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Think You Are Sick? It May Be the Nocebo Effect.
Have you ever walked out of a jam-packed concert or restaurant with a scratchy throat, worried that you just caught a virus? Or swallowed a medication and felt immediately unwell? If yes, you’re personally familiar with the nocebo effect, though you probably didn’t know that’s what it’s called. The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect — “the evil twin or the dark side of the placebo effect,” said John Kelley, distinguished professor of psychology at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass., and deputy director of the program in placebo studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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How to Break the Cycle of ‘Sameness’ and Push Yourself in Midlife
1. Find your “will to live.” 2. Keep asking THE question: What is something challenging you’ve always wanted to try or be, but now worry you’re too old to do? 3. Stop believing your competencies are fixed. Adding the word “yet” to your mindset can help, according to the well-known Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. In other words, think, “I’m not an artist, pianist, surfer, runner, entrepreneur … yet.” 4. Be okay looking foolish. 5. Define your “crop.”
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5 Ways to Make Friends (Without Joining a Book Club)
To meet your neighbors, try doing them small kindnesses, said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and the director of the Social Connection and Health Lab at Brigham Young University. Compliment their gardening skills, or offer to bring in their trash bins. Why? Dr. Holt-Lunstad’s research has found that these acts can encourage conversations and reduce feelings of loneliness. Pushing yourself to be more social, said Dr. Holt-Lunstad, is like exercise: Even if you know it’s good for you, it can be uncomfortable. ... Dr. Holt-Lunstad also recommended reflecting on the people who have helped you in your life: a coach, a teacher, a neighbor.
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Journal Collection Examines Psychological Science in Pandemics
In a special Perspectives on Psychological Science collection, researchers discuss how psychological science can help policymakers and the public understand and address the spread of infectious disease while preserving constructive social interactions and learning.
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Teens Have a Lot of Good Coping Strategies — And They Often Just Need to Be Heard
Maybe a hug from a parent no longer solves problems for a teen as it did in their childhood. But when it comes to teenage mental health, adults can do a lot to help, according to new data. ... Social media and other screen-based entertainment often is talked about in terms of the risks, but “the potential benefits of social media to a large proportion of teens have received insufficient attention,” said Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Temple University in Philadelphia. He was not involved in the survey research.
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Want to Live a Long Life? Start Prioritizing Your Friends
Your social network may influence your health as much as your exercise routine. ... To get a measure of the social health boost's overall importance, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah, compiled the findings of 148 studies. Together they covered 300,000 participants and had looked at the benefits of social integration and the hazard of social disconnection. She then compared the effects of loneliness with the risks of various other lifestyle factors, including smoking, drinking alcohol, exercise and physical activity, body mass index (a measure of obesity), air pollution and taking medication to control blood pressure.
