All posts tagged: Mental Health

11 Signs You’re Actually At Peace With Zero Desire To Be Understood, Admired, Or Pitied

11 Signs You’re Actually At Peace With Zero Desire To Be Understood, Admired, Or Pitied

Published by Jenni Sidey

Especially in today’s world, filled with chaos and constant stimulation, finding peace isn’t an easy task. However, according to experts from Harvard Health, there are so many accessible mindset shifts and behaviors you can adopt to live a healthier, happier life, despite everything going on around you. From shifting your routines to building relationships that don’t urge you to question your worth, all of these habits are beneficial for living a more grounded life. However, there are also many signs you’re actually at peace with zero desire to be understood, admired, or pitied by anyone. You’re secure in who you are, and that grounded authenticity makes life more fulfilling and meaningful. Here are 11 signs you’re actually at peace with zero desire to be understood, admired, or pitied 1. You’re comfortable spending time alone StockPhotoDirectors | Shutterstock As a study from Nature Communications explains, a person’s attitude about their alone time shapes their experience of it. So, if someone is constantly avoiding the quiet of solitude and overthinking when they spend time alone, chances are they’re …

The Real-Life Diet of World’s Strongest Man, Mitchell Hooper, Who Is Putting Nine Plates on the Squat Rack

The Real-Life Diet of World’s Strongest Man, Mitchell Hooper, Who Is Putting Nine Plates on the Squat Rack

Published by Jenni Sidey

GQ: How did you initially take an interest in powerlifting? Mitchell Hooper: The interesting part of that story is that I did my undergraduate in human kinetics. I worked as the head strength and conditioning coach with a professional basketball team. Then, I found that relatively meaningless in terms of sport results. So, I applied and got into a master’s of clinical exercise physiology at the University of Sydney. When I got into that, since I’d always been active, I thought there’s three things you ask people to do when you’re exercising them: that’s to lose weight, to get fit, and to get strong. Those are really three things that, if you can do that, you’re going to be reasonably healthy long-term. I started by losing weight. I lost 100 pounds, stepped on a bodybuilding stage, then I ran three marathons. Just in the process of getting strong, I found guys who did powerlifting. That took me towards powerlifting contests, which eventually evolved into Strongman. And I had no idea how good I was going …

Can you determine your personalised stress score?

Can you determine your personalised stress score?

Published by skeptic

Working out what makes you stressed and how much is too much can feel quite subjective. Increasingly, however, technology can help. Most smartwatches can give you a basic reading of stress using your heart rate. A healthy resting heart rate for an adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Cortisol and adrenaline, released when your stress response kicks in, can raise this; a poor ability to recover from stress can keep it raised. Many smartwatches also track heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of the natural variations in time between consecutive heartbeats. When your body is stressed, cortisol and adrenaline trigger a fast and consistent heart rate, reducing this natural variability between beats. When the parasympathetic system kicks in to restore balance, your natural variation increases. Average HRV varies between people, so it is best to use deviations as a way of monitoring your stress levels. Over time, heart rate and HRV can be used to give you a stress “score”, helping you identify certain activities, people or times of the year that …

Can we ‘vaccinate’ ourselves against stress?

Can we ‘vaccinate’ ourselves against stress?

Published by skeptic

It might sound strange to talk about inoculating ourselves against stress, but we might be able to do just that. Just as a vaccine safely trains the immune system so it can defend against later attack, researchers think we can do something similar with stress. This idea is often studied in military personnel. Exposing soldiers to simulations of stressful events, while giving them the tools and support to cope, can minimise the impact of future stress. In one study, cadets who received resilience training had lower cortisol levels in later intense military exercises than those who hadn’t received the training. Likewise, paramedics who have received resilience training are also at lower risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Fortunately, most people don’t need military-style training to gain these benefits. Deliberately exposing yourself to manageable, everyday stress can build resilience, says Julie Vašků at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. Recent research shows that successfully navigating stressful situations remodels the brain, provoking changes across the “stress network”, including the prefrontal cortex, which regulates emotions; …

There’s New Evidence for How Loneliness Affects Memory in Old Age

There’s New Evidence for How Loneliness Affects Memory in Old Age

Published by skeptic

Neuroscientists know that there is a link between loneliness and cognitive decline in older adults, although it is still difficult to understand the exact magnitude of the link. A new longitudinal study provides evidence that a proportion of people who feel lonely end up having more memory impairment, though this doesn’t necessarily mean that their brains age faster. The report, published in Aging & Mental Health, shows that older adults with higher levels of loneliness scored lower on tests of immediate and delayed recall. Even so, the rate at which their memory declined over six years was virtually identical to those who were not lonely. “It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” said Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universidad del Rosario, who led the research. “The study underscores the importance of addressing loneliness as a significant factor in the context of cognitive performance in older adults.” Six-Year Study of Thousands of Single People The …

Is ADHD really on the rise? A paediatric neurologist reveals the truth behind the ‘skyrocketing’ cases

Is ADHD really on the rise? A paediatric neurologist reveals the truth behind the ‘skyrocketing’ cases

Published by Daniella Wilson

Only a few years ago, the acronym ADHD was barely part of our vocabulary – it sounded like a foreign language to most. Today, however, it’s rare not to know a child (or several) who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This raises a vital question: are cases actually on the rise? If we are seeing a genuine increase in children and teenagers with the condition, we then have to ask why.  Paediatric neurologist Dr Cristina Cordero points out that the actual prevalence of ADHD has remained stable over time, despite a growing public perception that cases are “skyrocketing”.  The expert stresses that the current consensus is clear: “There are not necessarily more cases of ADHD, but we are getting much better at detecting them.” Why are more children, teenagers and adults being diagnosed with ADHD? While the actual prevalence has remained stable for decades, it is far more common nowadays to know several children or teenagers with an ADHD diagnosis. As Dr Cordero points out, this is primarily due to a significant …

At anti-Trump rally, Sánchez promises to ‘twist the arm’ of the global right – POLITICO

At anti-Trump rally, Sánchez promises to ‘twist the arm’ of the global right – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“We will twist the arm of the people who think they are completely untouchable,” Sánchez told the crowd. “The billionaires with greed that is unlimited. Those who speculate with houses of people,” he said. He singled out oligarchs “who want to get richer using our democracy and the mental health of our youngsters.” “When we progressives reach government, it is not to serve the elites — we put them in their place,” said Sánchez. He said the far right was “organizing internationally” but insisted their numbers betrayed weakness rather than strength. “They shout not because they are winning but because they know their time is about to be over,” he said. Some 6,000 left-leaning elected officials, policy analysts and activists attended the event in Barcelona. Organizers said the gathering would conclude with a joint declaration outlining coordinated action on shared priorities including inequality, climate and digital regulation. The gathering drew an unusually broad cast of heads of state and government, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Colombian President …

8 Subtle Body Changes Women In Their 50s And 60s Often Brush Off, But Are Actually Signs Of Depression | Paula-Jo (PJ) Husack

8 Subtle Body Changes Women In Their 50s And 60s Often Brush Off, But Are Actually Signs Of Depression | Paula-Jo (PJ) Husack

Published by Jenni Sidey

Women in the United States are twice as likely to have depression as men. In fact, depression strikes 1 in 4 girls by the time they reach 14. For women in Australia and South Africa, the number is up to 40 percent. As we age, depression often goes undiagnosed because the physical symptoms — which are a part of depression — get separated by doctor and patient. Physical symptoms of depression that show in contrasting styles in women: They have high energy and are super-productive. Involved in everything simultaneously, emotional, colleagues think they’re controlling, and are extroverted. It looks like they’re too excited to be depressed … but they are. They move more slowly, are chill, speak less, and do less. The day is just a day, nothing special. Even their kids’ art or a pay increase brings little joy. Colleagues think they’re introverts. Nope, it’s depression. Neither personality types are connected with their true emotions, which is different than being “emotional.” However, both have physical symptoms that hurt. Many women have learned to code negative emotions by describing our physical states …

11 Signs Someone You Care About Is In Full Fledged AI Psychosis, According To Research

11 Signs Someone You Care About Is In Full Fledged AI Psychosis, According To Research

Published by Jenni Sidey

As they become more and more present in our day-to-day lives, we’re learning that while frequent interactions with AI and Chatbots can sometimes be beneficial to a person’s mental health, relying on them too often and with too much intensity can come with serious risks. Especially considering these programs are designed to be generally empathetic and always agreeable, behaviors and patterns of thinking that would likely be red flags in conversations with another human may be encouraged by AI companions. As people spend more of their time engaging with artificial intelligence, more evidence is emerging of the existence of “AI psychosis,” which, while not a clinical diagnosis, is described by Marlynn Wei, M.D., J.D., as a phenomenon in which “AI models have amplified, validated, or even co-created psychotic symptoms with individuals.” Even when it comes to skipping traditional research or even Googling in favor of asking AI to solve a problem, the isolation that may accompany leaning on digital convenience can lead to a distortion of reality we have never encountered before in all of human …

Former Meta Contractor Sama to Lay off More Than 1,000 Workers in Kenya

Former Meta Contractor Sama to Lay off More Than 1,000 Workers in Kenya

Published by Sam Flores

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A company that was sued by Facebook content moderators in Kenya over poor working conditions said Thursday that more than 1,000 workers will be laid off after Meta, Facebook’s parent company, ended its contract. Meta and its local contractor Sama have been in court since 2022 after former content moderators accused them of paying low wages and not offering sufficient mental health support. Sama has since changed its business model and stopped offering content moderation services to Meta, but has remained focused on services such as AI data labeling for the tech giant. Sama said in a statement Thursday that it received formal notice from Meta to end a “major engagement at its Nairobi office.” Sama said it has issued a formal layoff notice that would affect 1,108 staffers, adding that it was “actively supporting affected employees with care and respect.” In 2023 some 200 former content moderators sued Sama over the exploitation of workers by offering low pay, little mental health support for the grueling work they do, and long …