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Psychology Around the Net: December 9, 2017

Happy Saturday, Psych Central readers!

This week’s Psychology Around the Net takes a look at what “self-care” actually means for many people with mental illnesses, the different types of depression and anxiety a new study has identified, which people are more prone to sleep paralysis, and more.

Let’s go!

This Twitter Thread Perfectly Sums Up What Self-Care Is Like for People With Mental Illnesses: Author and blogger Jenny Trout drops some eye-opening truth bombs about what “self-care” means for many people with mental illness. (HINT: It’s ain’t Instagram-worthy bubble baths.)

Mindful Yoga Can Reduce Risky Behaviors in Troubled Youth: A long-term study out of the University of Cincinnati researches the link between stressful life events and an increase in problems like irresponsible sexual behavior and alcohol and drug abuse among a diverse group of 18- to 24-year-old young adults and the positive effects of mindful yoga and other coping strategies.

Experts Challenge the Science Behind Ban on Psychiatrists Discussing Politicians’ Mental Health: While the American Psychiatric Association (APA) stands by its Goldwater Rule — which states that it’s unethical for psychiatrists to offer professional opinions about public figures unless they’ve conducted exams and received authorization — some mental health professionals are challenging the ban and even asserting that watching and listening to a person from the sidelines — rather than during an interview exam — could be more effective in getting accurate insights.

Many Different Types of Anxiety and Depression Exist, New Study Finds: In an effort to “disentangle the symptom overlap,” researchers from Stanford have identified five new categories of mental illness, defined by their symptoms and areas of brain activation: tension, anxious arousal, general anxiety, melancholia, and anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure).

Mental Health Apps Made Me Feel More Overwhelmed Than Ever: While Samantha Cole admits some of the many, many, many mental health apps out there are backed by peer-reviewed research and could potentially help change lives, she notes that more of them than not are actually “at best bloatware bulls*t — and at worst, actively harmful.”

Sleep Paralysis Is Linked to Stress (and Supernatural Beliefs): Alice Gregory, a professor of psychology at Goldsmiths University of London, says sleep paralysis “occurs when features of REM sleep, specifically muscle paralysis, continue into our waking lives.” But what exactly causes that to happen?


Source: psychcenteral