Mental Health
Find articles on stress, phobias and schizophrenia. This section offers information on a range of mental health issues.
What causes 'old person' smell?
Not So Funny: The Mysterious 1962 Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
Freudenfreude Is the Joyous Opposite of Schadenfreude
How Living in Total Darkness Sabotages Your Sleep
What Causes Nightmares, and How Can You Lessen Them?
What Is the Healthiest Position for Sleep?
Ultra-processed Foods Are Addictive by Same Criteria as Tobacco
When Does Belief in a Conspiracy Theory Like QAnon Tip Into Addiction?
HowStuffWorks: What is Jessie’s Law?
For 64 Percent of Kids with ADHD, Food is the Cause
Can food allergies cause ADHD?
ADHD Overview
Do You Have a Fear of Long Words?
Trypanophobia: When the Fear of Needles Has You Stuck
Thalassophobia: Do You Fear the Deep Ocean?
What is the autism diet?
Autism Causes
Autism Language Difficulties
3 Key Steps to Finding the Right Therapist for You
How Maladaptive Daydreaming Can Take Over Your Life
STUG: When Grief Hits Like a Bolt Out of the Blue
Lifelike Robo Pets Help Seniors Combat Loneliness
Insights on Alzheimer's From the Long-running Nun Study
Is there a link between concussions and dementia?
Youth Suicides Rose After FDA Added Antidepressant Warnings
Here's How You Help a Friend With Depression
'Gloomy Sunday:' The Song Linked to More Than 100 Suicides
Picky Eating in Adults Is a Diagnosable Disorder — Really
5 Signs of Weight Obsession
10 Facts About Eating Disorders
What's the Difference Between a Sociopath and a Psychopath?
Digital Hoarding Could Be Harmful to Your Mental Health
Which Jobs Have the Highest Suicide Rates?
Hear Sounds When Watching Silent Videos? It Might Be Synesthesia
When Wisecracks and Puns Are Symptoms of Brain Damage
How Stuttering Works
How Sigmund Freud Worked
Freud, Sigmund
Learn More / Page 5
If you felt slightly ill after watching "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 3-D, you weren't alone. Although motion sickness is very common, scientists don't really know why we get it.
And you probably don't even realize you're doing it.
By John Donovan
If you've ever met someone who obsessively kept track of every perceived wrong committed against them, then you've met one. The problem is when they turn violent.
By Julia Layton
Advertisement
Audio description is kind of like that friend who whispers key plot points to you during the movie when you miss them. It's pretty handy for blind film buffs.
By Julia Layton
If you're aware you're dreaming and you face certain death, does the real you die when the dream you does? It's a mind-bending question.
"Look on the bright side!" It's advice people have been doling out for ages, but could a positive outlook actually benefit your physical well-being?
Are you up with the birds or burning the midnight oil? Or somewhere in between? The reason why you love getting up early, or hate it, has a lot to do with genetics.
By Alia Hoyt
Advertisement
Are you a human barometer? Do changes in the weather cause you physical pain? Read this and find out if you can really feel the weather right down to your bones.
Girls have better taste than boys — as in the sense, that is. Find out why women's ability to distinguish between sweet and sour trumps mens'.
Many of us who occasionally sacrifice sleep in favor of other tasks suffer the physical and mental side effects the next day. But what would happen if you never slept again?
Imagine how much you could get done without the need for sleep. An extra six to eight hours every day seems like a dream come true. Has the future arrived? Are we ready to embark on a waking life? Read this to find out.
By Bambi Turner
Advertisement
It's no rinky-dink Mickey Mouse clock. The body clock is a strange and wonderful thing, calibrated to reflect a variety of biological rhythms that you may not have known are beating inside your body. And scientists are still not sure why it exists.
By Chris Opfer
Addiction manifests in many different ways. Substance abuse, compulsive gambling, shopping addiction -- but is it possible to become addicted to tattoos or piercings? Find out the psychology behind addiction and body modification.
By Debra Ronca
Could your ancestors be to blame for your overeating or excess spending? Unnecessary scapegoating is a lousy thing to do, but could there be some weight to this suggestion?
By Bambi Turner
Feel like sleep deprivation will be the death of you? It just might be, but perhaps you can curtail this devastating situation.
By Bambi Turner
Advertisement
There are many commonly held beliefs about fat that aren't entirely accurate. For example, muscle simply can't turn into fat.
Ugh, the morning after the night before! Should you drink some coffee, lots of water or more liquor? Or have some bacon and eggs? There are lots of "remedies" out there for hangovers, most of which are useless.
Depression is a difficult condition to diagnose — a questionnaire is the primary method used these days. There are some promising diagnostic tools on the horizon, including a blood test. How reliable is this new test?
Insomnia can feel like torture, but can it be fatal? The answer is yes, but it's an incredibly rare neurodegenerative disease, normally passed down genetically.
Advertisement
We may not know how to describe it very well, but we all recognize "old person" smell whenever it happens to grace our nostrils. But while the scent may be ubiquitous, its causes are a little less clear.
Social media is overflowing with cute content -- everything from babies to puppies to seriously adorable lunchboxes. Find out why cute things make you go "aww!"
The idea of food addiction is relatively new, but researchers say the struggle is real — especially when it comes to greasy, delicious fast food. So what's the science behind those cravings?
You know you're not yourself when you don't get enough sleep, but what really happens to your body when the sandman refuses to visit?
Advertisement
You're headed down in a packed elevator on your way to lunch. Suddenly, the elevator lurches to a stop. As the sweats starts beading on your upper lip, you wonder if it just got harder to breathe.
"I'm addicted to you baby. You're a hard habit to break." So wailed the lead singer of the group Chicago. But there are harder habits to break out there – like nail biting and procrastinating. Do you do any of the things on our list?