Blog Topic: Psychology

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  Inside Fear and its Disorders

  October 23, 2018

  Why are some people’s nightmares other people’s joyrides? Thea Gallagher, PsyD, the clinic director at Penn’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, shares her thoughts.

  Psychology
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  Sounds Too Good to Be True? Delving into the Strange and Soothing World of ASMR

  October 18, 2018

  ASMR: It’s hard to describe to those who don’t experience it. It’s like quiet TV static filling my brain, or a river of bubbly seltzer water rushing under my scalp and down my spine. ASMR videos have taken the Internet by storm, but the science behind the phenomenon and its benefits remains fuzzy.

  Psychology Behavioral Health General Interest In the News
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  Psychopathy: Murder, Myths, and the Media

  September 04, 2018

  Psychopathy is typically understood as a personality disorder characterized by a shallowness of feeling, lack of impulse control, a disingenuous social facade, and a tendency in some towards violent behavior. From Norman Bates in Psycho, to Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, there has always been a fascination with psychopathic individuals.

  Psychology
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  The Summertime Blues

  August 02, 2018

  A small percentage of the population – approximately one percent of Americans – suffers from summer seasonal affective disorder, also called reverse SAD.

  Psychology
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  How Cumulative Trauma Could Shape the Lives of Migrant Children

  July 02, 2018

  On June 20, President Trump issued an executive order rolling back the separations of undocumented families in favor of family detention. However, for the thousands of kids who remain detained separately or in foster care, physicians warn their experiences with cumulative trauma and chronic stress could cause irreparable lifelong harm.

  In the News Psychiatry Psychology Public Health General Interest
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  Can Bias Be Reversed

  June 08, 2018

  Starbucks has been in the headlines more than usual lately – and not because of record-setting earnings or because of its latest limited-edition frappe. In April, Starbucks came under fire when two black men were wrongfully arrested at a Philadelphia store. The story went viral and within hours the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks was trending.

  Psychology
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  Zero Shades of Grey: Living with BPD

  May 02, 2018

  Kristen is stuck on a roller coaster. It’s not a gentle, kid-friendly coaster, but a seemingly endless stretch of extreme hills and terrifying drops, with a safety harness that keeps threatening to snap off. Sometimes the car goes full Final Destination 3 and flies off the tracks altogether – but when she opens her eyes, she’s ascending that first hill again. And again. And again. It’s exhausting. At 22, Kristen was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

  Psychiatry Psychology Mental Health
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  The Psychology of Cancer and Appearance

  April 19, 2018

  Based on the number of expressions that pop up in cultures all around the world that link our faces to our sense of worth and our standing in our communities, you’d think we’d have a full understanding of the profound effect a healthy face can have on our psychological and emotional well-being. *Warning, this post contains images of wounds related to cancer.*

  Cancer Psychology
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  It’s an Emotional Day in the Neighborhood

  April 02, 2018

  A few weeks ago, the internet had a meltdown. Unsurprising, I know, but there was something different this time. The catalyst: the trailer for an upcoming documentary about the genre-defining children’s TV show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Perhaps the emotional outpouring was pure nostalgia, but it’s possible that it’s both deeper and simpler than that: the show made kids feel seen and valued, and that played a critical part in their mental health and development.

  Mental Health Psychology Psychiatry General Interest
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  New Year, New Me? How to Make 2018 a Success

  January 22, 2018

  December 31st, 11:59 p.m. The new year is nearly here, and you’re waiting for the clock to signal a fresh start. The 2017 version of you may not have been able to implement healthy habits, maintain perfect relationships, or bring about world peace, but the 2018 model of you? They’re on it. Fast forward three weeks later. How are you holding up? Statistically speaking – probably not so well.

  General Interest Psychology Behavioral Health