Welcome to the Weekly Medius PsychNews. Every week, we select five thought-provoking Psychology articles from hundreds published in journals and other media. Psychology Drives Everything.
Mindfulness Could Be a Powerful Painkiller:
Mindfulness can enhance the quality of life in chronic pain sufferers, new research suggests. The findings add weight to previous studies, which found that mindfulness might have the power to reduce pain severity by half. This new meta-analysis, published in the peer-reviewed journal
Evidence-Based Mental Health, analyzed the evidence from 21 previous studies involving 2,000 chronic pain sufferers. It was designed to assess whether mindfulness was as effective as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for relieving chronic pain and its associated distress. CBT can be effective and has none of the side-effects of traditional painkillers, such as lethargy and addiction. But, crucially, not everyone benefits from CBT.
Full article.
Your Emotions Don't Care About You:
How to Calm Your Racing Mind so You Can Sleep:
You long for sleep. You may even feel tired before going to bed. But as soon as your head hits the pillow, it happens again. You're wide awake. You can't stop thinking. It's the worst. I regularly speak to groups about the necessity of sleep for the prevention of burnout, management of stress, improvement of mood, and a host of other benefits. Almost every time I do, someone comes up to me and says:
“I know I need more sleep. But what do I do if I can’t fall asleep? I get into bed early enough to get eight hours, but then I just lie there with my mind racing.” Full article.
8 Ways to Instantly Feel Empowered to Face an Upcoming Challenge, A New Opportunity or a Tough Day:
You’re about to ask for a promotion at work. You’re about to ask for a raise. You’re about to resign from your 9-to-5 to start your own business. You’re about to take a step toward expanding your business. You’re about to give a speech. You’re about to have a hard conversation. You’re about to say ‘yes’ or say ‘no’ to a significant opportunity. You’re about to advocate for yourself—which is something you’ve actually rarely done before. And you need to feel empowered. Because right now you feel anything but empowered or confident or capable.
Full article.
People Who Are Most Fearful Of Genetically Modified Foods Think They Know The Most About Them, But Actually Know The Least:
There are few subjects where a larger gap exists between public opinion and expert opinion than people’s views on foods, like corn or wheat, that have been genetically manipulated to, for example, increase crop yields or bolster pest-resistance. Experts generally view so-called GM foods as totally safe to consume, while the public is suspicious of them — and this divide is massive. One Pew Research Center survey found that just 37 per cent of the American public believed GM foods are safe to eat, compared with 88 per cent of members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (public attitudes are similarly negative in the UK, with a 2014 poll finding that 40 per cent of adults felt the government should not promote GM foods, compared with 22 per cent in favour, and the rest unsure).
Full article.
