Contemplative practices are structured ways of directing attention inward — toward the breath, a word, an image, or the present moment — usually with the aim of steadying the mind or examining experience more closely. They work by engaging and training specific mental processes, especially attention regulation and emotional self-awareness. Meditation, prayer, journaling, and certain … Read more
Learning to love yourself is not a switch you flip or a feeling that arrives one morning. It is a set of skills you build over time, and research on self-compassion suggests those skills can be learned. The core of it is treating yourself with the same honesty and basic kindness you would offer a … Read more
Mental health stigma is a set of negative beliefs and attitudes that lead people to reject, fear, or devalue someone because of a mental health condition. It shows up in two main forms: public stigma, which is how others treat a person, and self-stigma, which is how a person turns those attitudes inward. The effects … Read more
The job of inspecting almost everything you eat belongs to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Meat, poultry, and processed egg products are the big exceptions, and those fall to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That split is the single most useful fact to know about how food safety works in America, and it explains … Read more
Sexually transmitted infections are caused by more than 30 different organisms that pass from one person to another mainly through sexual contact. Those organisms fall into three broad groups: bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Each group behaves differently inside the body, which is why some STIs are cured with a short course of antibiotics while others … Read more
Plan B One-Step and its generic versions are available at no cost to many people enrolled in Medicaid. The catch is how you get it. Medicaid covers emergency contraception in most states, but the rules depend on your state, your plan, and whether you buy it at a pharmacy counter or off the shelf. Walking … Read more
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head. It is diagnosed only after death, by examining brain tissue under a microscope. There is no test that can confirm it in a living person, and no treatment that can stop or reverse it. That single fact explains most of the … Read more
Most household liquids can go down the drain or into the trash, but the right method depends entirely on what the liquid is. Cooking oil, paint, medication, cleaning products, and automotive fluids each follow different rules. Getting it wrong can clog pipes, harm waterways, or create a hazard for sanitation workers. The short answer: water-based … Read more
You’re tired. You get into bed. And suddenly your brain is wide awake, replaying a conversation from 2019. If this sounds familiar, you’re not broken and you’re not alone. Falling asleep is not a passive switch your body flips. It’s an active process, and your brain has to do several specific things at once to … Read more
A cold sore starts long before you see it. The virus that causes them, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), travels down a nerve and settles into a cluster of nerve cells near your spine, where it can stay quiet for months or years. When something wakes it up, it travels back along the same … Read more