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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/rare-post-orgasm-illness-causes-days-long-flu-like-symptoms-but-research-into-its-cause-remains-limited/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Rare post-orgasm illness causes days-long flu-like symptoms, but research into its cause remains limited</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jun 20th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A rare and poorly understood condition known as post-orgasmic illness syndrome, or POIS, causes a wide range of flu-like and allergic symptoms following ejaculation. These symptoms, which can include exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, and muscle weakness, often begin within minutes to hours after orgasm and can persist for several days. Although the condition has been largely observed in men, there is growing, albeit limited, evidence that it may also affect women. A new scientific review published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-025-10372-x" target="_blank">Sexuality & Culture</a></em> offers the most up-to-date summary of what is currently known about POIS, highlighting its symptoms, possible causes, and a wide range of treatment attempts—none of which has proven universally effective.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted the review because POIS remains an under-recognized condition with no established diagnostic criteria in medical manuals and no agreed-upon treatment approach. Since it was first described in 2002, only a handful of studies have attempted to systematically explore its causes and potential treatments. The review authors aimed to provide a clearer overview of the scientific literature to help both clinicians and patients better understand the condition and guide future research efforts.</p>
<p>To carry out the review, the authors searched the PubMed database for articles with references to POIS in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. This initial search produced 429 results, which were then narrowed down to English-language studies published between 2020 and 2025. After removing irrelevant or duplicate entries, the authors were left with 29 articles that met their inclusion criteria. These papers formed the basis for their review of the latest knowledge surrounding POIS.</p>
<p>The authors began by reviewing the symptoms and diagnostic criteria most commonly associated with POIS. Because the condition is not formally recognized by diagnostic systems like the International Classification of Diseases or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, researchers have had to rely on informal criteria. The most widely accepted standards were developed by Dutch psychiatrist Marcel Waldinger and his team, based on reports from 45 male patients. These criteria include flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, feverishness, and irritability; onset of symptoms shortly after ejaculation; recurrence in nearly every ejaculation; and a duration of symptoms typically lasting between two and seven days.</p>
<p>Later research has expanded upon these findings. In what remains the largest study of POIS to date, researcher Natale and colleagues in 2020 surveyed 302 men, 268 of whom met at least three of Waldinger’s diagnostic criteria. The most commonly reported symptoms were difficulty concentrating (reported by 84% of participants), extreme fatigue (83%), irritability (74%), and muscle weakness (70%). Many participants said they avoided sexual activity, masturbation, or even romantic relationships to prevent the debilitating symptoms.</p>
<p>While POIS has historically been viewed as a male-only condition, newer reports suggest it may also affect women. However, these cases are rare and under-documented, and more research is needed to understand how the condition manifests in female patients.</p>
<p>The cause of POIS remains a subject of intense debate. Early studies proposed that it might be an allergic or autoimmune reaction to a person’s own semen. Waldinger’s research supported this hypothesis through allergy skin tests, which showed positive results in a large majority of POIS patients. A few case studies even documented successful treatment through desensitization therapy using diluted samples of the patient’s semen.</p>
<p>Yet more recent studies have cast doubt on the allergic explanation. Some patients do not show typical allergy responses, and semen-specific antibodies are not always present. Other researchers have proposed alternative explanations, including the idea that POIS may stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain, a dysregulated immune or hormone response, or nervous system dysfunction. A particularly novel theory suggests that POIS results from minor nerve damage in the pelvic muscles responsible for ejaculation, similar to conditions that cause delayed muscle pain.</p>
<p>The varied and sometimes conflicting findings suggest that POIS may have multiple causes. Different patients may experience the condition due to different underlying mechanisms, making it difficult to define a one-size-fits-all explanation.</p>
<p>In addition to physical symptoms, POIS is frequently associated with mental health problems. Studies have reported high rates of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder in those affected. One study found that 87.5% of POIS patients had at least one of these conditions. Another found a lower, but still significant, rate of 45%. Many individuals also experience premature ejaculation, likely due to low sexual activity or anxiety about triggering symptoms.</p>
<p>Because the exact cause of POIS remains unknown, treatment has been inconsistent and largely experimental. Doctors have tried a wide range of medications and therapies, targeting the suspected underlying causes. In the 2020 Natale study, some of the more commonly used medications included antihistamines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (commonly used to treat depression), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Of these, niacin and anti-inflammatory drugs appeared to be most effective for the highest number of participants, but still only helped a portion of those who tried them.</p>
<p>Other approaches have included hormone therapy, especially in men with low testosterone levels, and psychological interventions like relaxation techniques. A few cases have reported positive outcomes from desensitization therapy or immunotherapy. In one recent and unusual case, a man underwent surgery to block semen from interacting with immune cells in his body and reportedly saw his symptoms disappear. Another case reported improvement after undergoing a microbiota transplant to alter gut bacteria, though it’s unclear whether this treatment played a direct role in his recovery.</p>
<p>Due to the limited number of documented cases and the diversity in symptom expression and treatment outcomes, no official guidelines exist for treating POIS. Most medical professionals are unfamiliar with the condition, and some patients report difficulty discussing their symptoms due to embarrassment or stigma around sexual health. The authors of the review stress the need for personalized approaches to treatment and encourage clinicians to work closely with patients to identify potential triggers and helpful interventions.</p>
<p>While earlier reviews on POIS exist, this new article includes a larger and more recent body of research. The authors recommend that POIS be considered for inclusion in formal disease classification systems like the ICD or DSM to promote awareness and improve clinical recognition. They also emphasize the importance of continuing to explore the condition in both men and women and testing treatment strategies in larger patient samples.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-025-10372-x" target="_blank">Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome: Insights from Recent Literature on a Rare but Fascinating Disorder</a>,” was authored by Krystian Wdowiak, Agnieszka Maciocha, and Julia Wąż.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/regular-cannabis-use-linked-to-changes-in-brain-activity-regulating-movement/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Regular cannabis use linked to changes in brain activity regulating movement</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jun 20th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new brain imaging study has found that people who regularly use cannabis show reduced spontaneous activity in a key motor control region of the brain. While their actual task performance did not differ significantly from non-users, the weakened brain activity was linked to more severe cannabis use disorder symptoms and faster reaction times during a cognitive task. The research was published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811241268876" target="_blank">Journal of Psychopharmacology</a>.</em></p>
<p>Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, is a psychoactive substance derived from the Cannabis plant. It is widely used both recreationally and medicinally and has become increasingly accessible due to changing laws around the world. Cannabis contains compounds like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that interact with the brain’s endocannabinoid system, producing a range of effects, including relaxation, altered perception, and changes in attention or motor coordination.</p>
<p>While some people experience therapeutic benefits from cannabis, regular use has been associated with cognitive and neurological changes. The researchers behind the current study wanted to understand how cannabis affects brain activity involved in motor control, an area that has been less studied than attention or memory.</p>
<p>Past studies have shown that frequent cannabis use can alter brain function during tasks that involve memory, attention, or decision-making. But there has been relatively little research into how cannabis might influence the brain systems that control voluntary movement. This gap is important because motor control relies on precise coordination of brain activity, and disruptions in these systems could have broader implications for functioning in daily life. The researchers designed a study to explore whether regular cannabis use changes patterns of brain activity in motor regions during a commonly used test of cognitive control, and whether these changes are linked to how often and how heavily people use cannabis.</p>
<p>The study involved 67 adults from the Omaha, Nebraska area. Thirty-four of the participants reported using cannabis at least twice a week for the past six months, while 33 reported no recent cannabis use. Both groups were matched on age, gender, and other demographic factors. All participants completed a structured interview about their substance use history and filled out standardized questionnaires, including one that assessed symptoms of cannabis use disorder. To measure brain activity, the researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive technique that detects magnetic fields produced by neural activity with high temporal precision.</p>
<p>During the MEG session, participants completed a version of the Eriksen flanker task, which involves identifying the direction of a central arrow while ignoring surrounding “flanker” arrows that can either match or conflict with the target. This task is widely used to measure attention and cognitive control, but it also requires participants to make rapid motor responses using their hands, allowing researchers to assess activity in motor-related brain areas. The researchers focused on oscillatory activity in the beta and gamma frequency bands—patterns of brain waves known to play roles in motor planning and execution.</p>
<p>The researchers found that all participants, regardless of cannabis use, showed typical patterns of motor-related brain activity. Specifically, there was a drop in beta activity (known as beta desynchronization) and a burst of gamma activity (gamma synchronization) around the time participants responded with a hand movement. These responses were strongest in the left primary motor cortex, a brain region that controls movement on the right side of the body. Importantly, the task successfully activated the expected motor networks in both cannabis users and non-users, indicating that the basic functioning of these systems remained intact.</p>
<p>However, when the researchers looked at spontaneous brain activity—measured during the rest period just before each task trial—they found a significant difference between groups. Cannabis users showed markedly lower gamma activity in the left primary motor cortex compared to non-users. This difference in spontaneous activity was not seen in the beta band, suggesting the effect was specific to gamma oscillations. The more severe a participant’s cannabis use disorder symptoms were, the lower their spontaneous gamma activity in this brain region.</p>
<p>The study also found that spontaneous gamma activity was related to task performance. Across all participants, those with lower spontaneous gamma power tended to respond more quickly during the flanker task. This relationship was especially pronounced among cannabis users. Further analysis suggested that spontaneous gamma activity may partly explain the link between cannabis use disorder symptoms and reaction time, pointing to a potential pathway by which changes in brain function could be tied to behavioral differences.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while spontaneous brain activity differed between groups, there were no significant differences in how the two groups performed on the flanker task overall. Both groups showed slower responses during trials with conflicting arrows, a common pattern known as the flanker effect. They also had similar levels of accuracy. This suggests that the changes in brain activity among cannabis users did not lead to detectable differences in how well they performed the task. The authors suggest that participants who regularly use cannabis may be compensating for underlying changes in brain activity to maintain normal performance.</p>
<p>The findings highlight the complex relationship between regular cannabis use, brain function, and behavior. The observed reduction in spontaneous gamma activity in the motor cortex aligns with previous studies showing similar decreases in other brain regions among cannabis users, including areas involved in sensory processing. The gamma frequency range is thought to support coordinated activity across brain circuits, and its suppression could reflect broader changes in neural communication. </p>
<p>One possibility is that cannabis disrupts the functioning of inhibitory brain cells that help generate gamma rhythms. These cells rely on the neurotransmitter GABA, and some evidence suggests that THC may interfere with GABAergic signaling.</p>
<p>The researchers note several limitations to their study. While participants were asked not to use cannabis on the day of testing, the exact timing of their last use was not measured. Differences in cannabis potency, method of consumption, and duration of use could also influence brain activity, but these factors were not fully controlled. In addition, the study used a relatively simple cognitive task, which may not have been challenging enough to reveal subtle differences in performance. Future research using more demanding tasks, larger samples, and direct measures of brain chemistry could help clarify the observed effects and their underlying causes.</p>
<p>Even with these limitations, the study adds to growing evidence that regular cannabis use is linked to changes in brain function. While these changes did not impair performance in this study, the suppression of spontaneous gamma activity could reflect a broader pattern of neural alterations associated with heavy cannabis use. </p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811241268876" target="_blank">Regular cannabis use modulates gamma activity in brain regions serving motor control</a>,” was authored by Lauren K. Webert, Mikki Schantell, Jason A. John, Anna T. Coutant, Hannah J Okelberry, Lucy K. Horne, Megan E. Sandal, Amirsalar Mansouri, and Tony W. Wilson.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/do-ai-tools-undermine-our-sense-of-creativity-new-study-says-yes/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Do AI tools undermine our sense of creativity? New study says yes</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jun 19th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study has found that people tend to feel less creative when using artificial intelligence tools, even if they consider themselves generally creative. Published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70011" target="_blank">The Journal of Creative Behavior</a></em>, the research highlights how beliefs about personal creativity shift in AI-assisted contexts, and how these beliefs relate to creative activity and achievement.</p>
<p>As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly common, understanding their effects on how people see themselves is becoming more urgent. One area of concern is creativity. Some have predicted that AI will revolutionize creative work, while others worry it could make human creativity feel irrelevant. Despite this debate, little research has examined how people’s beliefs about their own creativity change when they’re using AI. This study was designed to explore that question and uncover how these self-perceptions relate to actual creative behavior and success.</p>
<p>“Let’s start with a brief premise: in order to achieve a creative result, such as writing a song, designing a logo, or even developing a new drug, it’s necessary to engage in creative activities,” said study authors Angela Faiella of the University of Bologna and Aleksandra Zielińska of the University of Wrocław.</p>
<p>“To begin these activities, we need a creative drive, i.e. creative self-belief: the motivation and confidence in our own abilities as creatives in that specific field. In other words, we act creatively if we feel motivated and capable of doing so. With artificial intelligence (especially generative AI), we asked ourselves: what happens to our creative self when we use AI tools to create? Do we still feel like creatives? Or do we feel replaced? In practice, we wanted to understand how our perception of our creative self changes when AI comes into play, compared to when we don’t use it.”</p>
<p>To address these questions, the researchers recruited 273 adults from the online platform Prolific in December 2023. All participants were native English speakers who had previously used AI tools. They completed an online survey that asked them about their creative self-beliefs, both in general and specifically when using AI. The survey also asked about their engagement in creative activities — like writing, visual art, or music — both with and without AI tools, and about any creative accomplishments they had achieved. Participants also answered questions about their personality traits and how much they trusted AI.</p>
<p>To measure creative self-beliefs, the researchers used a well-established questionnaire that includes two main parts: creative confidence (how much people believe in their ability to be creative) and creative centrality (how important creativity is to their identity). For the AI-specific version, participants answered similar questions, but focused on how they felt about their creativity while using AI tools.</p>
<p>The results showed a significant gap between general and AI-specific creative self-beliefs. On average, participants rated themselves as more creative in general than when working with AI. This was a fairly large difference. While general and AI-specific self-beliefs were positively correlated, they only overlapped to a limited degree — suggesting they are related but distinct aspects of how people see themselves. People with low general creative self-beliefs were unlikely to feel creative with AI. But having high general creative self-beliefs did not guarantee feeling creative when using AI tools.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined how trust in AI influenced this relationship. People who had more trust in AI tools were more likely to feel creatively confident when using them, even after accounting for their general creative self-beliefs. However, trust didn’t completely close the gap between general and AI-specific beliefs. Even those who were confident and trusting still tended to feel less creative in AI settings.</p>
<p>One key question the study explored was whether AI-specific creative self-beliefs play a meaningful role in people’s real-world creativity. The researchers found that people who felt creative while using AI were more likely to engage in creative activities with AI. In turn, this creative engagement was linked to greater creative achievement. However, AI-specific self-beliefs were not directly related to achievement — only indirectly through activity. Strikingly, when the researchers controlled for other factors like general self-beliefs and personality, the direct link between AI-specific self-beliefs and creative achievement was actually negative.</p>
<p>This unexpected result suggests that people who strongly believe in their AI-specific creative abilities — independent of how creative they feel in general — might be relying too heavily on AI tools. The researchers speculate that this could reflect a kind of over-attachment to AI, where people begin to attribute creative success to the tools rather than their own efforts. In contrast, general creative self-beliefs were both directly and indirectly associated with creative achievement, whether or not AI was involved.</p>
<p>The findings also highlight how personality traits influence creative self-beliefs. General creative self-beliefs were most strongly associated with openness to experience — a trait linked to curiosity, imagination, and a willingness to explore new ideas. AI-specific creative self-beliefs, however, were more strongly tied to traits like extraversion and agreeableness, which are typically associated with social interaction. The researchers suggest this may be because people often interact with AI tools in ways that mimic conversations or collaboration, even if the AI isn’t a real social partner.</p>
<p>Another important finding was that people’s experience using AI in creative tasks mattered. Those who had more practice working with AI tools in creative contexts reported higher AI-specific self-beliefs. This suggests that self-perceptions can shift over time as people become more familiar with AI and gain confidence in using it to support their work.</p>
<p>“Our study showed that people feel less creative when using artificial intelligence for creative tasks compared to when they don’t use it,” Faiella and Zielińska told PsyPost. “AI can certainly help speed up the process and achieve creative results, but it doesn’t automatically make us feel more creative.” </p>
<p>“And this is a crucial point, because feeling creative means having confidence in our own ideas and feeling motivated to realize them, an essential drive to start and carry out creative activities. We believe AI shouldn’t be seen as a shortcut or a simple ‘response generator,’ but as a tool that can enrich and support our creativity without replacing us. If used mindfully, it can stimulate new questions and provide valuable input for finding original solutions.”</p>
<p>The study has some important limitations. Because the data were collected at a single point in time, the researchers cannot say for sure whether self-beliefs lead to creative activity or vice versa. It’s also unclear how lasting these effects are, or whether people’s attitudes change as they gain more experience with AI. </p>
<p>“The data were collected in 2023, at an early stage of widespread AI adoption: many people were still becoming familiar with these tools, and this may have influenced the scope and nature of the creative experiences analyzed,” the researchers noted.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the findings suggest that the way people feel about their own creativity in AI settings has real consequences. If people feel less creative when using AI — even if the output is impressive — they may become less motivated to engage in creative tasks, or may fail to recognize their own contributions. This could have broader implications for education, design, the arts, and other fields where creativity is valued.</p>
<p>“In the long term, we want to apply these findings in educational contexts, for example in university courses (which we are already doing), to promote mindful AI use,” Faiella and Zielińska said. “AI can be dangerous if not used in a proper way. However, we don’t think telling designers or creatives not to use AI is the solution. Rather, we want to show how to use it without diminishing individual creative confidence, encouraging co-creativity between humans and AI.”</p>
<p>“We hope our work sparks discussion about human–AI interaction. We believe that mindful use of AI in creative processes is essential. AI can be used in many ways, some more reflective than others, that can either help or hinder us. It can dampen our motivation to engage in creative tasks or profoundly transform how we approach them. Understanding these dynamics is essential to prevent AI from reducing our creative self-beliefs.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70011" target="_blank">Am I Still Creative? The Effect of Artificial Intelligence on Creative Self-Beliefs</a>,” was authored by Angela Faiella, Aleksandra Zielińska, Maciej Karwowski, and Giovanni Emanuele Corazza.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/simple-social-rituals-like-eye-contact-and-small-talk-are-psychologically-powerful/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Simple social rituals like eye contact and small talk are psychologically powerful</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jun 19th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>How much do you engage with others when you’re out in public? Lots of people don’t actually engage with others much at all. Think of commuters on public transportation staring down at their phones with earbuds firmly in place.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://lindatropp.com/">professor of social psychology</a>, I see similar trends on my university campus, where students often put on their headphones and start checking their phones before leaving the lecture hall on the way to their next class.</p>
<p>Curating daily experiences in these ways may appeal to your personal interests, but it also limits opportunities for social connection. Humans are <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Social+Beings%3A+Core+Motives+in+Social+Psychology%2C+4th+Edition-p-9781119492108">social beings</a>: We desire to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">feel connected</a> to others, and even connecting with strangers can potentially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037323">boost our mood</a>.</p>
<p>Though recent technological advances afford <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sherry-turkle/alone-together/9780465093656/">greater means for connection</a> than at any other moment in human history, many people still <a href="https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america-2024">feel isolated and disconnected</a>. Indeed, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000103">loneliness</a> in the American population has <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf">reached epidemic levels</a>, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/americans-trust-in-one-another/">Americans’ trust in each other</a> has reached a historic low.</p>
<p>At the same time, our attention is increasingly being <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/719661/the-sirens-call-by-chris-hayes/">pulled in varied directions</a> within a highly saturated information environment, now commonly known as the “<a href="https://www.humanetech.com/youth/the-attention-economy">attention economy</a>.”</p>
<p>It is perhaps not surprising, then, that so many Americans are experiencing a crisis of social connection. Research in social psychology helps to explain how the small behaviors and choices we make as individuals affect our experiences with others in public settings.</p>
<h2>Where you focus your attention</h2>
<p>One factor shaping people’s experiences in public settings concerns where they focus their attention. Since there is more information out in the world than anyone could ever realistically take in, people are driven to <a href="https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529681451">conserve their limited mental resources</a> for those things that seem most crucial to navigating the world successfully. What this means is that every person’s attention is finite and selective: By attending to certain bits of information, you necessarily <a href="https://doi.org/10.1068/p281059">tune out others</a>, whether you’re aware of doing so or not.</p>
<p>More often than not, the information you deem worthy of attention also tends to be self-relevant. That is, people are more likely to engage with information that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-020-02070-7">piques their interest</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.12.006">relates to them</a> in some way, whereas they tend to ignore information that seems unrelated or irrelevant to their existence.</p>
<p>These ingrained tendencies might make logical sense from an <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.856207">evolutionary perspective</a>, but when applied to everyday social interaction, they suggest that people will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001073">limit their attention to and regard for other people</a> unless they see others as somehow connected to them or relevant to their lives.</p>
<p>One unfortunate consequence is that a person may end up treating interactions with other people as transactions, with a primary focus on getting one’s own needs met, or one’s own questions answered. A very different approach would involve seeing interactions with others as opportunities for social connection; being willing to expend some additional mental energy to listen to others’ experiences and exchange views on topics of shared interest can serve as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.017">foundation for building social relationships</a>.</p>
<h2>How others interpret your actions</h2>
<p>Also, by focusing so much attention on their own individual interests, people may inadvertently signal disinterest to others in their social environments.</p>
<p>As an example, imagine how it would feel to be on the receiving end of those daily commuting rituals. You find yourself surrounded by people whose ears are closed off, whose eyes are down and whose attention is elsewhere – and you might start to feel like no one really cares whether you exist or not.</p>
<p>As social creatures, it’s natural for human beings to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/us-and-them/202310/to-be-heard-and-seen">want to be seen</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000143">acknowledged</a> by other people. Small gestures such as eye contact or a smile, even from a stranger, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41417013">can foster feelings of connection</a> by signaling that our existence matters. Instead, when these signals are absent, a person may come to feel like they don’t matter, or that they’re not worthy of others’ attention.</p>
<h2>How to foster connection in public spaces</h2>
<p>For all these reasons, it may prove valuable to reflect on how you use your limited mental resources, as a way to be more mindful and purposeful about what and who garner your attention. As I encourage my students to do, people can choose to engage in what I refer to as psychological generosity: You can intentionally redirect some of your attention toward the other people around you and expend mental resources beyond what is absolutely necessary to navigate the social world.</p>
<p>Engaging in psychological generosity doesn’t need to be a heavy lift, nor does it call for any grand gestures. But it will probably take a little more effort beyond the bare minimum it typically takes to get by. In other words, it will likely involve moving from being merely transactional with other people to becoming more relational while navigating interactions with them.</p>
<p>A few simple examples of psychological generosity might include actions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Tuning in by turning off devices</strong>. Rather than default to focusing attention on your phone, try turning off its volume or setting it to airplane mode. See if you notice any changes in how you engage with other people in your immediate environment.</li>
<li><strong>Making eye contact and small talk</strong>. As historian Timothy Snyder writes, eye contact and small talk are “not just polite” but constitute “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558051/on-tyranny-by-timothy-snyder/">part of being a responsible member of society</a>.”</li>
<li><strong>Smiling and greeting someone you don’t know</strong>. Take the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” to the realm of social relations, by showing your willingness to welcome other people rather than displaying disinterest and avoidance. Such simple acts may help to <a href="https://www.projectoverzero.org/media-and-publications/belongingbarometer">foster feelings of belonging</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/08/23/1193148718/why-a-strangers-hello-can-do-more-than-just-brighten-your-day">build a sense of community</a> with others.</li>
</ul>
<p>Among the most cynical, examples like these may initially be written off as reflecting pleas to practice the <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781613322291/random-kindness-and-senseless-acts-of-beauty-30th-anniversary-edition/">random acts of kindness</a> often trumpeted on bumper stickers. Yet acts like these are far from random – they require intention and redirection of your attention toward action, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/543993/atomic-habits-by-james-clear/">like any new habit</a> you may wish to cultivate.</p>
<p>Others might wonder whether potential benefits to society are worth the individual cost, given that <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374159122/fourthousandweeks/">attention and effort are limited resources</a>. But, ultimately, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00065-4">well-being as individuals</a> and the <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/strong_social_networks_are_key_to_turning_around_communities">health of our communities</a> grow from social connection.</p>
<p>Practicing acts of psychological generosity, then, can provide you with opportunities to benefit from social connection, at the same time as these acts can pay dividends to other people and to the social fabric of your community.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/252477/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-eye-contact-and-small-talk-with-strangers-is-more-than-just-being-polite-the-social-benefits-of-psychological-generosity-252477">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-research-links-heatwaves-to-depression-and-anxiety-in-adolescents-with-some-at-higher-risk/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New research links heatwaves to depression and anxiety in adolescents, with some at higher risk</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jun 19th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A large-scale study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119499" target="_blank">Journal of Affective Disorders</a></em> has found that adolescents who experienced more intense heatwaves were more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety. The associations were strongest in students living in rural areas and among boys, suggesting that heat exposure may not affect all adolescents equally.</p>
<p>The findings come amid growing concerns about the mental health effects of climate change. While past research has shown that extreme heat can impact physical health, this study adds to a smaller but emerging body of evidence linking heatwaves to psychological distress, particularly in young people.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted the study to better understand how environmental stressors like extreme heat might influence mental well-being in adolescents, a group going through major physical, social, and emotional changes. Depression and anxiety are already leading causes of disability among adolescents worldwide, and both are expected to worsen with rising global temperatures. Yet, much of the existing research has focused on adults, leaving a gap in knowledge about how young people are affected.</p>
<p>“As a Chinese scholar, I have observed the increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves in China over the past decade,” said study author Yizhen Yu, a professor at the Tongji Medical College at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.</p>
<p>“As I focus on adolescent public health, I became concerned about how climate change—and specifically, extreme heat—might affect young people’s mental health, a topic that has received little attention compared to physical health impacts. While the physical consequences of heatwaves are well-documented, their psychological effects on adolescents remain understudied. Given adolescents’ unique developmental vulnerabilities and the growing threat of extreme heat events due to climate change, our study aimed to help bridge this important knowledge gap.” </p>
<p>The researchers analyzed data from nearly 20,000 adolescents in China, drawn from a national school-based health survey conducted in 2021. The students, aged 10 to 18, were recruited through a multi-stage sampling process designed to capture variation across geographic regions, school types, and urban-rural settings. After removing incomplete or inconsistent responses, the final sample included 19,852 participants, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls.</p>
<p>To measure depression and anxiety, the researchers used two widely accepted screening tools: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale. Students who scored 10 or higher on either scale were considered at risk for depression or anxiety, respectively. Roughly 19% of participants met the criteria for depression, and 16% met the criteria for anxiety.</p>
<p>Heat exposure was assessed using three different definitions of heatwaves. The primary measure was the Excess Heat Factor, which considers both short-term temperature spikes and longer-term trends, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of heatwave intensity and acclimatization. Two additional definitions focused on the frequency of days with high maximum or minimum temperatures, relative to historical averages.</p>
<p>Daily air temperature data for each school’s location were pulled from the ERA5-Land dataset, which offers high-resolution temperature estimates. By geocoding school locations and averaging the heatwave magnitudes over the previous 12 months, the researchers were able to estimate each student’s exposure to heatwaves in their local environment.</p>
<p>The researchers used logistic regression models to examine the relationship between heatwave exposure and mental health outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders such as sex, grade level, region, socioeconomic background, physical activity, and environmental conditions like precipitation.</p>
<p>They found that greater exposure to heatwaves, as measured by the Excess Heat Factor, was significantly associated with higher odds of depression, anxiety, and the co-occurrence of both conditions. For each unit increase in heatwave magnitude, the odds of depression increased by 13%, and the odds of anxiety increased by 12%. The same metric was also linked to comorbid depression and anxiety, as well as to cases where depression or anxiety occurred alone.</p>
<p>“Our findings suggest that exposure to heatwaves is associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents,” Yu told PsyPost. “This highlights the importance of recognizing mental health as an integral part of climate resilience, and the need for schools, families, and policymakers to pay special attention to the psychological well-being of youth during extreme weather events.”</p>
<p>When the researchers used alternative definitions of heatwaves—based solely on unusually high daytime or nighttime temperatures—the results were less consistent. These definitions were not as strongly linked to mental health symptoms, especially after adjusting for other variables. This suggests that measures like the Excess Heat Factor, which account for cumulative stress and short-term acclimatization, may be more effective in capturing the psychological toll of extreme heat.</p>
<p>“We found it striking how the association between heatwaves and adolescent mental health varied depending on how heatwaves were defined, highlighting the importance of measurement choice in climate-health studies,” Yu said. “Notably, our findings indicated that male students and those living in rural areas were particularly vulnerable to heat-related mental health risks.” </p>
<p>“These insights have valuable implications for targeted interventions—for instance, improving access to cooling facilities in rural schools, encouraging adaptations for outdoor activities among males, and designing more breathable summer uniforms. Such measures could help protect the most susceptible groups during extreme heat events.”</p>
<p>The study also explored whether certain subgroups were more affected than others. While the associations held across most demographic categories, they were especially pronounced in rural areas. Among students in rural schools, heatwaves were consistently associated with depression, anxiety, and their co-occurrence. In contrast, no significant associations were found for students in urban schools.</p>
<p>Male students also appeared to be more vulnerable to the mental health effects of heat exposure, particularly for anxiety. Among boys, greater exposure to heatwaves was linked to a 22% increase in the odds of experiencing anxiety, while the increase was smaller and not statistically significant among girls. This finding runs counter to the general trend in mental health research, where girls are often found to be more likely to report internalizing symptoms like anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>In sensitivity analyses, where depression and anxiety were analyzed as continuous scores rather than binary outcomes, the results remained consistent. Higher heatwave exposure was linked to higher depression and anxiety scores overall. These results add further support to the observed associations.</p>
<p>As with all research, the study has limitations. Because the data were collected at a single point in time, the researchers could not determine whether heatwave exposure caused the observed mental health symptoms or whether other unmeasured factors were involved. </p>
<p>“As a cross-sectional study, we cannot infer causality, and longitudinal research is needed to confirm these associations,” Yu noted. “Additionally, mental health symptoms were self-reported, which may introduce reporting bias. We were also unable to account for individual adaptive behaviors (such as air conditioning use), which may modulate the effects of heatwaves.”</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study offers strong evidence that heatwaves are associated with mental health symptoms in adolescents and that this relationship may vary depending on sex and location. It highlights the need for mental health and education systems to account for the psychological impacts of climate change.</p>
<p>“My long-term goal is to systematically explore how various climatic factors—not just heatwaves, but also cold spells, precipitation patterns, and other climate extremes—affect the mental health and behavioral development of adolescents in China and beyond,” Yu explained. “I am particularly interested in identifying both risk and protective factors, as well as developing and evaluating interventions that can help young people better adapt to the psychological and behavioral challenges posed by climate change. Ultimately, I hope my research can inform public health policies and contribute to the development of school-based programs that support adolescents’ well-being in the face of diverse climate-related risks.”</p>
<p>“Climate change is a growing threat to mental health, particularly for vulnerable populations like adolescents,” Yu added. “It’s crucial not only to raise awareness of these issues but also to empower young people with coping strategies and advocate for their inclusion in climate policy discussions. Policymakers should integrate heat resilience into public health strategies—for example, by revising school safety protocols during heatwaves. Ultimately, meaningful collaboration across health, education, and environmental sectors is essential to protect and promote youth mental health in the face of climate challenges.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119499" target="_blank">Associations of exposure to heatwaves with depression and anxiety among adolescents: A cross-sectional study of the Chinese adolescent health survey</a>,” was authored by Jie Hu, Wei Hu, Zixuan Xu, Chang Peng, Junhan Cheng, Fajuan Rong, Yan Wang, Nan Zhang, Meiqi Guan, and Yizhen Yu.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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