Why was Darth Vader so evil? Blame his lack of parental care, say psychologists
Image: wikipediaWhy was Darth Vader such a bad dude? According to a team of psychologists led by Peter Jonason, it's down to his lack of parental care: the fact he was separated from his mother at age 9, and his father's absence. The researchers believe such circumstances can catalyse the emergence of the Dark Triad of personality traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism and Psychopathy. These traits are usually seen as negative, but Jonason and his colleagues believe they may be an adaptive response to tough early circumstances that signal to a child "life is bad".To test their theory, Jonason and his colleagues surveyed 153 ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - August 5, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Research Digest Source Type: blogs

Best of Our Blogs: March 14, 2014
Guilt. It’s the five-letter word taking over my every moment. Guilt over… the unmade bed. moments spent texting when in the company of loved ones. eating something unhealthy. not exercising. not spending enough quality time with my son. the unwashed dishes. the messy house. the project I could have spent just a little more time on. It’s a never ending shopping list of regrets, failings and shame worthy thoughts that weigh on a person every moment of every day. In Mindful Motherhood, author Cassandra Vieten says, “Having your contentment be based on so many ever-changing circumstances is a losing pro...
Source: World of Psychology - March 14, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Brandi-Ann Uyemura, M.A. Tags: Best of Our Blogs Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic personality disorder Manipulation and women mind Mindfulness & Psychotherapy Mindfulness at school Panic attack and anxiety Psychological Manipulation Psychology Of Women Rai Source Type: blogs

Doctors May Guess Your Diagnosis and Why They May Be Wrong
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - March 9, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Best of Our Blogs: February 28, 2014
Living the Unknown On my fridge, there is a magnet with the following quote: “I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer…” – Rainer Maria Rilke It’s there because I con...
Source: World of Psychology - February 28, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Brandi-Ann Uyemura, M.A. Tags: Best of Our Blogs Bipolar Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic personality disorder Laughter and loss Marital communication Mindfulness & Psychotherapy Partner Psychology Rainer Maria Self Harm Smartphone addiction s Source Type: blogs

Are You Really That Gullible? Take The Test Now!
Really?  REALLY?  Are you REALLY that gullible?  I spent hundreds of hours searching the internet trying to find the perfect link for people wondering whether that shocking story they read on Facebook or Twitter was really true.  You know those people.  They believe anything.  They are the ones who respond with emotional lability when everyone else understands the humor and satire.  Yes stranger, if you're reading this, I'm probably talking about you.  You probably landed here because of some link suggesting an incredible story that nobody believes is true, except you and your gullib...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - February 9, 2014 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs

Top 10 Psychology & Mental Health Topics of 2013
It’s time to wish 2013 goodbye. With its passing, we — like a lot of people — spend some time reflecting upon the year. We’re honored to have so many people check out our mental health and psychology resources and information on Psych Central — over 5 million people a month now. We’re also home to over 200 online support groups with over 315,000 members in two communities. The good news about 2014 is that every new year brings with it the possibility of a new start and changing those aspects about yourself that perhaps could use a little improvement. We’re here to help you with those...
Source: World of Psychology - December 30, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: Best of the Web General Mental Health and Wellness Psychology 2013 blog network Clinical Psychology Emotion Margarita Tartakovsky Mental Disorder Personality Psychology Psych Central Psychiatry Therese Borchard top 10 World o Source Type: blogs

Borderline Personality Disorder: Understanding The Basics
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental medical condition that is also commonly referred to as an emotionally unstable medical condition. In order for an individual to be diagnosed by a medical professional as someone who has BPD they must frequently show at least five of the nine symptoms of the condition. The Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder Being able to diagnose BPD is actually a very difficult task. Even the exceptionally trained mental health professional have a hard time officially diagnosing someone because of how dramatically different the signs and symptoms can be from one person to the next....
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - November 22, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Alcoholic Recovery Source Type: blogs

New Deep Brain Stimulation System Measures Neurotransmitter Release
In this study, the investigators will monitor extracellular neurotransmitter levels using a probe that is able to perform real time electrochemical detection during deep brain stimulation surgery. The overall question this study is designed to answer is: Are there neurotransmitters released during deep brain stimulation? Interestingly, the primary outcome measure is adenosine1 release recorded by WINCS, and the secondary outcome measure is dopamine release (pre-, during, and post-DBS, over a time frame of 30 min). Adenosine A2A antagonists may extend the duration of action of L-dopa, a primary treatment for PD. Preliminary...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs

Selecting The Right BPD Treatment Program In California
The BPD Treatment Program California provides a wealth of benefits to patients suffering from this condition. It enables them to seek a resolution without the harsh side effects of medication. The program offers a new approach to treatment that includes a total wellness of the mind and body. These methods include dietary education as well as nutritional practices that enable the patients to eat right and stay healthy. Here is what you should know about a BPD Help California Inpatient Program: Inpatient treatment for borderline personality disorder enables the patient to focus primarily on recovery. It eliminates ...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - November 20, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Addiction Recovery Tips Source Type: blogs

Living with & Loving Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. ~Mark Twain We are a psychologically sophisticated society. Emotional difficulties are now shared openly — not only by celebrities but by your average person. It’s not unusual for people to tell friends that they have an anxiety disorder, anger management problem, depression, panic attacks, phobias, eating disorder, substance abuse problem, OCD or ADD. Yet, there is a widespread psychological disorder that most people know little or nothing about. Why? Because its symptoms are largely interpersonal, ca...
Source: World of Psychology - November 15, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Linda Sapadin, Ph.D Tags: Borderline Personality Brain and Behavior Disorders Family Friends General Marriage and Divorce Psychology Psychotherapy Relationships Borderline Personality Disorder bpd emotionally labile emotionally unstable Treatment unst Source Type: blogs

A Tale of Two BRAINS: #BRAINI and DARPA's SUBNETS
Image credits. Left: SUBNETS program (DARPA). Right: BRAIN interim report presentation (NIH).In April, the White House announced the $100 million Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The goals of this bold new research effort are to "revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury." A series of high-profile journal articles traced the genesis of this initiative from the Brain Activity Map idea to develop nanotechnologies and "image ev...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs

Brandon Marshall Fined for Speaking in Support of Mental Health
The National Football League recently fined Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall $10,500 for a uniform violation. Marshall’s sin? He broke the league-sanctioned dress code for October — pink, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He did this by wearing green cleats in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week (which was Oct. 6-12 this year). It’s not a big deal unless you know that Marshall was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011 and thought mental health deserved as much recognition as cancer. He planned to match the fine and donate it to a mental health charity. The cleats were b...
Source: World of Psychology - October 19, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Candy Czernicki Tags: Borderline Personality Brain and Behavior Celebrities Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Policy and Advocacy Psychology Treatment Borderline Personality Disorder Brandon Marshall Chicago Bears Domestic Violence Mental D Source Type: blogs

Helping Your Child Reduce Self-Harming Behavior
Self-harm, or inflicting physical harm onto one’s body to ease emotional distress, is not uncommon in kids and teens. In fact, according to clinical psychologist Deborah Serani, PsyD, in her book Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, about 15 percent of kids and teens engage in self-harm. There are many forms of self-harm, including cutting, scratching, hitting and burning. Many kids and teens who self-harm also struggle with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, physical abuse or other serious concerns or psychological disorders. These kids “don’t know how to verbalize their feelings, and i...
Source: World of Psychology - October 16, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Anorexia Anxiety and Panic Bipolar Books Bulimia Children and Teens Depression Disorders Eating Disorders Family General Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Stress Borderline Personality Disorder Coping Deborah Serani De Source Type: blogs

Why it's apt - psycho-acoustically speaking - that Darth Vader wasn't called Barth Vaber
The relationship between the meaning of a word and the letter strings of which it is comprised is usually thought to be arbitrary. That is, the meaning of a word is dictated by convention and the emotional tone of the speaker. Strip these away and the sounds of the letter groupings themselves - known as phonemes - are generally considered meaningless. At least that's been a popular view for some time. But now a study has been published that challenges this account. Blake Myers-Schulz and his colleagues show that the shift in sound from some phonemes to others carries emotional meaning of its own, quite independent from wo...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - October 16, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

This Week in Mentalists: The 2012 Winners and Runners-up Edition
Hi everyone. It’s Amanda here from Beauty From Pain Blog. Sorry this is coming to you so late in the weekend. I was being my usual procrastinating self! Now I’m sure you’ve likely seen the announcement of the This Week in Mentalists Awards 2013. (If you haven’t, do please check them out, and get nominating.) In doing this week’s round-up, I thought ‘why not go back and check in with some of last year’s winners and runner-ups?’ Let’s see what they’ve been up to and how they’ve been lately. So here goes. Firstly, I’d like to say that I do look forwa...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - October 6, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Amanda Tags: Mental Health, The News & Policies. Source Type: blogs