What makes life worth living? It’s a profound and essential question that stretches across philosophy, psychology, and everyday life. For much of its history, psychology concentrated on mental illness—diagnosing and treating what goes wrong—while paying far less attention to the conditions that allow people and communities to thrive (Seligman, 2011; Kellerman & Seligman, 2023). Positive … Read more

Summary: Recognizing when your thinking is going astray is a key skill for solving complex problems. Source: University of Washington Ever get stuck on a puzzle? You search for a pattern or a rule and can’t quite find it, so you step back and try a different approach. New research from the University of Washington … Read more

Assertiveness is a skill anyone can learn. Improving it helps us communicate more clearly, relate to others more effectively, and ensure our needs are respected. Increasing assertiveness can be life-changing for people who tend to be shy, passive, or overly accommodating (Hill, 2020). Training reduces the fear around speaking up and supports standing up for … Read more

Summary: A new parent-report questionnaire can help detect signs of autism in children aged 18 to 30 months, though it does not identify every child who will later receive a diagnosis. Source: University of Cambridge New research led by the University of Cambridge shows that the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) can identify … Read more

Summary: New Northwestern University research shows that deep, uninterrupted sleep can strengthen memory for faces and names when specific memories are reactivated during slow-wave sleep. Source: Northwestern University Struggling to remember names while faces stay familiar? The solution might be a better nap. A study from Northwestern University provides the first clear evidence that reactivating … Read more

Throughout our lives we pass through many different stages and transitions. As we grow, we often leave the family home, establish our own households, and see our needs shift. Some basic needs remain—shelter, clean water, food—but our emotional and psychological needs evolve. How we understand and respond to those needs strongly shapes our sense of … Read more

Approach developed at UCLA holds promise for 60 percent of patients with the deadly disease. Researchers at the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and the Center for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at UCLA have developed a stem cell gene‑editing approach that could one day treat a majority of … Read more

Summary: In mice, opioid withdrawal disrupts serotonin signaling to the nucleus accumbens, causing pronounced reductions in sociability and increased social avoidance. Source: Stanford Opioid withdrawal is not only physically painful but also sharply reduces social motivation, a change that undermines recovery by driving isolation at precisely the time when social support is most needed. “Self-isolation … Read more

Summary: Although SARS-CoV-2 rarely appears to infect brain cells directly, new autopsy research shows the virus can still produce substantial neurological injury. Investigators conclude that much of the brain damage seen in people who die with COVID-19 is likely driven by inflammation—either system-wide or focused in the brain’s blood vessels—rather than by direct viral invasion … Read more

Using a lighthearted, informal method (not based on download numbers or reviews), here is a short, curated list of positive psychology podcasts that will: Make you laugh Help you better understand yourself Teach you about others Spark feelings of awe and wonder Challenge assumptions about happiness Inspire more purposeful living Not every show is exclusively … Read more