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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


April 18, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Researcher And Author Looks At Implications Of Chronic Stress At Work

April 18, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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There has been a lot of research into how leaders with low self-esteem are likely to cause toxic stress at work. Simon L. Dolan, author of De-Stress at Work: Understanding and Combatting Chronic Stress has brought together the research into a book. In the chapter about toxic leaders specifically, he summarizes and analyses the results of many other studies and he has done many studies himself. “The underlying concept behind this book, is to demystify the concept of chronic stress,” Dolan told us. “It is poorly understood, poorly used, and there are no, or very few, valid diagnostic tools available to professionals in the field." [More]

April 11, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Does Gender Transition Improve Sleep Health?

April 11, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine compared the burden of sleep disorders among a cohort of US transgender and cisgender youth. “We were looking for any differences in sleep disorders between cisgender and transgender youth and between transgender people using and those not using gender-affirming therapy,” study author Dr. Ronald Gavidia, M.S., M.S. told us. [More]

April 4, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Can Flame Retardants Cause Anxiety And Depression In Teens?

April 4, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Depression and Anxiety looked at the association of early exposure to flame retardants to anxiety symptoms in adolescents. “The study focuses on how exposure to certain chemicals found in the environment during pregnancy affects individuals later in life,” study author Dr. Jeffrey Strawn, MD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience in UC’s College of Medicine. “We were specifically interested in how in utero exposure to these chemicals impacts the development of anxiety later in life.” [More]

March 28, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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COVID-19 Fear Continues To Impact Psychological Wellbeing

March 28, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology looked at a longitudinal assessment of COVID-19 fear and psychological wellbeing in the United Kingdom. “Our study examined how fear of the COVID-19 virus impacted psychological wellbeing in a UK population at two different timepoints during the pandemic,” study author Martyn Quigley told us. “The first timepoint took place when the number of COVID-19 related deaths and hospitalizations were high and the number of those who were vaccinated were low. The second timepoint took place when the number of deaths and hospitalizations were considerably lower, and most of the population were vaccinated.” [More]

March 21, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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Mom Tells Her Story Of How She Healed From Traumatic Brain Injury After Being Hit By A Car

March 21, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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March is traumatic brain injury (TBI) awareness month. Armenian-American triathlete Kristin Abello, was struck by a car in 2002, while on a training run in Houston in preparation for a marathon. As a result, she sustained a TBI and other physical traumas. The initial consensus was that she wasn’t going to survive, but she did and the road to recovery was extremely difficult, including her choice to carry a high risk pregnancy. She’s now giving back, as an advocate, philanthropist and author on a mission to help others with TBI. [More]

March 14, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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How Do Children Come To Understand The Meaning Of Emotion Words Like 'Sad' Or 'Happy'?

March 14, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at how caregiver speech can predict the emergence of children’s emotion vocabulary. “We were interested in understanding how children learn words like ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ that label emotional experiences,” study author Mira L. Nencheva told us. “We were curious if the words that surround emotion labels might help children learn their meaning.” [More]

March 7, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Finds Parental Support Reduces Depression Symptoms In LGBTQ Youth

March 7, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Child Development looked at perceived parental social support and psychological control and how it can predict depressive symptoms for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning youth in the United States. “The purpose of our study was to test how parent support and parent control relate to symptoms of depression for LGBTQ youth,” study author Amy McCurdy of the University of Texas at Austin told us. “We were hoping to establish that general parenting practices matter for LGBTQ youth, which seems obvious, but in fact little research has done this.” [More]

February 28, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Corporal Punishment And The Adolescent Brain

February 28, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry looked at how the experience of corporal punishment might shape how the adolescent brain responds to mistakes and receiving rewards. “One of the co-authors, Alexandria Meyer, has repeatedly shown that harsh parenting is associated with increased neural responses to making mistakes,” study author Kreshnik Burani told us. [More]

February 21, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Benzodiazepine And The Potential For Overdose In Youth

February 21, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in JAMA Open Network looked at the association of benzodiazepine treatment for sleep disorders with a drug overdose risk among young people. “Benzodiazepines are a treatment option for sleep disorders,” study author Greta A. Bushnell told us. “However, overdose is a potential concern with benzodiazepines, particularly when used with other central nervous system depressants such as opioids. [More]

February 14, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi

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New Study Looks At Attachment Anxiety And False Memories

February 14, 2023 08:00 by Patricia Tomasi  [About the Author]

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A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked at attachment anxiety and how it predicts false memories when people can see the communicator. “Past research has linked attachment avoidance with forgetting specifically relational material,” study author Dr. Nathan W. Hudson told us. “Conversely, prior studies have shown that attachment anxiety predicts false memories in relationship contexts.” [More]