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You feel it ahead of a big exam. Your stomach churns before a job interview. Your heart races before you board a plane. Stress is something everyone is likely to experience at some point. But stress doesn’t have to be an obstacle. In fact, it can be a useful tool. A recent study from the University of Rochester found that re-evaluating perceptions of stress can improve mental health, wellbeing and ultimately, success. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology looked at whether emotional diversity is associated with better student engagement and achievement. “Our study explored whether students who have varied emotional experiences would also be more engaged and achieve better in school,” study author Cherry Frondozo told us. “We adapted a measure of diversity from ecology to examine the link between the diversity of emotional experiences and achievement.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Nature Human Behaviour looked at how brain stimulation and brain lesions converge on common causal circuits in neuropsychiatric disease. “The study is about brain circuitry in depression,” study author, Dr. Shan H. Siddiqi told us. “We were hoping to find if modulating specific brain circuits (with brain damage or brain stimulation) can causally modify depression severity.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology looked at sex differences in specific aspects of two animal tests of anxiety-like behavior. “We studied male and female rodent models to better understand sex differences in biological responses related to anxiety,” study author Thatiane De Oliveira Sergio told us. “We used procedures that let us measure a lot of different aspects of the anxiety behavior.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Occupational Health looked at physical relaxation for occupational stress in healthcare workers in a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. "Our study evaluates various physical methods of relaxation (yoga, massage therapy, progressive muscle relaxation, and stretching exercises) on their effectiveness in reducing work-related stress in healthcare workers,” study author Michael Zhang told us. [More]

COVID-19 has had a significant mental health impact on both residents and staff members in aged care facilities. Research published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found those working or residing in aged care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing high levels of stress and negative mental health impacts. [More]

A recent article on APA PsycNet examined how we regulate stress responses. The authors found that “ altering second-level valuation systems—shifting the valuation of stress from “is bad for me” to “can be good for me”—fundamentally changes the overarching goal of stress regulation from reducing stress to optimizing stress responses to achieve valued goals.” However, we live in a culture that tends to view all stress as negative. Can we change the narrative about stress? [More]

A recent Gallup study reveals a positive connection between regular church attendance and a positive self-evaluation of one’s mental health. I invited experts to give their opinions on these findings and what it is about church attendance that contributes to positive mental health. [More]

A new study published the Journal of Preventative Medicine looked at psychological distress in the United States before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first longitudinal study of psychological distress during the pandemic in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serious psychological distress includes mental health problems severe enough to require treatment and cause moderate to serious impairment in one’s daily life in the areas of schooling, social relationships, and work environments. [More]

A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry looked at repeated Ketamine administration for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “This study was the first randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of repeated ketamine infusions in improving PTSD symptoms in individuals suffering with chronic PTSD,” study author Adriana Feder told us. [More]