Why Are PTSD Sufferers Hypersensitive? Their Brains Over Process Environmental Changes by Taylor Bennett | Dec 8, 2017 | Mental Health Topics, Research Owen carefully studies the revolving fan above him, while his girlfriend Cristina sleeps silently next to him. Finally, he drifts into what appears to be a peaceful sleep. But later, Cristina awakes under the pressure of his body and due to a severe loss of breath—Owen is straddling her, with…
Chemical Imbalance Found in the Brains of Teens Addicted to Smartphones and the Internet by Taylor Bennett | Dec 1, 2017 | Media Use, Mental Health Topics, Research When I was in college, I lived in Africa for five weeks, as a part of a study abroad program called Linking Lives. The purpose of this program was to immerse us students in a completely unfamiliar culture and environment, whilst also giving us the opportunity to help others. Now…
Study Finds High Intensity Exercise Improves Memory by Taylor Bennett | Nov 28, 2017 | Health & Exercise, Mental Health Topics, Research For me, running is therapy. Whenever I’m having an off day, I’m feeling down in the dumps, or I simply wish to clear my head, I break out the tennis shoes. Sometimes it takes a good hour on the treadmill, while at others a quick jog around the neighborhood does…
Social Withdrawal Isn’t All Bad: New Study Says Unsociability Has Positive Effects by Taylor Bennett | Nov 28, 2017 | Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Topics, Research Generally speaking, there are two types of people: those who prefer the peace and quiet and those who just love to socialize. We know these people as introverts and extroverts. Introverts are typically the quieter, more solitary individuals, while extroverts are outgoing and exceptionally sociable. Now, these two personalities often…
Study Shows Babies Understand More Than We Think by Taylor Bennett | Nov 24, 2017 | Children, Teens, & Adolescents, Mental Health Topics, Research Babies are funny creatures—they’re pint-sized little humans who have a limited range of abilities, from crying, to eating, to smiling and giggling on occasion. They can’t yet get from one place to another without a little assistance, they can’t spell out for us why exactly they’re upset, and they can’t…
Study Explores the Harmful Effects of Alcohol on Relationships by Taylor Bennett | Nov 22, 2017 | Relationships, Research Tom caught his very first glimpse of Ana on the last day of classes—she was trying to unchain her bike from a bike rack and clearly in a fit of frustration. So, he stepped in and succeeded to free her ride. This gained him a smile and a quick number…
Study Finds Link Between Video Games and High Levels of Intelligence by Taylor Bennett | Nov 20, 2017 | Media Use, Mental Health Topics, Research Growing up, my two brothers and I loved to play all sorts of video games. We’d crowd onto the couch and battle each other in Halo 2 and Call of Duty on the Xbox. We’d spend hours creating our dream houses and families on Sims (with the help of some…
New Study Finds Laughing Gas Could Help Prevent Suicide by Taylor Bennett | Nov 17, 2017 | Mental Health Topics, Research, Suicide According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 1 million adults report attempting suicide every single year. And according to the World Health Organization, 800,000 die due to suicide every single year. As you can see, an abundance of people around the world are suffering enough…
New Study Suggests Religious Beliefs Not Rooted in Intuition, But Nurture and Culture by Taylor Bennett | Nov 10, 2017 | Mental Health Topics, Research Some of us prioritize going to church every Sunday. Some only go on Easter and Christmas. And others don’t go at all. Some of us believe in one god. Some believe in several gods. And others don’t believe in any god. I could go on and on, but the point…
New Study Shows Poor Social Skills Might Lead to Poor Physical, Mental Health by Taylor Bennett | Nov 8, 2017 | Mental Health Topics, Research It’s no secret that our society is becoming increasingly less social. Many of us prefer to communicate and connect via text, phone call, Facebook, or email—anything but face-to-face. And when we do happen to forego our phones or our computers, we freeze up. That security blanket of a screen is…
Study Finds Link Between Nightmares and Self-Harming Behavior by Taylor Bennett | Nov 6, 2017 | Mental Health Topics, Research I think we can all agree that dreams are pretty cool. They give us the power to fly and the ability to talk to animals—they’re a way of experiencing our deepest desires. And we’re often pretty bummed when we wake up from them. Nightmares, on the other hand, are hated…
Virtual Reality Used to Reduce Phantom Body Pain in Paraplegics by Taylor Bennett | Nov 2, 2017 | Media Use, Mental Health Topics, Research A couple years ago, my little brother called me into his room and begged me to try on his new video game headset. This wasn’t any old gamer headset—it was virtually a portal to another world. I’m a baby so, of course, I denied his request at first. But then…