Emergency alerts and news notifications can make us stressed and anxious — here’s what you can do to cope

  When there’s a disaster, it’s helpful to know what’s going on — and know whether you’re truly at risk. But as essential as emergency alert systems are, they can leave many of us feeling anxious — even when the alert may be a false alarm or test.

  This is because emergency alerts, whether real or tests, can activate the same neural circuits involved in real danger. This can trigger stress, confusion, and anxiety.

What is resilience? A psychologist explains the main ingredients that help people manage stress

  The word resilience can be perplexing. Does it mean remaining calm when faced with stress? Bouncing back quickly? Growing from adversity? Is resilience an attitude, a character trait, or a skill set? And can misperceptions about resilience hurt people, rather than help?

Unwanted weight gain or weight loss during the pandemic? Blame your stress hormones

  If you have experienced unwanted weight gain or weight loss during the pandemic, you are not alone. According to a poll by the American Psychological Association, 61% of U.S. adults reported undesired weight change since the pandemic began.

  The results, released in March 2021, showed that during the pandemic, 42% of respondents gained unwanted weight – 29 pounds on average – and nearly 10% of those people gained more than 50 pounds. On the flip side, nearly 18% of Americans said they experienced unwanted weight loss – on average, a loss of 26 pounds.

How to outsmart your COVID-19 fears and boost your mood in 2021

  After a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health, and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward.

  Brain science has led to some drug-free techniques that you can put to use right now.

Eight foods to fight stress

  Under stress - whether it is work, study, or a relationship - dietary habits change substantially. Some people lose their hunger when under stress while others tend to overeat - most often fatty, sugary, and junk foods. Always blaming stress for making poor food choices is not the right approach. In fact, making the right food choices will help stabilize blood sugar levels and your emotional response. Good nutrition helps in balancing your stress hormones, relieving stress, and boosting your mood.

The Matrix is already here: Social media promised to connect us, but left us isolated, scared and tribal

  About a year ago, I began to follow my interest in health and fitness on Instagram. Soon I began to see more and more fitness-related accounts, groups, posts, and ads. I kept clicking and following, and eventually, my Instagram became all about fit people, fitness and motivational material, and advertisements. Does this sound familiar?

  While the algorithms and my brain kept me scrolling on the endless feeds, I was reminded of what digital marketers like to say: “Money is in the list.” That is, the more customized your group, people, and page follows, the less time and money is needed to sell you related ideas. Instead, brand ambassadors will do the work, spreading products, ideas, and ideologies with passion and free of charge.

As reopening begins in uncertain coronavirus times, you need emotional protective equipment, too

  As millions across the U.S. return to work – and maybe, a level of normalcy – the phrase, “We’re all in this together,” heard constantly in the media, turns out to be both true and untrue. Yes, the pandemic is a global experience. But it’s also very much an individual enterprise.

  Your race, age, socioeconomic status, where you live, and whether or not children are in the house all have a dramatic impact on how you’re responding to the pandemic. For many, aside from the isolation, life has changed little. But others have lost family, friends, a paycheck, or a business. For some of them, any sense of security has vanished.

How to listen to your loved ones with empathy when you yourself are feeling the strain of social distancing

  COVID-19 has revealed a great many things about our world, including the vulnerabilities inherent in our economic, health care, and educational institutions. The pandemic and the resulting orders to shelter in place have also uncovered vulnerabilities in our relationships with others.

  Many of us are not just dealing with our own feelings of anxiety, anger, and sadness; we are dealing with the anxiety, anger, and sadness expressed by the people with whom we live and other loved ones with whom we’ve maintained virtual connections. How do we respond with empathy when we are feeling a host of emotions ourselves? Is it even possible?

Feeling overwhelmed? Approach coronavirus as a challenge to be met, not a threat to be feared

  You have a choice to make when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.

  Do you treat this time as an insurmountable threat that pits you against everyone else? This option entails making decisions based solely on protecting yourself and your loved ones: stockpiling supplies regardless of what that leaves for others; continuing to host small gatherings because you’re personally at lower risk; or taking no precautions because the effort seems futile.

Why we are hard-wired to worry, and what we can do to calm down

  A new year brings both hopes and anxieties. We want things to be better for ourselves and the people we love but worry that they won’t be, and we imagine some of the things that might stand in the way. More broadly, we might worry about who’s going to win the election or even if our world will survive.

  As it turns out, humans are wired to worry. Our brains are continually imagining futures that will meet our needs and things that could stand in the way of them. And sometimes any of those needs may be in conflict with each other.