The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped the landscape of couples therapy in the United States, driving both challenges and innovations in how couples therapy is conducted and perceived.

With the onset of the pandemic, couples faced unprecedented stressors, including health anxieties, financial uncertainties, and the pressures of constant togetherness.

A recent study revealed that people who go to the gym with friends boost their attendance by 35% compared to solo gym-goers.

While this might seem intuitive, it's surprising that 80% of people prefer to work out alone.

Why?

They believe that coordinating schedules with a friend adds an unnecessary hassle. Let’s jump rope in!

Kitchen Sinking is a combative strategy where you throw all the complaints you have about your partner in breathless run-on sentences, hoping to overwhelm them by the sheer force of your moral authority.

It’s inherently disrespectful, and it never works…but that doesn’t stop the behavior...

A codependent marriage is when a partner consumes considerable financial, emotional, and physical resources on behalf of their more problem-saturated spouse.

Yeah, but what do we really mean by a codependent marriage…and how did we begin to frame things that way?

Couples therapists hear all kinds of reasons to leave a marriage.

But a new research study by Professor Samantha Joel says that while twenty-three separate reasons were given by study participants, three dominant issues weigh heavily on whether you decide that you have reasons to leave a marriage…

Some people’s brains respond quite differently to alcohol.

New research suggests that folks who are more sensitive to alcohol’s pleasurable effects are more likely to become alcoholics.

A 10-year study of young adult drinkers found that future alcoholics experience greater stimulation, liking, and wanting for alcohol than others.

People who go on to become addicted to alcohol do not get used to its effects, as most people do.

Alcohol consumption, when done in moderation, has been linked to a variety of benefits, including improved cognitive function, enhanced attractiveness, and a reduced risk of certain diseases.

However, the research community has shifted to a more skeptical and measured discussion of the research suggesting the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.

Here's an objective, closer look at some of the contrarian findings on the benefits of moderate alcohol intake from recent research…

The more alcohol people drink, the greater the damage to the cerebral cortex. High alcohol intake can lead to a thinner cerebral cortex, research finds.

The cerebral cortex is the layer of neurons that support most higher-level cognition. However, the brain damage caused by drinking is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon.

The more people drank, the greater the damage to this area of the brain. The irony is that alcohol damages the very areas of the brain that are responsible for controlling alcohol intake.

However, people who had been alcoholics but now abstained showed the brain can recover.

Recent research has shed light on the detrimental effects of binge drinking on brain health, particularly in young people.

Binge drinking, defined in the US as consuming four or more standard alcoholic drinks for women or five or more for men in two hours, has been linked to significant brain damage, including thinning in areas crucial for memory, language, awareness, consciousness, and attention.

Have you ever stayed in a relationship just because you thought your partner couldn’t handle a breakup? Turns out, you’re not alone—and there’s scientific research to back you up!

According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people often stay in unhappy relationships when they believe their partner might crumble without them.

Yes, it sounds like a plot twist in a romantic comedy, but it’s true!

While antidepressants are known to reduce depression symptoms in the short term, their long-term effects on overall quality of life are less clear.

Recent research suggests that antidepressants may not significantly improve quality of life over time.

A long-term analysis comparing folks with depression who took antidepressants to those who did not reveals that, after two years, there is no notable difference in their quality of life.

Antidepressants can be a double-edged sword. While they help alleviate the psychological pain of depression, they can also dull the pleasure from activities that once brought joy.

This phenomenon, known as "emotional blunting," affects about half of all patients on these medications. Let's dive into why this happens and how it impacts everyday life.