We eat of course because we’re hungry. But what makes us feel hungry? Our physiological state, body chemistry and hypothalamic activity are the drivers behind our eagerness to eat. Yet there is more to hunger than just the need to eat. A Tale of Two Amnesiacs Researchers tested two patientsContinue Reading
Eating Disorders have become such an alarming psychological problem that left untreated may actually become worse over time, leading to suicidal thoughts or suicidal behavior. Anorexia Nervosa This disorder almost always begins as a weight-loss diet. People with Anorexia Nervosa are significantly below normal weight. Typically by 15 percent orContinue Reading
Our body automatically regulates our caloric intake to prevent energy deficits and to maintain a stable body weight. Does our body somehow keep tabs on its available resources? The answer is yes. To a point. Who Controls Hunger? One such resource is blood glucose. Small increases in the hormone calledContinue Reading
How we feel about ourselves is very important. And its importance in psychology dates back over 125 years. The father of psychology William James (1842-1910), devoted more than 100 pages to the toipic of self in his book “Principles of Psychology” (1890). Today, the self is one of western psychology’sContinue Reading
Alexithymia, from the Greek meaning “lacking,” is the term for an individual who lacks having or even identifying emotions. While Alexithymia is not a mental disorder it may be the result of masking or co-occurring with other underlying mental health conditions such as depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Continue Reading
Dieting is almost always followed by rapid weight gains. If you really want to lose weight, you must overhaul your eating habits. This approach is called behavior dieting. Here are some very helpful behavior dieting techniques: 1. Become committed to weight loss. Involve your friends and family members in yourContinue Reading
Many people eat mindlessly, without thinking about what they’re doing. When eating becomes automatic you barely even taste the food, or know how much you’re consuming. As a result, people eat too much of all the wrong foods. If you are stressed or depressed it gets worse, leading to aContinue Reading
If you discover nothing else from Self-Psych.com at least consider these two morsels: Sometimes tragedy strikes us. Call it bad luck or fate. You can feel helpless, lose all hope, you can slide into a life of deep depression, unable to carry on. You can even suffer nightmares, sudden flashbacksContinue Reading
Many reports indicate that today’s lifestyle trends greatly contribute to rapidly increasing worldwide depression levels. However, many doctors believe that improper diet such as skipping meals, obesity, habitually eating fatty snacks and fast food or foods containing additives, harmful artificial ingredients, hormones, high fructose corn syrups and simple carbohydrates isContinue Reading
Self-blaming is simply finding fault with yourself. To hold yourself responsible for your actions when bad things happen to you. Ordinarily this would be an admirable quality. Knowing that you did something wrong is a useful lesson learned, so as not to repeat the same mistake. Guilt and self-blaming keepsContinue Reading