Is The Microbiome our Puppeteer?
“My message today is that your state of gut will affect your state of mind. To have a healthy brain, we may need a...
The Simple Treatment That Beats Antidepressants
From PsyBlog: Research suggests that taking a brisk walk three times a week may be more effective in alleviating depression than antidepressants. Almost two-thirds of study...
Inner Fire: Healing and Recovery Without Meds
For five years, I and others worked to create a residential healing community in Brookline, Vermont, where people could recover from debilitating and traumatic life experiences, which often lead to addiction and mental health challenges, without the use of psychotropic medications. We welcomed our first six seekers to a yearlong, therapeutic and farm-based, day program last September, and we now can report on what we have learned during this time.
Disturbed Sleep Patterns May be Key to ADHD
From The Guardian: New research has linked symptoms of ADHD, such as struggling to concentrate, having too much energy, and being unable to control behavior,...
Coming Off Psychiatric Meds
Comingoff.com is a website that "...aims to give you up to date information about psychiatric medication, how it functions and the withdrawal process. It is...
“How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body”
In the New York Times Well Blog, Gretchen Reynolds covers a study published in Biological Psychiatry showing that mindfulness meditation, unlike a placebo, “can change...
Diversity of Emotions as Healthy as Diverse Ecosystems
"Emodiversity," or living with a wide range of many different types of both very positive and very negative emotions, is strongly linked to overall...
Maternal Skin-to Skin Contact Affects Long-Term Development
Israeli researchers find that maternal skin-to-skin contact with pre-term infants are related to "dynamic cascades of child physiological regulation and parental provisions in shaping...
New Data on the Adverse Effects of Meditation and Mindfulness
Study reports on the less-examined findings of difficult and painful meditation-related experiences.
CBT Helpful For Benzo Discontinuation
CBT helps in benzo discontinuation, over and above relaxation training and contact with a therapist. Published in Behaviour Research and Therapy.
Abstract → ...
Hallucination in the General Population
Investigating the prevalence and types of hallucination-like experiences (HLEs) in a sample of 437 young adults, researchers in Italy, Belgium, the U.K. and Denmark found...
How Blaming the Brain Can Help Create Self-empathy, New Approaches
-Amy Johnson writes about how neuroscientific perspectives on her psychological struggles have helped her feel more agency in her growth as a person.
Depression Discrimination More Severe in High Income Countries
According to a study published in this month’s British Journal of Psychiatry, people diagnosed with depression in high-income countries are more likely to limit...
McMindfulness: Buddhism as Sold to You by Neoliberals
From The Conversation: Removed from their ethical and contextual roots, mindfulness-based practices are increasingly being used to reinforce the individualist ideals of capitalist societies.
"Indeed mindfulness-based practices...
This is the Fastest way to Calm Down
From TIME: A recent study suggests a neurological explanation for why deep breathing can be so effective in reducing stress and anxiety.
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Sleep Deprivation Leads to Schizophrenia-like Experiences
Researchers from the University of Bonn and King’s College London were “amazed” at the range of experiences associated with schizophrenia that were induced in...
Pain Increases Later Risk for Anxiety and Depression
Experiencing moderate to severe pain, or having at least moderate life interference from pain, doubles risk for anxiety or depression.
Review Examines Complementary Approaches for Pain Conditions
A review published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings used U.S.-based clinical trial evidence to examine the efficacy of complementary health approaches for chronic pain management....
Yoga and Mindfulness Benefit Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
A new review finds preliminary evidence for yoga and mindfulness-based interventions for youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Sunday Meditation: Are Non-ordinary States “Freeing” the Brain to Truly See?
On his blog Metaphysical Speculations, Bernardo Kastrup challenges conventional psychiatric assumptions that the brain produces and controls consciousness. Kastrup cites two recent studies published...
Are Depression Guidelines Missing the Evidence for Exercise?
A recent review suggests that depression guidelines do not incorporate evidence for exercise within a stepped-care approach and may be over-reliant on pharmacological treatments.
New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimer’s Disease
Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeck’s investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimer’s disease have failed
Teen Raising Awareness After Exercise Saved her Life
From Elite Daily: Courtney Lorking, an 18-year-old online wellness coach and fitness enthusiast, is speaking out and sharing her story of how exercise helped her...
Is Exercise Best for Depression?
Time magazine reviews the evidence on exercise for depression, finding that exercise alters brain chemistry such that the brain shows less stress in response...
Baycrest Creates First Canadian Brain Health Food Guide
From Medical Xpress: Baycrest scientists have developed the first Canadian Brain Health Food Guide, which provides older adults with guidelines and advice on maintaining a healthy...