So PsychEd.

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/11/news-hidden-pandemic?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=apa-monitor-pandemics&utm_content=covid-hidden-pandemic

A hidden pandemic of COVID-19 How psychologists are helping children who have lost caregivers to COVID-19.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-your-brain-processes-rejection?fbclid=IwAR19uCbQQUzH0QbZRYAjQuSiNc5ekzhq86rNneEX_xRiQYDq-e7gTMmH1lc

How Your Brain Processes Rejection No matter who you are, rejection hurts. Scientists are able to map the very-real processes behind our social aches — and learn how similar they are to physical pain.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-childhood-abuse-poor-stress-worse.html

Research shows childhood abuse can lead to poor stress management, worse health in adults People who suffer abuse or neglect as children may have trouble managing stress later in life, a problem that's linked to a host of negative health conditions, according to new research from Rice University.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/202111/what-everyone-should-know-about-the-dark-triads-most-troubling-trait

What Everyone Should Know About the Dark Triad's Most Troubling Trait New research shows what happens when you take a deeper look at Machiavellianism.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-anxiodepressive-disorders-weight.html?fbclid=IwAR2hutIHyNYR89KFVrHJys1NaM6O9fvdW7vn3wnMZejq4576iTjkeEWmacg

Anxiodepressive disorders: Much more than a matter of weight Obese people run a higher-than-average risk of depression or anxiety, the result of a combination of factors: poor diet, lack of physical activity and an accumulation of fat cells called visceral adipocytes. However, obesity alone can't cause anxious or depressive behaviors—far from it.

https://michaelswiatek.medium.com/reasons-why-reading-makes-you-more-creative-c33d9c155a00

Reasons Why Reading Makes You More Creative Why is reading books good for your brain?

In part 8 of my mini-series of posts exploring the idea that CHILDREN DO WELL IF THEY CAN I want to expand on what I mean by the words 'danger' and 'threat' which are often used interchangeably with the word 'stress' when talking about nervous system dysregulation.

Particularly in Polyvagal Theory, which I posted about yesterday, people speak about 'neuroception of safety' and 'neuroception of danger' so I really want to dig in to those terms a little bit more. The words 'danger' and 'threat' can be really off-putting to many adults trying to understand what is going on for a child or young person because they can make staff and parents feel like they are doing something wrong. "I kept really calm and didn't shout or threaten and I tried to give options so what do you mean they felt threatened and in danger??!!"

It can be really helpful to understand that when we are talking about threat and danger in relation to our nervous system we are talking about an unconscious, automatic, and neurally encoded response rather than a logical thinking process. 'Danger' in this context is anything in our inside or outside worlds that we BELIEVE could cause us physical OR emotional pain. Our threat detection system is constantly and automatically scanning our environment, other people, objects, our internal physical state, and our thinking and imaginings for any hint of danger.

Important take-aways from that paragraph are that emotional pain or distress is equal to physical pain or distress, and that imagined danger is equal to real danger. (Now reread that sentence).

If you can wrap your head around that sentence then you can really begin to understand, reframe, and respond differently to dysregulated humans of all ages. For example you can move from "I gave them their math work and they kicked off because they don't like math and don't care about anything" to "When I gave them their math work they didn't believe they could do it well enough to avoid feeling like a failure or stupid. That is such a painful way to feel inside that it makes sense they wanted to avoid such a threatening feeling and they tried to get away from the danger by disrupting the class so much they would be told to leave"

You can read a bit more about neuroception and how important it is to all our human relationships here: https://www.modernintimacy.com/neuroception-how-your-brain-decides-if-your-world-is-safe/

Why Some People See Ghosts and Others Don't Some individuals are more likely to encounter ghosts than others. Why?

Adolescence and young adulthood present many new opportunities. But this time of change can also be stressful and cause depression.

You are not alone! 💚

If you think you might have depression, talk to someone you trust or seek professional help.

Why 25 May Be the New 18 Part 1: Why adolescence should extend into the mid-20s.

Albert Bandura, Leading Psychologist of Aggression, Dies at 95 He was most known for his Bobo doll experiment, in which children mimicked adults in attacking an inflatable doll. The work challenged basic tenets of psychology.