who they are. When they decide something, it usually reflects what fits rather than what might be approved of. This creates a sense of …

Jack Innanen Channeled His Inner ‘Whiny Man Child’ for Big Mistakes

Jack Innanen Channeled His Inner ‘Whiny Man Child’ for Big Mistakes

Published by Daniella Wilson

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers for Big Mistakes season one.] Jack Innanen went from making people laugh on a vertical screen to bringing his comedic chops to the horizontal small screen. The 27-year-old Canadian astrophysicist wannabe turned content creator turned actor first captured people’s attention on TikTok with his absurdist comedy skits. But once he realized he “could earn a living” doing this creative outlet he loved, he went all in. The social media grind paid off because he eventually landed his first recurring Hollywood role in the 2024 series The Office Movers. But it was his charmingly naive Paul Baker character in FX’s Adults (which also has a season two coming) that really got people talking, including Dan Levy, the co-creator of Big Mistakes. When Levy saw Innanen’s performance in Adults, he knew he found his Max, the oblivious boyfriend to Taylor Ortega‘s Morgan in the new Netflix crime-comedy series. The show follows two directionless siblings, Morgan and Nicky (Levy), who are blackmailed into the world of organized crime. “The character was so fascinating to …

Fake medicine yields surprisingly real results for older adults’ memory and stress

Fake medicine yields surprisingly real results for older adults’ memory and stress

Published by José Betancourt

Taking a simple sugar pill can boost both the physical and mental health of older adults, even when they know the pill contains no active medicine. Research published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology shows that these transparently fake treatments can reduce stress and elevate short-term memory just as well as pills given under deception. These results point toward a highly ethical and side-effect-free way to help aging populations maintain their everyday capabilities. Medical science frequently relies on the placebo effect to understand how new drugs work. A placebo is an inactive substance, such as a sugar pill or a saline injection. In typical clinical trials, researchers give some people the real medicine and others a placebo without telling them which one they received. The mere expectation of getting better often causes a real physical or psychological improvement in the patient. For many years, doctors assumed that patients had to believe they were taking real medicine for a placebo to work. Deception seemed like a mandatory requirement for the mind to trigger …

Forever chemicals weaken the immune system in adults

Forever chemicals weaken the immune system in adults

Published by skeptic

New US research adds fresh evidence that forever chemicals may impair the body’s ability to fight infections, with stronger effects in vulnerable groups. A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to PFAS – widely known as “forever chemicals” – may weaken the immune system in adults, according to new research from Michigan State University. The findings deepen concerns about the long-term health implications of these persistent environmental contaminants, particularly as regulatory efforts continue to evolve. Persistent chemicals with long-term effects PFAS – short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a large group of synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, including nonstick cookware, water-repellent textiles and firefighting foams. They are often referred to as forever chemicals because they resist degradation in both the environment and the human body. Some compounds can remain in the bloodstream for years. One chemical highlighted in the study, perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), can persist in the body for nearly a decade. Its longevity makes it a useful indicator of long-term exposure and raises particular …

Kids Raised In A Calm Household With Steady Parents Usually Have These 11 Rare Traits As Adults

Kids Raised In A Calm Household With Steady Parents Usually Have These 11 Rare Traits As Adults

Published by Jenni Sidey

The tone of a home leaves a lasting imprint, even when it isn’t obvious at the time. A calm environment with steady, predictable parents shapes how a child learns to interpret stress and respond to everyday situations. These lessons don’t come from formal teaching so much as from repeated exposure to how things are handled. As those children grow into adults, certain traits begin to stand out in subtle ways. They show up in how someone communicates, how they approach conflict, and how they move through situations that would normally create tension. The consistency they experienced early on often becomes part of how they operate without needing to think about it. Kids raised in a calm household with steady parents usually have these 11 rare traits as adults 1. They stay grounded during situations that feel chaotic to others Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock When something unexpected happens, their response tends to remain steady instead of escalating with the situation. Their attention stays on what’s actually happening rather than getting pulled into the intensity around it. This …

Anxious young adults are more likely to develop digital addictions

Anxious young adults are more likely to develop digital addictions

Published by José Betancourt

Young adults who experience social anxiety might face a higher risk of developing a psychological dependence on digital networking platforms. A new study reveals that this relationship is partly explained by a psychological habit of comparing oneself to others online. The research was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors. While accessing social networks is a common daily habit, prolonged engagement can lead to a condition resembling a substance use disorder. Medical guidelines do not currently classify social media obsession as a formal mental illness, but psychologists recognize clear addictive patterns. Individuals might become excessively preoccupied with their feeds and experience an intense urge to log on throughout the day. This behavior can escalate until it regularly interferes with academic studies, career goals, and personal well-being. This pattern of digital behavior is thought to be especially common during late adolescence and the early twenties. Psychologists refer to this stage of life as emerging adulthood. During these years, individuals usually experience an increase in personal independence and focus heavily on developing their own identities. Navigating romantic and …