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Patricia Tomasi

Patricia Tomasi is a mom, maternal mental health advocate, journalist, and speaker. She writes regularly for the Huffington Post Canada, focusing primarily on maternal mental health after suffering from severe postpartum anxiety twice. You can find her Huffington Post biography here. Patricia is also a Patient Expert Advisor for the North American-based, Maternal Mental Health Research Collective and is the founder of the online peer support group - Facebook Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Support Group - with over 1500 members worldwide. Blog: www.patriciatomasiblog.wordpress.com
Email: tomasi.patricia@gmail.com


June 27, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Did COVID-19 Affect The Mental Health Of College Student-Athletes?

June 27, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

bigstock young black sports couple runn 460703707
A new study published in the Journal of Athletic Training looked at self-reported mental health measures among incoming collegiate student-athletes who had COVID-19. “We were interested in seeing if a young, highly active group experienced a lasting emotional upheaval following recovery from COVID-19,” study author Melissa Anderson told us. “Based on reports that up to a third of people who had a COVID-19 diagnosis experience persistent psychological symptoms, we expected to see similar results in our study." [More]

June 20, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Can Attending Live Sporting Events Reduce Loneliness?

June 20, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in Frontiers in Public Health looked at how attending live sporting events can predict subjective wellbeing and reduces loneliness. “The data was collected as part of a large government survey looking at all sorts of things measuring people’s health and wellbeing, as well as some other information about them, such as their age, income level, and some information about what activities they take part in,” study author Dr. Helen Keyes told us. “Our study honed in on the questions that participants were asked about their wellbeing (life satisfaction, sense that life is worthwhile, loneliness, happiness and anxiety) and whether attendance at a live sporting event over the past 12 months had any impact on these measures.” [More]

June 13, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Work Breaks And Why Some Employees Don't Take Them

June 13, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of the American Planning Association looked at breaks in the workplace and why some employees take their breaks and others don’t. “Our research is about breaks in the workplace,” study author Vincent Phan told us. “We were hoping to get a better sense of employees’ reasons for taking breaks at work, as well as their reasons for not taking breaks despite wanting or needing a break.” Past theory and research within the occupational health psychology literature would suggest that employees may want a break when they feel tired or upset, or when they feel their performance on the job isn’t as good as they would like. However, employees do not always take breaks when they want to do so. [More]

June 6, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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What Is The Association Between Dental Health And Mental Health?

June 6, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Dental Research looked at dental health and mental health in a nationally representative cohort. “The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between oral health and mental health both cross-sectionally and longitudinally,” study author A. Kalaigian told us. “In addition, we sought to evaluate the impact of mental problems (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse) on adverse oral health conditions (i.e., bleeding gums, loose teeth, self-rated oral health, tooth extraction, gum disease, and bone loss around teeth) when controlling for potential confounders. Through this work, we hoped to inform dental practitioners in treating patients experiencing mental illness." [More]

May 30, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Peer Support For Incarcerated Individuals

May 30, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study looked at peer health navigation experiences before and after prison release amount people with opioid use disorder. “Our study looked at the experiences of participants in a specific peer navigation program that paired people with opioid use disorder exiting incarceration with peer navigators and other supports,” study author Michael Enich told us. “We were hoping to capture, in their own words, program participants’ feelings working with peers who have also experienced incarceration and/or substance use or mental health challenges. We also wanted to see what aspects of the program these participants found to be most helpful—or aspects of the program they would change if they could.” [More]

May 23, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Effectiveness Of Resiliency Intervention During The Pandemic Lockdown

May 23, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at the effectiveness of a brief online resilience intervention during the COVID-19 lockdown. “Our study aimed to test a new positive psychological intervention, SPARK Resilience® @Work,” study author Evgeny Osin told us. “It is a programme that aims to help employees understand, activate, and develop the psychological resources and strategies that are important to deal efficiently with stressful situations and to maintain high well-being and high performance at work.” [More]

May 16, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Can Your Birth Mindset Predict Your Birth Outcome?

May 16, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology looked at how the mindset of birth predicts birth outcomes. “Broadly speaking, the study is about the role of psychology in childbirth,” study author Lisa Hoffman told us. “We were interested whether psychological factors may have an effect on birth outcomes and whether, in turn, psychological factors (e.g., postpartum well-being, postpartum depression) may be predicted by birth.” [More]

May 9, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Did Pregnancy Stress During The Pandemic Have An Effect Postpartum?

May 9, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders looked at the social and cognitive vulnerability to COVID-19-related stress in pregnancy. “We were interested to find out whether being pregnant during the pandemic was associated with postpartum mental wellbeing of the mothers and their babies,” study author Susanne Schweizer told us. “In particular, we were interested whether the experiencing stress related to the pandemic (including, stressors such as economic and health-related worries) would be associated with more postpartum depression and anxiety in the mothers and poorer affect in the children.” [More]

May 2, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Can Exercise Reduce Suicidal Behaviors?

May 2, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders looked at the effect of exercise on suicidal ideation and behaviors. “Our study aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide deaths) in those with mental or physical illness,” study author Dr. Nicholas Fabiano told us. “Our secondary objective was to determine if those with mental or physical illness were able to adhere to exercise regimes as people with comorbidities are often perceived not to be adherent to exercise regimes due to the nature of their illness.” [More]

April 25, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Could Robots Help With Fostering Well-Being In the Workplace?

April 25, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new recently published study looked at robotic mental well-being coaches for the workplace. “This study investigated the use and deployment of two different robotic forms to deliver positive psychology exercises over four weeks, and how the robotic form impacts on the coachee’s robotic coach perceptions, robotic coach personality, and robotic coach-coachee alliance,” study author Micol Spitale told us. “We hypothesized that the design features, such as the form, may impact the coachees’ perceptions towards the robotic coach.” [More]