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If You’re Mentally Struggling During the Holidays, Here’s How to Cope
For many people, celebrating New Year’s Day can include reflecting on a life well lived or a chance to start anew. But for some, the holiday may have dark undertones, according to a recent large study. ... The results may also reflect the known tendency for many people to feel generally less upbeat during the winter months due to seasonal affective disorder, said Dr. Dan Romer, psychologist and research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, via email. Romer wasn’t involved in the study.
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Invisible Habits Are Driving Your Life
You probably remember when you took your last shower, but if I ask you to examine your routine more closely, you might discover some blank spots. Which hand do you use to pick up the shampoo bottle? Which armpit do you soap up first? ... Around the new year, countless people pledge to reform their bad habits and introduce new, better ones. Yet the science of habits reveals that they are not beholden to our desires. “We like to think that we’re doing things for a reason, that everything is driven by a goal,” Wendy Wood, a provost professor emerita who studies habit at the University of Southern California, told me.
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Radical Acceptance Can Help Build Emotional Resiliency
... A growing body of research suggests that the more you fight against your pain, the stronger and louder it’s going to get. Marsha Linehan, a retired University of Washington psychology professor and creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), calls the process of allowing the feelings to come without judgment or action “radical acceptance.” She advises that “the pathway out of hell is through misery. The more you fight your misery, the more you stay in hell.” The goal of radical acceptance is not to condone or approve of a situation but to recognize its existence and let go of the emotional suffering caused by fighting reality.
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10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Healthy in 2025
Are you feeling mentally ready for 2025? ... Distancing yourself from your thoughts is also useful. Ethan Kross, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has found that when people use the word “you” or their own name in internal dialogue instead of saying “I,” it feels more constructive and positive. So instead of saying: “I cannot believe I made that mistake. It was so stupid of me,” consider saying this: “You made a mistake. But your mistake is something that has happened to a lot of other people, too, and you won’t feel badly about it forever.”
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June Gruber Welcomes Research with Societal Impact as New Editor of Current Directions in Psychological Science
Gruber plans to highlight a diversity of scientists and global discoveries in her new role.
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Psychologist Explains Why We Love Holiday, Feel-Good Movies
Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, discusses why people love predictable, feel-good holiday movies.
