Mental health articles

Mental Health Articles and Psychotherapy Resources

Browse more articles and resources on psychotherapy, counselling, anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma, grief, relationships, communication, stress, medication conversations, self-understanding, and personal growth.

Depression, anxiety common among college students

Managing emotions better could prevent pathological aging

Negative emotions, anxiety and depression are thought to promote the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. But what is their impact on the brain and can their deleterious effects be limited? Neuroscientists have observed the activation of the brains of young and older adults when confronted with the psychological suffering of others. The neuronal connections of the older adults show significant emotional inertia: negative emotions modify them excessively and over a long period of time, particularly in the posterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala, two brain regions strongly involved in the management of emotions and autobiographical memory. These results indicate that a better management of these emotions — through meditation for example — could help limit neurodegeneration.

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I’m lonely, in my 30s and find it very hard to make new friends | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

Scary monsters: how virtual reality could help people cope with anxiety

Guardian science correspondent is put to the test in the panic-inducing VR world of a game that teaches breathing techniqueTethered to a chair, in a gloomy basement, I’m doing my best not to panic – by breathing in for four seconds, holding for seven, and slowly releasing for eight. But when a bloodthirsty monster appears at my feet and starts crawling towards me, I don’t need a dial to tell me that my heart is pounding, and I’m in imminent mortal danger.Welcome to the future of anxiety treatment: a virtual reality (VR) game that teaches you a breathing technique to help calm your nerves, and then pits you against a monstrous humanoid that wants to eat you, to practice deploying it in genuinely panic-inducing situations. Continue reading…

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