As a child, I was what some might call, “anal.” I was a perfectionist at home. I hated any disorder around me, anything I could not control. I obsessed over chipped paint in my bedroom or unplanned time. I refused to leave my house with out-of-place hair or a wrinkled shirt. My family nicknamed me…
When we see someone else, our child or a friend, suffering from a broken heart, we know exactly what to do for them. We know that compassion, patience and understanding is what our loved one needs from us during the dark days following a relationship breakup. As she is in the throes of despair and grief,…
A group of researchers in Philadelphia have developed a brain scan relying on a different kind of dye that will allow doctors to see the early stages of developing Alzheimer’s disease and to track the progress of the disease in the brain. In the past, doctors treating patients with memory loss have not had reliable…
When thinking about the psychological issues facing adolescents and young teens, policy makers and even parents often tend to focus on preventing negative outcomes. In line with recent trends in positive psychology, however, a number of researchers are advocating a model called Positive Youth Development (PYD) to focus on promoting positive well-being during the crucial…
Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders can be worsened by “encouragement” offered on pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia web sites, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers have analyzed how these eating disorder web sites allow young people, mostly but not exclusively female, to encourage…
One of the challenges for positive psychology is pinning down the concept of happiness. We all think we know what happiness is when we see it, but in order to study happiness and its achievement systematically, psychologists need to be able to define happiness and understand what characteristics mark happy individuals in order to make…
The happiness of the average person varies from country to country, and the variations can be both extreme and surprising. Recent research published in the the Journal of Happiness Studies suggests that good government contributes to the happiness of its citizens. The new study takes up questions that were raised recently by a report of the Organization…
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden, who created a powerhouse at UCLA where he was head coach from 1948 until 1975, died Friday at the age of 99. Wooden was a powerfully successful coach, leading teams to 10 national championships in 12 years, 4 perfect seasons, and an 88-game winning streak in the early 1970s. It’s…
Children whose families move frequently to new towns or neighborhoods may continue to suffer negative effects on happiness and life satisfaction as adults, according to a new study reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study of over 7,000 Americans found that, for both men and women of various ages and levels…
Gary Coleman’s death last week ended a life that must have looked enviable when he was a child star making $70,000 per episode on a popular sit com. By the time he was an adult, though, Coleman—like many other child actors—was struggling with depression. On the Geraldo show in 1993, Coleman admitted to having made…