“I love myself unconditionally.” “I am worthy of love, joy and happiness.” “I am strong, capable and resilient.” “I breathe in relaxation and breathe out tension.” Self-affirmations might seem sappy, but they can they contribute to people’s happiness and well-being, according to a new evidence review. Such affirmations provide a boost to people’s self-esteem and confidence, while also reducing negative emotions like anxiety and anger, researchers recently reported in the journal American Psychologist. Moreover, the benefits of self-affirmations can last for days and even weeks, researchers found. “Even brief, low-cost self-affirmation exercises can yield significant psychological benefits in terms of enhancing personal and social well-being,” senior researcher Minhong (Maggie) Wang, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, said in a news release. “More importantly, these benefits are both immediate and long-lasting.” Self-affirmation exercises work by reminding people of their inner strengths and act as a buffer against external threats and worries, researchers said in background notes. For the review, researchers analyzed data from 129 published studies on self-affirmation exercises, involving nearly 17,800 people. Of the studies, 78 occurred in the United States. Overall, self-affirmations were good for people’s well-being, self-perception and sense of self-worth, researchers said. These effects persisted among people, with an average follow-up time of nearly two weeks across the studies. Self-affirmations were found to be most powerful among adults compared to…  read on >  read on >

“I love myself unconditionally.” “I am worthy of love, joy and happiness.” “I am strong, capable and resilient.” “I breathe in relaxation and breathe out tension.” Self-affirmations might seem sappy, but they can they contribute to people’s happiness and well-being, according to a new evidence review. Such affirmations provide a boost to people’s self-esteem and confidence, while also reducing negative emotions like anxiety and anger, researchers recently reported in the journal American Psychologist. Moreover, the benefits of self-affirmations can last for days and even weeks, researchers found. “Even brief, low-cost self-affirmation exercises can yield significant psychological benefits in terms of enhancing personal and social well-being,” senior researcher Minhong (Maggie) Wang, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, said in a news release. “More importantly, these benefits are both immediate and long-lasting.” Self-affirmation exercises work by reminding people of their inner strengths and act as a buffer against external threats and worries, researchers said in background notes. For the review, researchers analyzed data from 129 published studies on self-affirmation exercises, involving nearly 17,800 people. Of the studies, 78 occurred in the United States. Overall, self-affirmations were good for people’s well-being, self-perception and sense of self-worth, researchers said. These effects persisted among people, with an average follow-up time of nearly two weeks across the studies. Self-affirmations were found to be most powerful among adults compared to…  read on >  read on >

Ketamine might not be effective in treating depression, new clinical trial results reveal. Ketamine infusions added to standard depression care did nothing for people hospitalized with the mood disorder, researchers reported Oct. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. “Our initial hypothesis was that repeated ketamine infusions for people hospitalized with depression would improve mood outcomes. However, we found this not to be the case,” senior researcher Declan McLoughlin, a research professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, said in a news release. Earlier studies that found ketamine effective in treating depression might have been flawed, in that patients might have guessed they were getting the drug and experienced improvement due to a placebo effect, researchers said. This trial also found many patients were able to guess which treatment they were getting. “Our trial highlights the importance of reporting the success, or lack thereof, of blinding in clinical trials, especially in clinical trials of therapies where maintaining the blind is difficult, e.g. ketamine, psychedelics, brain stimulation therapies,” lead researcher Ana Jelovac of Trinity College Dublin said in a news release. “Such problems can lead to enhanced placebo effects and skewed trial results that can over-inflate real treatment effects,” Jelovac said. About 30% of people with depression don’t respond well to conventional antidepressants that target brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline, researchers said in background notes. That’s why…  read on >  read on >

Ketamine might not be effective in treating depression, new clinical trial results reveal. Ketamine infusions added to standard depression care did nothing for people hospitalized with the mood disorder, researchers reported Oct. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. “Our initial hypothesis was that repeated ketamine infusions for people hospitalized with depression would improve mood outcomes. However, we found this not to be the case,” senior researcher Declan McLoughlin, a research professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, said in a news release. Earlier studies that found ketamine effective in treating depression might have been flawed, in that patients might have guessed they were getting the drug and experienced improvement due to a placebo effect, researchers said. This trial also found many patients were able to guess which treatment they were getting. “Our trial highlights the importance of reporting the success, or lack thereof, of blinding in clinical trials, especially in clinical trials of therapies where maintaining the blind is difficult, e.g. ketamine, psychedelics, brain stimulation therapies,” lead researcher Ana Jelovac of Trinity College Dublin said in a news release. “Such problems can lead to enhanced placebo effects and skewed trial results that can over-inflate real treatment effects,” Jelovac said. About 30% of people with depression don’t respond well to conventional antidepressants that target brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline, researchers said in background notes. That’s why…  read on >  read on >

A friendly clasp on the shoulder. A comforting hug. Holding hands. All these can be dangerous in the wrong hands, a new study reports. Manipulative and narcissistic people are more likely to use touch in a calculating manner to influence their partners, researchers report in the journal Current Psychology. “What’s new about our work isn’t just in identifying problematic uses of touch — it’s linking those behaviors to the type of person who is inclined to use them on a romantic partner,” said senior researcher Richard Mattson, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University-State University of New York. “Not only are you not getting the benefits of touch in these relationships, but the flip side of that is that they are powerful, so they can actually be used in the service of oneself at the expense of the relationship partner,” Mattson said in a news release. Much current research is focused on the benefits of touch — how it can soothe the mind, reduce stress and activate release of the “love hormone” oxytocin, researchers said in background notes. Mattson and colleagues decided to take a different tack. “It’s kind of a hot topic within relationship science, but we took a slightly different viewpoint, noting that not all forms of touch are well-intentioned, even if topographically, they look similar to other types of touch,” Mattson said.…  read on >  read on >

A friendly clasp on the shoulder. A comforting hug. Holding hands. All these can be dangerous in the wrong hands, a new study reports. Manipulative and narcissistic people are more likely to use touch in a calculating manner to influence their partners, researchers report in the journal Current Psychology. “What’s new about our work isn’t just in identifying problematic uses of touch — it’s linking those behaviors to the type of person who is inclined to use them on a romantic partner,” said senior researcher Richard Mattson, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University-State University of New York. “Not only are you not getting the benefits of touch in these relationships, but the flip side of that is that they are powerful, so they can actually be used in the service of oneself at the expense of the relationship partner,” Mattson said in a news release. Much current research is focused on the benefits of touch — how it can soothe the mind, reduce stress and activate release of the “love hormone” oxytocin, researchers said in background notes. Mattson and colleagues decided to take a different tack. “It’s kind of a hot topic within relationship science, but we took a slightly different viewpoint, noting that not all forms of touch are well-intentioned, even if topographically, they look similar to other types of touch,” Mattson said.…  read on >  read on >

People with chronic pain who stay active may have one key advantage: Resilience. A new study from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. found that one’s ability to cope with pain, also known as pain resilience, plays a bigger role in maintaining physical activity than the amount of pain they experience. “What we found is that it’s not how much pain you’re in that determines whether you stay physically active — it’s how you think about and respond to that pain,” lead author Nils Niederstrasser, a lecturer in the university’s school of psychology, sport and health sciences, said in a news release. The findings were published Oct. 22 in the journal PLOS One. Researchers analyzed data from 172 adults with chronic pain to better understand what factors influence activity levels.  They looked at pain intensity, the number of painful areas, pain duration, frailty and fear of movement, and found that resilience was the only consistent predictor of higher activity levels. Even after accounting for how severe the pain was, those with higher resilience were more likely to keep moving. In contrast, fear of movement (known as kinesiophobia) did not significantly impact physical activity. The study suggests that building psychological resilience could be just as important as pain management for improving long-term health. “People with greater resilience can maintain a positive attitude and push through…  read on >  read on >

People with chronic pain who stay active may have one key advantage: Resilience. A new study from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. found that one’s ability to cope with pain, also known as pain resilience, plays a bigger role in maintaining physical activity than the amount of pain they experience. “What we found is that it’s not how much pain you’re in that determines whether you stay physically active — it’s how you think about and respond to that pain,” lead author Nils Niederstrasser, a lecturer in the university’s school of psychology, sport and health sciences, said in a news release. The findings were published Oct. 22 in the journal PLOS One. Researchers analyzed data from 172 adults with chronic pain to better understand what factors influence activity levels.  They looked at pain intensity, the number of painful areas, pain duration, frailty and fear of movement, and found that resilience was the only consistent predictor of higher activity levels. Even after accounting for how severe the pain was, those with higher resilience were more likely to keep moving. In contrast, fear of movement (known as kinesiophobia) did not significantly impact physical activity. The study suggests that building psychological resilience could be just as important as pain management for improving long-term health. “People with greater resilience can maintain a positive attitude and push through…  read on >  read on >