Two Minds Blog

Here’s my annual look back at the topics that captured my attention in 2023. Over the past year I taught several undergraduate mental health classes, which is not my usual gig, although it does fit with my clinical training. The Two Minds Blog took a turn away from health psychology as a result, and veered toward traditional mental health topics instead. I had posts on   mania   and   depression .  I wrote about   loneliness   as a risk for health problems, as well as   hopefulness   as a form of stress inoculation. I wrote about the “ common factors ” in psychotherapy, which help to improve people’s mental health by way of the intuitive mind (I was particularly happy with that one). I also shared findings from a recent study where my colleagues and I implemented a   burnout prevention   program for nursing students, and another new paper that looked at the incidence of mental and physical health problems among   back country search and rescue workers . Mental health has received more

The end of the year brings a wide range of feelings, as one cycle of events comes to an end and another begins. Many of our ordinary routines are disrupted at this time of year, which can be both positive and unsettling. It can be frightening to contemplate the future: A recent editorial in the New York Times  was titled " 2024, We Await You with Dread ." Lists of predictions for 2024 include topics like geopolitical instability, economic instability, environmental instability, and AI-fueled business instability. It seems there's a lot to worry about! On the other hand, this is a uniquely positive time of year for many people, bringing opportunities to get together with families, exchange gifts, participate in traditions, make contributions, and be part of something larger than ourselves. These relationship-cultivating practices have real health benefits in terms of reduced loneliness and greater social support , and over time they have been key to our survival as a spe

  Diet is an important component of health promotion, but in comparison to other health behaviors it is relatively resistant to change. In my primary research area of medication adherence , the overall estimate is that half of all patients stop taking any given long-term medication within the first year. Similarly, half to three-quarters of people who start a new exercise regimen will drop it within the first 3 months. Treatment adherence in opioid use disorder  (outside of clinical trials) is in the range of 10%-30%. But diet adherence is worse than all of these, with just 10% of patients maintaining a new diet for the first year. Only tobacco use, which is highly driven by physiological addiction, is a harder health behavior to change, and not by much . Why, then, is diet change such a heavy lift for many people? If you have gained weight during the holiday season, you already know part of the answer to this question: Eating is a uniquely social behavior, and people are strongly inf