Social scientists have long studied the effects of body language on the perception of others. For example, a 2009 study published in the journal Language and Cognitive Processes investigated the role of hand gestures in persuasive speech and found that people assess public presenters to be more effective and competent when they use their hands....

I’m republishing this piece from my archives. Someone in recovery circles once told me that if you have one foot in the past and another in the future, you are essentially peeing on the present. I try to remember that when I’m engulfed in regret—obsessing about all the things I did wrong in the past...

According to the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research, approximately 30 to 40 percent of adults report some symptoms of insomnia within a given year, and 10 to 15 percent report chronic insomnia. According to a 2015 study published in Psychology Research and Behavior Management, half of American seniors, aged 65 and older report sleep...

This post is from my archives. I’m considering building an ark, because it feels as if it’s been raining for 40 days and 40 nights. In one of the wettest, coldest Mays in Maryland’s history, highly sensitive types like myself are having difficulty not getting pulled into a depressive mood that often accompanies bad weather. I...

We’ve come a little way in reducing the stigma that’s associated with mental illness, but not nearly far enough. Consider these results pulled from a public attitude survey in Tarrant County, Texas, conducted by the county’s Mental Health Connection and the University of North Texas in Denton to determine the community’s view of mental illness: More than 50 percent...