By the time you get to recovery, you have had multiple losses in your life, often related to childhood, many times due to being raised with abuse, addiction, mental illness, etc. Read More

Last month (October 2009), Science magazine devoted an entire extraordinary issue to what may be our oldest ancestor: Ardipithecus ramidus. Ardipithecus ramidus, with its small cranial capacity and mix of primitive and derived traits, sits about where it should on the hominid family tree, in both time and space. The same cannot be said for the fossil known as the "Hobbit" (LB1), representing a putative new species, Homo floresiensis. Separated by almost 4 million years and thousands of miles, what do these species tell us about human brain evolution? Read More

It has been twenty years since chronic fatigue syndrome was recognized by major medical organizations as a legitimate medical condition. Read More

The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb "unfriend" as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: "to remove someone as a ‘friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook." The word "has both currency and potential longevity," explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford's senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog.The choice of this year's word is telling because the act of unfrie Read More

The latest fad in motivation is the Law of Attraction or more popularly The Secret after the motion picture and book by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret claims that the more intent you are in your wish for health, wealth, and friends, the faster the universe will act upon it. Is it real, or is it VooDoo science? Read More

In my last blog, I suggested that those who suffer from body image and eating problems need to find ways to move from a spirituality steeped in judgment to one based in compassion. But how do we find the bravery we need to let go of the right-and-wrong mode of thinking that gives us a false sense of security and covers the psychic wounds that need healing? Read More

From time to time, I post short interviews with interesting people about their insights on happiness. During my study of happiness, I’ve noticed that I often learn more from one person’s highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. I’m much more likely to be convinced to try a piece of advice urged by a specific person who tells me that it worked for him or her, than by any other kind of argument. Read More

Vampire Edward is NOT who you want to end up with, especially for eternity.Stuck with Edward's family in a sunless, airless, dull mansion, having conversations that hint at the possibility of ancient patterns of potential incest now repressed, not having sex, and eating game meats?It would be like being married to an Englishman but without the cute accent or the trace amounts of humor. Read More

What did you think of the first part of my attempt to process my father's death? The story continues...let me know what you think!The next thing I knew, my mother's screaming startled me awake. She came home, walked through the door and found a note taped to the giraffe mirror outside our bathroom. She found my father in the bathtub, saw the note again and it all came together. Read More

Working out and eating mindfully doesn't have to be a drag.  How can we make exercise more fun?  www.thefuntheory.com has some great ideas.  Here are five tips for making exercise easy and fun.  Read More

I mostly like the thought of singles going to a dating site and finding articles that are, like Singled Out and Single with Attitude, myth-busting, consciousness-raising, totally unapologetic takes on single life. Maybe they will think about their lives in new ways. Sometimes, though, I see my articles side-by-side with stories about keeping your romantic partner excited about you and I just cringe.  Read More

A recent study showed just how chronic dieting can turn someone into a food addict.Bad news for yo-yo dieters this week: according to a recent study, cycles of feast and famine can create fast-food junkies–at least in rodents. The researchers put rats on a cyclic diet of 5 days of standard rat chow, followed by 2 days of the equivalent of rat fast food (high fat, high sugar, highly delicious). Read More

Remember last time?” asked Jason, as he let his line out behind the boat. I did. Here, we had seen the strangest sight: at the very end of the lake, violet hills and green pastures and scattered cattle and a little river running through the willows, a valley that seemed to recede from view as we approached. “The closer we get, the farther away it seems,” I had said to him. His eyes had grown wide..... Read More

Fascinating research - often involving phantom limbs and smart sensory manipulations, -has shown that the brain’s body image relies heavily on learning via sensory feedback. This study shows the brain to be capable of reconstructing body image even in the absence of sensory feedback...... Read More

If we're watching our weight and "blow it" on any given day, we're told it's okay because we can make up for it the next day and get back on track. But what about when we lose sleep? Can we catch up over the weekend and, say, sleep in on Sunday morning to make up for those late, late nights during the work week?I get this question a lot. Read More

The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) comes into full effect this Saturday, November 21st. Employers need to take note, and employees should be aware of their rights.Congress passed GINA almost unanimously, and President Bush signed it on May 21, 2008. Read More

QUESTIONDear Irene,My friend has been going through marriage problems ever since I've known her (13 years now). I have been there for her when she needed someone to talk to. Read More

 A new study reveals how differences in a single gene may explain why language is unique to humans. Read More

When I posted a couple of weeks ago about the concept of "behavioral health," I received a number of very thoughtful and interesting responses. A couple of commenters addressed the idea that behavioral health connotes conforming to society's expectations for behavior, which is different from mental health. I'd definitely agree, and I think that's pat of why I struggle with the term. Read More

Instead of banishing fear, or making ourselves wrong for feeling fearful--allowing ourselves to go into fear and deeply feel it is the way to become spiritual warriors. Read More

If we wish to create a society without bullying, we need to learn from a society in which bullying is not a problem. Such a place is Ladakh, and their approach is the opposite to that of our modern anti-bully education which is failing to reduce bullying. Read More

As Thanksgiving approaches, I think it's important to take a gratitude inventory. A number of things in life can make us uncomfortable or even a little miffed. But sometimes they are gifts in disguise. With that in mind, here are my top ten things to be thankful for.1. Be thankful for growing older. Not everyone gets this opportunity. Read More

Stepfamilies are under extra stress as the holidays--with their pressure cooker of "family" expectations--get underway. While they now outnumber first families in the U.S., many stepfamily members report feeling second-best and misunderstood when our thoughts turn to turkey, yultide, and latkahs. Read More

Some patterns in our lives tend to repeat. You may meet a new person, and suddenly find that you talk as though you were back in college with them. Or, you may meet a new romantic interest, and you speak to them as if they were an old significant other. Read More

Everyone wants to live to a successful and productive  later adulthood. Find out what the experts have to say about how you can reach your maximum fulfillment. Take the pathways test and chart your action plan so you can find the "authentic road." Read More

One week ago at dinner we were discussing the news headline of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The children wondered what that was and why they should care. Zeus and I began explaining about the end of World War II and communism and the Cold War, and quickly we could see that it was a hefty topic for taco night and kind of tricky to explain while passing the cheese and salsa around the table. So I opted for telling a story instead. Read More

"Angelina Gomez," the medical assistant hollers out to the crowded waiting room. As always, I cringe when I hear this. It sounds so harsh, so cattle-like. Read More

When, as a child, I first encountered the idea that Santa Claus might not be real, I balked. I experienced cognitive dissonance, a theory developed over the last sixty years by social psychologists to explain the uneasy feeling we get when we hold conflicting ideas. Recent advances in neuroscience can explain this phenomenon, and others. Read More

I've recently come to the conclusion that cognitive behavioral therapy, the empirically-demonstrated gold standard for treating depression and a host of other problems, necessitates a belief in existentialism, a philosophy holding that we live in a meaningless universe. How can happiness derive from appreciating the fundamental pointlessness of existence?Existentialism (at least atheistic exi Read More

You see it in movies and photographs, we hear it in songs, yet most of us ignore it until it's too late. Our hands communicate exceptionally well how we feel about others. Our bellies (ventral side) have a few things to say also about those we care for. If you want to know how the relationship is doing, the hands and belly may just have the answer. Read More