Theravive Home

The pandemic has been trying for many people this year - compounding mental health issues for those already battling them, and unveiling new ones for people who may not have realized they were bubbling beneath the surface. Now, add in a holiday season away from friends and family, and things may get even tougher. [More]

In an earlier post for Theravive, I examined how cartoons and comics might be a useful way to educate people on mental health concerns. This fall, I interviewed Cara Bean to learn about the process behind Vermont’s Center for Cartoon Studies released “Let’s Talk About It: A Graphic Guide To Mental Health” about its use for education. Recently, there was an article in the Open Library of Humanities about the perceived value in using comics to teach mental health professionals. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Nature looked at neurons, values, and our economic choices. “The behavior we engage in, for example, when we are sitting in a restaurant and contemplating the menu,” study author Dr. Camillo Paoda-Schioppa told us. “Let’s say that there are two options – pizza or burger. How do we make that choice?” Fifteen years ago, research in neuroscience demonstrated that values are real, in the sense that neurons in the brain compute and represent the values assigned to the various options. That result was a breakthrough, and a large number of studies subsequently confirmed the initial findings. However, it remained unclear whether and how neurons encoding values directly participate in the choice process. [More]

In a recent study, researchers surveyed 200 movies released between 1977 and 2019 with content about mental illness and found box office returns were higher than average. Those same movies received 15% of Oscar nominations during the time period. While the article still needs peer-review, the findings show that we, as a society, are doing a better job of talking about mental health. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics looked at kindergarten readiness, later health, and social costs. “We used kindergarten readiness measures to forecast later academic, psychological, and health risks by end of high school,” study author Linda Pagani told us. “We wanted long term evidence of the importance of ensuring that all children are ready to learn at the time of school entry was crucial to support the idea of that prevention for all kinds of social problems have their origins in early childhood.” [More]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have experienced feelings of social isolation. For some, interaction with others has been confined to a zoom call, for others there hasn’t been any interaction at all. Now, researchers at MIT have found that the longing for social interaction felt whilst isolated is neurologically similar to that for food cravings when hungry. [More]

The common perception is that introverts are thriving from the pandemic lockdown from the pandemic. No longer are they required to go to events and regularly interact with other people since distancing is now required. But a recent study of 2,000 Americans found that introverts experienced more loneliness than extraverts during this time and do not take the initiative to interact with others. [More]

During a global pandemic, many essential workers have been hailed as heroes. Some are uncomfortable with the title, but there’s a certain group who especially love being viewed in this way. Narcissists. [More]

When it comes to overall wellbeing, how a person uses social media could have a significant impact. In a study from The University of British Columbia, Derrick Wirtz, an associate professor of teaching in psychology examined the use of three popular social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to see how the use of the platforms impacted the overall wellbeing of a person. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Nature Communications looked at social cues and the b [More]