Indholdsfortegnelse for Psychology & You i Psychology & You

The human brain is probably the most complicated thing in the universe. What doesn’t make it easier is that it changes as you grow, and the person you are changes along with it! The brain is made almost entirely of neurones which transmit electrical messages from one part to another. By doing this, everything you see, feel, taste, touch, think, want or smell is known to your conscious mind. The number of connections in your brain are into the hundreds of trillions, and every person’s brain is wired differently! It is the best demonstration that an individual is truly unique. "EVERY PERSON’S BRAIN IS WIRED DIFFERENTLY" TEMPORAL LOBE Long-term memory storage The temporal lobe contains the hippocampus, and is responsible for holding your memories. It is also important in spatial…

Depression and anxiety are misunderstood by many. These conditions are not simply low moods or feeling worried, but can leave sufferers crippled by an onslaught of psychological, physical and social symptoms. According to an NHS survey (2014), around 3.3% of people in the UK aged 16 and above experienced feelings of depression in the past week. That’s almost 2.2 million people – or more than the populations of Birmingham, Liverpool and Leicester combined. This number rises to around 20% of those aged 65 and upwards. Depression causes loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy and poor concentration. NHS guidelines suggest that those who experience these symptoms most of the day, every day, for two weeks or more need to see…

Childhood is a truly universal experience. It’s where we learn everything we’ll need in order to become successful adults. At the end of our teenage years, we consider ourselves fully grown, too old for toys and picture books, no longer needing parental care or instruction. But often, childhood is not as far behind us as we think it is. If we look within ourselves, we often find remnants of who we were as children – a part of us known as the inner child. Popular and analytical psychology consider it as a childlike aspect of our unconscious minds. The inner child can be hugely important in helping us understand how and why our early experiences shape our personal view of the world. Taking the time to give our inner child…

Imagine grief as a river. It travels through dark canyons, trips over rapids and sometimes meanders gently through wide plains before ebbing with the tide at its estuary. The river’s journey is not predictable, it doubles back on itself and continually finds new landscapes to explore. Everyone’s journey through loss and grief is different. Our relationship with each of those we have lost is different; sometimes there are unresolved issues or things forever left unsaid, other loss can be unexpected, leaving us completely stunned. Grief doesn’t necessarily involve a life lost, it can be triggered by the loss of a relationship, a pet, a job, a home, or a terminal diagnosis. Psychologist Elizabeth Kübler Ross identified the five stages of grief in the 1960s. Understanding these helps to identify the…

When learning a foreign language, how to describe ourselves is one of the first things we are taught. We learn how to say where we are from, how old we are, what we like and dislike. We may learn to describe our family, work and hobbies. All of these characteristics say something about who you are in this exact moment, but many of them will not be the same in a few years: our jobs and interests change, family constellations evolve and we may relocate to a new city or country. To find out who we really are, we must go deeper, to our values. Your individual values are the principles and qualities that you rate highly. For example, you may value loyalty, family and making a difference, while someone…

Body positivity encompasses a whole range of beliefs, but what does it mean to you? Body positivity is a political movement, which addresses the oppression and discrimination that those who live in marginalised bodies face. For me personally, the greatest lessons I have taken from body positivity are that the majority of insecurities are created so companies can profit off vulnerability – and use it to promote products that claim to fix those supposed flaws. The belief that changed my body confidence the most is that I am more than a body. I can love my body as much as I want, but ultimately in order to live a life I am happy with, what makes me happy will always be greater than my body. My body is a utility…

Catty. Bitchy. Feisty. Nag. When a confident woman asserts herself, these are labels that might be muttered behind her back. Many women across the world feel that they are poorly perceived by others when they act confident, and unfortunately there are plenty of scientific studies to back up this suspicion. In a now-infamous 2003 research project created by professors at Columbia Business School and New York University, students were given mini biographies for two successful and innovative entrepreneurs. One was called Heidi, the other called Howard. The biographies were exactly the same; only the names were different. Exposing how societal gender-norms are so deeply entrenched within our thinking, students were more likely to react negatively to Heidi’s biography than to Howard’s. Both male and female students commended Howard for his…

MEDITATION Meditation is one of the simplest ways to start practising mindfulness. Spending just a few minutes a day meditating can have huge benefits. Mindful meditation involves sitting quietly and calming your mind by focusing on your breathing and becoming aware of different parts of your body. Studies have shown that this kind of meditation can rewire our brains in favour of more positive thoughts and emotions. The more you do it, the better you will become at staying mindful. You can try it by yourself, but if you’re new to it, there are many meditations available online or through apps that will guide you through the process. FOREST BATHING The practice of consciously immersing oneself amongst the trees originated in Japan, where its benefits are so widely recognised that…

A gratitude diary is a great way of helping you to focus on the things you are grateful for. There is no set format for you to start a diary, though there are some you can buy with handy headers and ideas to prompt your thoughts. All you really need, though, is five minutes a day with a notepad and pen. You really should try and write in your gratitude diary every day, which helps to establish a good habit. Write down anything good that happens in your day. You could carry it with you and journal something as soon as it happens, or you could make it a regular part of your pre-bedtime routine. There is no limit to the things you can cover. Did you have a nice…

Contentment As the levels of the participants' contentment increased, their feelings of fear reduced. Consequently, the emotion of contentment increased as the experiment progressed. It was the least observed of the seven emotions described. Amusement During the experiment researchers found they could correctly predict the emotions of the participants from the scan about 75 per cent of the time. This was the third most common emotion, displayed roughly 13.7 per cent of the time. Surprise Many participants also experienced surprise at the beginning of the experiment, with a further peak towards the end of it. Less negative emotions, like surprise and neutral emotions, were observed during the latter stages of the experiment. Fear When the participants first entered the scanner, most experienced fear. This typically lasted for 20 to 30…

The mapping of our psyche was an important development in psychoanalysis, the early-20th century psychological movement whose most famous proponents were Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Psychoanalysis contributed many ideas to psychology, the best-known of which was the idea that each of us has a conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. With the latter thought to be in charge of our behaviours and responses, the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious become conscious in order to better understand ourselves. Freud and Jung fell out after a disagreement in 1913, and their subsequent work was divided on how the unconscious operates. Freud viewed our unconscious as a receptacle for childhood trauma, hidden from view but the cause of neuroses in adult life – he termed this ‘repression’. Repressed memories may…

EAT WELL, SLEEP WELL It is easier to handle difficult tasks and pressure when your body feels good. Eating healthily and getting a good night’s sleep is excellent for your body. One good way to achieve restful sleep is to avoid phone use after a certain time and not do anything else on your bed (homework, revision, socialising, etc) other than sleep, or reading a book. MEDITATION IS FREE AND THERAPEUTIC This can be in the form of simple mindful thinking in a dark room, or it can be with a guided meditation app. It can be where you work, or where you rest, or even in the garden! A number of the guided meditation apps (such as Headspace) are freely available, and are highly recommended as part of living…

Knowing the parts of yourself that form your core being can be difficult, especially if you don’t see those aspects reflected in the world around you. If the way you feel about your sexuality, gender identity or even your fundamental principles do not feel as if they fit into the society around you, you may feel isolated, or perhaps even somehow ‘wrong’ or ‘flawed’ for feeling this way. What most people fail to mention is that any aspect of ‘who you are’ is almost guaranteed to change at least a little bit (but probably a lot) over the course of your life. Practiced use of mindful thinking can help us to navigate an identity crisis. To take the example of sexuality, feelings you have towards who you may or may…

Our belief system is formed of all our assumptions and convictions. It shapes how we perceive and experience the world, how we feel about ourselves and how we act because of those feelings. Sometimes, we hold self-limiting or self-defeating beliefs. Those are negative convictions about ourselves which we have accepted as universal truths and which often hold us back. For example, you might believe that you are never quite good enough and that any little mistake you make or imperfection you have makes you a less worthy person. Because of this belief, you may put off important tasks, fearing that you will not be able to complete them as well as you would like to. You may avoid trying something new altogether because of the damaging negative self-belief and not…

SPEAK UP IN MEETINGS Some coworkers always dominate meetings, and while this can be hard to overcome if you’re naturally shy, placing value in your ideas and opinions and speaking up for yourself will encourage other colleagues to listen up and pay attention. There are times when you might need to raise your voice in meetings, but do this too much and people will turn off to what you’re saying – even if it’s got merit. Instead of increasing the volume, try articulating your points clearly, and be honest with your thoughts without being inappropriate or violating the opinions of others in the room. DRESS THE PART Power dressing in the modern workplace has come to mean much more than wearing a certain brand or style of outfit. Forget high…

Over-use of social media can be harmful to anyone, from young children to mature adults. Not only in terms of what you see and what affects you, but how easy it is to be hurtful to other people, and say things that you would likely not say to them face to face. This is an established – if undesirable – part of human society, and it is important to bear in mind when reading what other people say to one another. People can appear to be much more hurtful or callous than they are in reality, if we’re judging people by what they say rather than what they do. If you're at a time or place in your life when your emotions are naturally far more volatile than you’re used…

How many times have you worked late over the last month? Or checked your emails over breakfast to get a head start on the day? In this modern and everconnected world, our working life can seep into every single part of our day. The distinction between our ‘work’ and ‘home’ lives is blurred as we try and juggle everything and then some. Throw children, family, a partner and/or pets into the mix, and it can feel like we never have time to stop and reflect on how we’re spending our days. Work stress can spill over into everyday life, damaging our relationships and impacting negatively on our mental health and overall wellbeing. We all dream of having a good work/life balance. However, the right balance will be different to everyone,…

In its simplest form, mindfulness is about being completely present in whatever you’re doing. It means giving your mental focus solely to the activity you’re taking part in, which can be a lot more difficult than it sounds for many of us. It’s easy to let the mind wander when we’re exercising, thinking about other things that have happened during the day, trying to solve problems or even just going through the motions without really considering what we’re doing. There are a few problems with this. For a start, multitasking often leads to doing lots of things half-heartedly, rather than one thing well – even though it tends to be highly praised in today’s busy society. If your mind isn’t fully engaged in the exercise, you are unlikely to be…

BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS Servings: 1 • 240 ml | 8 fl oz | 1 cup unsweetened almond drink• 150 g | 5 oz | 1 cup frozen blueberries• 1 large banana, peeled and chopped METHOD 1 Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth, adding a little water or almond drink if needed to get the right consistency. OVERNIGHT OATS INGREDIENTS Servings: 1 • 75 g | 2.5 oz | ½ cup oats• 240 ml | 8 fl oz | 1 cup unsweetened almond drink• 2 tsp chia seeds• 1 pinch cinnamon• 1 small banana, peeled and chopped• 6-8 whole pecans METHOD 1 Mix together the oats, almond drink, chia seeds and cinnamon, then place in a jar with a lid and pop in the fridge overnight. 2…

DEPRESSION Depression isn’t just feeling a bit fed up for a while. It’s when that flat mood continues over several days, or simply keeps returning, that it becomes a chronic issue. Whilst it might begin with a vague sense of sadness, it encroaches on everything, zapping our zest for life. We lose interest in the things we enjoyed. We may not sleep well. We may be restless, anxious or lethargic. We may withdraw from others or rely more on pick-me-ups such as alcohol or comfort foods. At worst, we might self-harm or have suicidal thoughts. Depression can be triggered by a traumatic event, experiences in childhood, other mental or physical problems – or sometimes, none of these. Treatment is usually a combination of therapy and medication. Therapies include cognitive behavioural…

Hormones are the body’s long-distance chemical messengers – a means of communication from the part of the body where they’re made, to another part of the body where they act (either a gland or an organ), via the bloodstream. Six major glands and organs control the release of hormones, controlling almost everything in our bodies from growth, hunger and sleep to mood, reproduction and our metabolism. There are roughly 50 known hormones that have been identified in humans. Each hormone has a targeted organ or gland, which have cells called receptors. These receptors have special proteins on or inside the cell, which allow that hormone’s message to be received. It works a lot like a lock and key, to transmit a message and triggers an effect. This message could be…

We spend around a third of our lives sleeping; it is vital to our survival, but despite years of research, scientists still aren’t entirely sure why we do it. The urge to sleep is all-consuming, and if we are deprived of it, we will eventually slip into slumber even if the situation is life-threatening. Sleep is common to mammals, birds and reptiles and has been conserved through evolution, even though it prevents us from performing tasks such as eating, reproducing and raising young. It is as important as food for keeping us alive; without it, rats will die within two or three weeks – the same amount of time it takes to die of starvation. There have been many theories about why we sleep, from a way to rest after…

HOW TO SILENCE THE BULLY WITHIN Inner speech is the running commentary each of us engages in as we go about our daily lives. Often this inner voice is compassionate and positive, helping us to make sense of the world, but it can also be self-deprecating and critical. If our inner critic becomes too vocal, it can distort our view of ourselves, leading to low selfesteem. Challenging your inner critic, and positively re-framing what it says, can help you to re-train your inner voice to be more realistic in its appraisal. For example, when your inner critic says “I’m too stupid to get this”, ask yourself: how likely is it that this is actually true? What evidence do you have to the contrary? Then, you can re-frame this thought into…

Stuff happens. There’s nothing we can do to change that. But the problem is, our bodies and brains are programmed to be suspicious of change – to be anxious about it. After all, change means uncertainty and, in our evolutionary past, that meant a greater risk of meeting up with a hungry lion or irritated elephant. So, when you are uncertain, the brain releases stress hormones, the fight-or-flight chemicals that, when we lived on the savannah, helped our ancestors avoid those hungry lions or face them down. The problem is, the uncertainties we face today aren't generally as life-or-death, and don’t usually resolve to a quick getaway. So we have to deal with those excess stress hormones in a different way, which is where mindfulness can really help. Here are…

Body image is a term that refers to how we perceive our own bodies, whether positively or negatively. It’s not always the same as how others see us, and it’s often influenced by external factors. We all have personal standards that we hold ourselves to, which affect how we think we ‘should’ look. But being surrounded by social media, movies, magazines and homogenous societal expectations can lead to us setting unrealistic standards by way of comparison, skewing our body image. It’s important to remember that these glossy pictures of celebrities are not a true reflection of reality. That one picture doesn’t tell us anything about the person behind the body – for a start, the images may have been digitally altered. Even if they haven’t, it’s impossible to compare one…

Can you give us a brief history of the body positivity movement? The movement first gained roots in the 1960s in America, and then saw a rebirth around 2008/2009 via social media channels such as Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram. This second wave was predominantly occupied by larger plus-size Black women and women of colour, and served as a safe space for people whose bodies do not carry societal privileges to use as a place to celebrate their bodies. Why do you prefer the term ’fat acceptance’ as opposed to ’body positivity’? I prefer fat acceptance because the body positivity movement no longer represents bodies that look like mine. It is no longer a safe space for larger fat bodies, as it now favours bodies that benefit from societal privilege. The…

How often do you find yourself worrying about the future and ruminating on the past? Whether it’s during a busy work day, before bed or at that weird time we wake up in the middle of the night; there’s always something to plan for, overthink or worry about. It can occupy our minds, cloud our judgement and take up valuable time and energy in our lives. FINDING CLARITY Yet even when we’ve solved the issue (and even if that’s by winning the lottery), it’s guaranteed to bring with it a fresh set of troubles. As the talented Christopher ‘Biggie’ Wallace once said: “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” But, luckily for us, there is another way: by being present. Despite becoming a bit of an overused phrase, living in the moment can…

Sometimes life has a habit of getting you down. There’s no need to feel bad – it happens to us all from time to time. The everyday routine can become mundane, and we can feel so busy that time seems to fly by without anything really seeming to happen. It can be hard to look at the positives in your life, but there are real benefits, both physical and mental, if you take the time to harness the power of gratitude. Recognising things and people in your life that you’re grateful for can have a huge impact on your wellbeing. “Being grateful for people, things and situations in our lives can create a balanced view in our mindset and lead us to experience the abundance in our lives, rather than…