February 28, 2025
by Elizabeth Pratt
There have been two mid air collisions and 94 aviation incidents so far in 2025. A passenger jet colliding with a helicopter in Washington DC and a Delta plane flipping at Toronto airport are just some of the aviation disasters making headlines.
Experts say the news could be troubling for those with flight anxiety, but there are strategies that can help.
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January 21, 2025
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Nature aimed to understand the neural code of stress to control anhedonia. “The goal of the study was to understand what drives reduced reward-seeking in individuals who are susceptible to traumatic stress,” study author Mazen A. Kheirbek told us. “We were hoping to identify patterns of activity in the brains of mice that may be related to this process of anhedonia, and patterns that are associated with resiliency to developing anhedonia.”
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December 31, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine assessed the psychobiological demands of high-fidelity training in pre-hospital emergency medicine. “Individuals who provide emergency medical services mount physiological responses including activation of the nervous and endocrine systems,” study author Mark Wetherell told us. “These responses are highly adaptive and provide the energy resources to deal with the situation, however, frequent and sustained responding, with little opportunity for recovery, causes wear and tear on the body and this can lead to increased risk of stress-related illness.”
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December 10, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine looked at increasing trends in alcohol related mortality in the United States. “We sought to explore whether there have been increases in U.S. alcohol related mortality,” study author Alexandra Matarazzo told us. “We were hoping to find out whether there were increases and, if so, whether they are occurring at younger ages.”
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December 3, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in PubMed looked at how cocoa flavanols rescue stress-induced declines in endothelial function after a high-fat meal, but do not affect cerebral oxygenation during stress in young, healthy adults. “We know that when people are stressed, they tend to gravitate towards high-fat foods,” study author Dr. Catarina Rendeiro told us. “We have previously shown that fatty food can impair the body’s vascular recovery from stress. In this study, we wanted to see if adding a high-flavanol food to the fatty meal would alleviate the negative impact of stress in the body."
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November 26, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in Cell looked at how stress disrupts engram ensembles in lateral amygdala to generalize threat memory in mice. “We examined how acute stress impacted fearful memories,” study author Sheena Josselyn, Senior Scientist at Hospital for Sick Children told us. “We found that acute stress before a fearful event generalized the memory of this fearful event. That is, the subjects reacted fearfully both to the cues that predicted the fearful event and also safe cues.”
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November 19, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma looked at the effectiveness of residential and intensive outpatient programs for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in active military. “The care and services provided for the treatment of active military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD encompass a variety of formats, including both residential and outpatient treatment programs,” study author Walter S. Marcantoni told us. “The structural differences between these program types present challenges in making direct comparisons.”
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September 10, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in Sage Journals looked at stress, burnout, and mental health implications in the digital workplace. “The digital workplace gives workers so much more autonomy and flexibility in their work and helps them be productive and collaborative whether in the office or working remotely,” study author Elizabeth Marsh told us. “As a research team, we’re acutely aware of these benefits, but also concerned about aspects of digital working that can have a negative impact on employee health and wellbeing.”
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August 27, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
Even as little as ten minutes spent in nature can have short term benefits for adults living with mental illness.
Research published in Ecopsychology found that any form of nature exposure, including to urban nature, could have benefits.
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August 26, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
Resilient people are more mindful and show neural activity in the brain regions associated with improved cognition and the regulation of emotions.
UCLA researchers found resilient people were also better at describing their feelings and had gut microbiome activity associated with a healthy gut.
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