Mindfully Healing

How to tell if someone has bipolar disorder (manic depression). Bipolar disorder — which used to be known as manic depression — affects upwards of 1 in 100 adults at some point in their lives. Its most obvious symptom is very severe mood swings; it is a condition of extreme emotional states. Someone experiencing the disorder will have periods of great energy and exhilaration at times. These could last weeks or often several months. At other times they will experience very deep depressions (there’s more on how mania and depression

People in the study were encouraged to think about conflicts in their relationships in a new way. “How will I feel in one year about this current conflict in my relationship?” Asking a question with a future-orientation helps people feel more positive about their relationship, a study finds. People feel more forgiving and interpret their relationship in a more positive light when they think about it from a future perspective. Mr Alex Huynh, the study’s first author, said: “When romantic partners argue over things like finances, jealousy, or other interpersonal

Doing this exercise for 20 minutes can improve your long-term memory by 20%. One single workout with weights can immediately enhance long-term memory by around 20%, according to a new study. While it’s now well-established that months of aerobic exercise can enhance memory, this is the first study examining the effects of a relatively short amount of resistance training. In the study, people were shown a series of pictures which they were not asked to memorise (Weinberg et al., 2014). Then half the participants did 50 leg extensions in a

It is a way of expressing universal, shared experience and creating some emotional distance. People use the word ‘you’ when they really mean ‘I’. It helps to distance them from negative emotional experiences, new research finds. For example, the expression “you win some, you lose some” probably means the person has failed, but that it could happen to anyone. The pronoun, therefore, helps you to feel better about the experience. Ariana Orvell, the study’s first author, explained: “When people use “you” to make meaning from negative experiences, it allows them

• Next article in this series: 4 Qualities of Truly Horrible Managers• Previous article: 10 Keys to Building Great TeamsAre there ‘successful psychopaths’ amongst us? According to a survey conducted by psychologist Kevin Dutton—called the Great British Psychopath Survey—here are the top 10 professions with the most psychopaths: CEO Lawyer Media (TV/Radio) Salesperson Surgeon Journalist Police Officer Clergyperson Chef Civil Servant And here are the professions with the least psychopaths: Care Aide Nurse Therapist Craftsperson Beautician/Stylist Charity Worker Teacher Creative Artist Doctor Accountant Although people tend to think of psychopaths

Men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were more likely to have a history of this infection. Candida yeast infections are linked to serious mental health problems, new research finds. Men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were more likely to have a history of infection. Women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who also had a Candida infection were more likely to have poorer memory. Dr Emily Severance, the study’s first author, said: “It’s far too early to single out Candida infection as a cause of mental illness or vice versa. However,

Are beards attractive? And if so, how much should men grow? Women judge fully bearded men to be a better bet for long-term relationships, new research finds. This might be because it makes men look more ‘formidable’. Certainly, beards make men look older and more aggressive. Beards are also often judged to make men look like they have higher social status. However, for short-term relationships, women judge stubble to be most attractive, the new research found. The study showed pictures of men with different levels of facial hair to over

50% improvement in learning from this sleep technique. Sleeping in between study sessions could be the key to better recall, new research finds. The technique aids recall up to six months later, psychologists have found. Dr Stephanie Mazza, the study’s first author, said: “Our results suggest that interleaving sleep between practice sessions leads to a twofold advantage, reducing the time spent relearning and ensuring a much better long-term retention than practice alone. Previous research suggested that sleeping after learning is definitely a good strategy, but now we show that sleeping

How to appear up to 40% more likeable and approachable. Nodding the head increases attractiveness to others by up to 40% research finds. Head nodders were rated as both more likeable and more approachable. It was primarily people’s personality that appeared more attractive when they nodded. Essentially, nodding makes people more likely to approach you in social interactions. Dr Jun-ichiro Kawahara, study co-author, said: “Our study also demonstrated that nodding primarily increased likability attributable to personality traits, rather than to physical appearance.” The research, carried out in Japan, compared nodding

Only a small change in posture is enough to increase attractiveness. A slight arching of a woman’s back — extending her buttocks outward — makes her more alluring, research finds. It might help to explain the mystery of why high-heeled shoes are so popular. They cause women to arch their backs slightly to help them balance. The study found that only relatively small changes in how much a woman’s back was arched made her look more appealing. Mr Farid Pazhoohi, who led the study, said: “Increased curvature increases the perception