Body Image and Social Media.
Why some social platforms can create the “perfect storm” for young people.
Reviewed by Davia Sills

KEY POINTS-
Young people have long been bombarded with messages and images focusing on appearance and status.
Highly visual and quantifiable social media platforms can amplify the negative impact of these messages.
Developmental changes during adolescence make youth especially vulnerable to body image concerns.
Just deleting specific apps won't solve the problem. Teens need us to engage them in conversation and action.

Being bombarded with messages and images focusing on appearance and status is not new to this generation of young people. Indeed, decades of research demonstrate that exposure to narrow beauty standards is correlated with body image concerns (this includes how young people think about their physical appearance, including bodies, faces, hair, eyes, etc.). Whether through print, TV, or advertisements, the reality is that girls, in particular, have long been bombarded with messages and images convincing them that the most important thing about their identities is their physical appearance.

Just because it's been a longstanding toxic trend doesn't mean that we should throw up our hands and surrender with, "This is just the way things are." Indeed, the design attributes of specific social media platforms like Instagram can exacerbate upward social comparisons. Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, who studies gender and adolescent mental health, notes that overall time on social media, in general, is not consistently connected to body image issues. But we see a much stronger relationship when we zoom in on upward social comparison in highly visual media.

Apps like Instagram may present specific challenges because they are:
Highly visual: Many people, especially celebrities and influencers, carefully curate their images on highly visual social platforms and even manipulate images to adhere to light skin, straight hair, thin (or muscular), able-bodied, and wealthy beauty standards.
Quantifiable: Young people don't have to imagine how popular someone or something is; they can see it for themselves in likes and shares.
These attributes make it difficult for any of us to resist the urge to engage in social comparison online. But early adolescence is a uniquely vulnerable time when it comes to social media and body image. Adolescents are going through specific developmental changes, including:

Physical changes: Changes in body size and weight. For most kids, this makes them less like the beauty standards pushed by social media.
Social changes: Teens are much more susceptible to peer opinion.
Cognitive changes: The capacity to think in abstract ways includes the ability to consider "imaginary audiences."
Identity changes: Social comparison is a natural process, but as young people explore their own identities and start to answer the question, "Who am I?" social comparison goes into overdrive.

The costs of being camera-ready.
The challenge is that platforms like Instagram weren't designed with these developmental strengths and vulnerabilities in mind. They were designed for clicks, shares, scrolls, and sales. They were also designed so that a young person's photo could be shared widely at any moment. According to Dr. Choukas-Bradley, this mismatch can create the "perfect storm" for some young people who spend hours a day on highly visual social media.

This storm can intensify when teens become preoccupied with producing highly curated and edited images themselves. A team of researchers recently introduced a new construct to explain the psychological impact of constantly being "camera-ready." They have found that "appearance-related social media consciousness" predicts body image concerns and depressive symptoms over time.

It's not all bad, all the time.
Does this mean that social media is the sole cause of body image issues or disordered eating? No. Many young people benefit in important ways from the connections and community they find on these platforms.

Beauty ideals are culturally constructed, and many young people curate their feeds to seek the healthy representation of their identities. This can be especially powerful to kids who don't see themselves reflected in their communities or in mainstream media. Others may proactively follow influencers that depict a broad range of beauty ideals and authentic representations of their bodies and lives.

We also shouldn't discount other well-known risk factors for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in a narrow focus on social media. These include stress and trauma, racism, and food insecurity, among others. For many teens, social media may be magnifying and reinforcing existing vulnerabilities we should not ignore.

What can we do?
Right now, there is a lot of important discussion about platform accountability and designing platforms with adolescent health and development in mind. More research on the specific ways that race and gender interact to shape young people's self-worth and body image online and offline will help us better design platforms that center around young people's diverse needs.

In the meantime, though, we can talk to teens early and often about aligning their online activities with the things that make them feel better about themselves and each other. This kind of "values-aligned" media use can buffer young people from the more negative effects. Curating feeds for body-positive influencers, creating body-positive content, and practicing critical media literacy all matter.

Stay curious. Keep talking.
Let's be clear. Not all teens are eager to sit down with us to formally reflect on their digital lives. But just deleting apps without talking about these issues is likely to backfire. The onslaught of messaging about worth, value, and appearance does not begin and end on Instagram. Ongoing conversations with kids about these topics are protective across both online and offline activities.

Most of us know that social media doesn't reflect real life. But it often takes ongoing conversations and reflection to really know it. And part of growing up is getting to know ourselves and our self-worth well enough to be able to protect it.

STRESS-
Good News: Stress Is Going to Kill You.
...But it’s going to take longer than ever.
Reviewed by Davia Sills

KEY POINTS-
Stress is endemic to modern society.
People are convinced that stress is leading to their demise, and it's true that stress can contribute to life-threatening illnesses.
Compared to 100 years ago, dying of stress-related illness in our 70s or 80s is a luxury.

Welcome to Stress on the Brain. In this blog, I'll be writing about stress and its impacts on the way we think, the way we behave, and the way we get sick. When I first meet someone and the conversation turns to my area of research, the most common response I get is, "You should study me because I'm so stressed!" This response reflects our culture's attitudes: Stress negatively affects the way we think. Stress negatively affects our health. Stress is going to kill us.

What I tell people in response is both good and bad news. The bad news? Stress is going to kill you. The good news? It's probably going to take a long time.

What do I mean by this? Consider that 100 years ago, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was about 54 years. Compare that to our current life expectancy of 76 years (in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available).

What was killing people so young 100 years ago?
Among the top five causes of death in 1923 were infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza. Today, by contrast, four of the top five causes of death are stress-related: heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and stroke. (I haven't forgotten that over 1 million Americans recently died from another infectious disease, COVID-19, but the point remains that most of the maladies that kill us today are made worse by stress.)

Why is this good news? One hundred years ago, most deaths of American adults were due to infectious diseases occurring in their 50s. Today, by contrast, we have the luxury of dying of stress in our late 70s or even older.

Much of this difference is due to the massive successes of public health.
Clean drinking water. Centralized sanitation. Improvements in maternal and infant health programs. These programs have shifted the causes of death for most Americans from acute infections to chronic diseases. Such chronic diseases are strongly impacted by lifestyle factors such as diet and stress.

Take, for example, the number-one killer of adults, heart disease. The cardiovascular system, including the heart and blood vessels, is a particularly sensitive target of stress. The system includes a pump (the heart) and a sequence of elastic tubes (blood vessels), which are always working.

One of the primary stress responses is to increase blood flow to working muscles to outrun a predator on the proverbial savannah. Just like with any mechanical system, the cardiovascular system will eventually wear out with increased use, as when under chronic stress. Modern stress rarely necessitates running from a predator, so the increased wear and tear on our cardiovascular system is for naught. It just hastens the eventual breakdown of the system.

This doesn't sound like good news, either. But hold on. Advances in cardiovascular medicine reduce the negative impact of the modern lifestyle on our hearts and blood vessels. The negative impact that stress can have on the cardiovascular system can be counteracted with improvements in diet, exercise, and medicine, prolonging the health of the system into our eighth or ninth decade. The impact of stress is still there, but our modern mitigation techniques allow us to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system for much longer.

If all this sounds too good to be true, you're correct. I'm glossing over a great deal, including the threat of future pandemics, increased number of deaths of despair, and the widening income gap, all of which threaten to wipe out some of the increases in life expectancy we've seen over the last 100 years. My message is this: You can now survive stress for longer than ever in our species' history. Yes, stress will kill you. Until then, stay vigilant to maintain and expand on the gains that we've made. Future generations may have the luxury of being stressed for even longer!

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” — Terry Pratchett

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.” — Reba McEntire

“See the world like a big wardrobe. Everybody has his own costume. There is only one that fits you perfectly.” — George Harris

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” — Isaac Asimov

3 Signs That a Relationship Is Based on Loneliness, Not Love.
Is it true love? Or is it the fear of being lonely or losing someone?
Reviewed by Davia Sills

KEY POINTS-
Some people end up forcing relationships with people who are wrong for them out of fear or loneliness.
It's important for individuals to feel like they can be their authentic selves with their partners.
The need for constant companionship and a tendency to get jealous easily are two red flags in relationships.

There's a big difference between putting in the effort to find a romantic partner and forcing a relationship into existence. Sometimes, in our haste to find somebody, we lose sight of this distinction. This might cause us to look back on a past romance and wonder how we "missed the signs" or ended up intertwined with someone who was so obviously wrong for us.

The trick is to be able to tell the difference in the moment, not years later. While this may be easier for some than for others, we can all get better at sizing up the potential of a new romantic interest.

Here are three questions to ask yourself to help you distinguish a relationship based on true love versus one based on pressure to find somebody or a fear of being alone.

1. Do you feel like you can be your authentic self?
One of the clearest signs of a fear-based relationship is not acting like yourself. Your fear of losing your partner drives you to engage in relationship-pleasing behaviors, such as changing aspects of your personality or sacrificing your values in order to avoid retribution or judgment from your partner.

Because you're always worried about losing your partner, everything you do becomes an act of preserving what you have between each other rather than a way of truly enjoying the time you spend together

When you constantly try to adapt to someone else's expectations of you, you neglect your own wants and needs, which can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and a loss of identity.

A healthy relationship is marked by both partners' efforts to maintain their individuality while also supporting each other in the relationship. Research suggests that maintaining a healthy balance between closeness and autonomy within romantic relationships is important for relationship harmony. Relationships tend to sour when one or more of the following things happen:

One partner attempts to influence and monitor the other's attitudes
One partner acts helplessly and has difficulty coping with challenging situations
One partner invades the other's self-boundaries

2. Do you need to be in their constant company to be happy?
Yes, you're supposed to find happiness in the company of those you truly love. However, for some, that joy becomes an effort to avoid a paralyzing fear of loneliness.

If you feel empty in the absence of your partner, to the point that you believe you are incapable of being happy without them, that may be indicative of your fear of losing the person rather than loving the person.

While craving quality time with your partner is healthy and advisable for relationship growth, expecting your partner to spend all of their free time with you may mean that your relationship is driven by a fear of losing your partner.

Another thing to ask yourself is whether you prefer hanging out with your partner alone or in the company of others. If you find that it's difficult to "share" your partner in social settings, this may also indicate that you are overly reliant on your partner for attention and happiness.

3. Do you get jealous easily?
Jealousy is another sign that your relationship is controlled by your fear of loss and your own inadequacies.

According to research, occasional jealousy in relationships is normal and can be seen as a positive force in that it reminds couples not to take each other for granted. Jealousy heightens emotions and makes intimate moments more passionate.

Intense or irrational jealousy, on the other hand, is rooted in our fear of abandonment. Research has found that lower levels of trust in a partner may cause individuals with anxious attachment styles to become jealous, snoop through a partner's belongings, and become psychologically abusive.

Insecurities, in a more general sense, can cause us to become paranoid about losing our partner. They can stir up toxicity that may cause rifts in a relationship.

Conclusion
Haste makes waste, especially in relationships. When you feel like you are in desperate need of a partner, you might end up rushing into a decision prematurely.

Waiting for the right time to get into a relationship, although challenging, can lead us toward a partnership based on true love and shared interests, not loneliness or a fear of being single.

How to Figure Out if Someone Is Lying to You.
If you're concerned you're being lied to, this approach could help.
Reviewed by Devon Frye

KEY POINTS-
Because detecting deception seems so valuable, many sources offer easy answers.
Despite much research, psychology has revealed only a handful of general indicators of dishonesty.
Each instance of possible deception is unique, so perhaps the best approach is being honest about your concerns.
When is someone lying to you? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to detect dishonesty?

We imagine the answer is “yes,” so there are many books, videos, and gurus promising to teach you how to be a human lie detector. Of course, we know at some level that it isn’t that simple and clear-cut, even though a lot of research has been performed trying to find reliable indicators or signs of deception. That said, there are some things that have been found to be associated with deception, or more likely to occur when someone is lying.

What Research Has Found
One general finding is that the stereotypes we hold about signs of dishonesty tend to be wrong. Why?

Because they’re well-known. So when someone is lying, they often intentionally try to not do those things, veering a little too much in the opposite direction.

One such example is eye contact. The stereotype is that people don’t maintain eye contact when they are lying—so in reality, many folks hold eye contact excessively to avoid being suspected of their deception.

Of course, some people are better liars than others in the sense that they can control their behavior rather than get nervous and thereby match the stereotype of the stammering liar who avoids eye contact and looks guilty. So this possible indicator of dishonesty is far from reliable.

Although far from 100 percent accurate, based on the research, perhaps the “best” indicator of deception may be the level of detail used in explaining or answering questions about what happened. Note that this indicator only applies to scenarios where there was an event, rather than yes/no questions or simple forms of deception (e.g., “I love your shoes!”).

But in general, when people are lying, they provide less detail. Why? Because they are making up what happened, and so keeping it simple is both easiest and feels safest. The liar’s goal is typically to end the conversation as soon as possible.

Another Approach
It may be tempting to try out your new knowledge when you suspect someone is trying to deceive you—but one difficulty is determining what is the “right” amount of detail. Could there be reasons an honest person gives brief, generic-sounding descriptions or answers? Might a particular dishonest individual be really good at spinning a detailed yarn? Always keep in mind the unreliable nature of any supposed sign of dishonesty.

Now, I propose a different approach to concerns about being deceived: Honesty. That is, instead of trying to stealthily detect deception, how about being honest about your concern, perception, or difficulty extending trust in this case?

Doing so doesn’t mean the individual will necessarily come clean, but it puts the issue out there to be discussed, and their reaction may be telling in itself. An overly anxious or defensive response might be cause for further suspicion, whereas an apparently genuine attempt to address your underlying concerns may be a good sign.

Of course, addressing your concerns opens the door to a conversation that has the potential to help resolve the concerns, and perhaps enrich the relationship in ways that are beneficial beyond the scenario currently being discussed. However, having such a conversation requires some finesse, regardless of how the invitation is received by the other person. No one likes to hear that they are suspected of being dishonest (even if accurate) or that someone doesn’t trust them. So, tone, body language, and wording are all important.

Putting It Into Practice
With regard to body language, try to avoid rolling your eyes, sighing, or crossing your arms. With regard to tone, avoid being sarcastic, angry, or judgmental. A key is to communicate that you are not accusing them of lying, but are sharing your difficulty believing or trusting them. If you have had previous experiences of dishonesty in this relationship, it can be difficult not to reference those in ways that derail the current conversation, or to make summary judgments about the person’s character.

When asked why you don’t believe the other person, instead of “Because you’re a liar,” try “Because, in the past, it came to light that you had lied, so this might be another such instance.” Instead of “Your story doesn’t make sense,” try “From my perspective, there are parts of what you are saying that don’t seem to add up (or make sense).” Instead of “You can’t be trusted,” try “I’m having a hard time trusting you because of our previous experience.”

Beware that this explanation for the current concern can easily spiral into rehashing those past experiences, which isn’t going to be fruitful. Instead, keep the focus on how, regardless of the accuracy of your side of the story, those previous instances left you wary in the current scenario.

I recognize that my suggested approach is asking a lot, but I believe the potential payoff is well worth the effort and risk. With practice—and some reflection on what seemed to help and what didn’t—you may become a much better “lie detector” than any of the best indicators of deception found through psychology research.

Remember: Each of the general indicators tends to be general and ambiguous, and therefore unreliable when applied to a specific instance. In the end, it may be that the most effective approach to addressing your concerns about being lied to is to be honest.

EATING DISORDERS-
9 Tips for Improving the Gut–Brain Connection.
What you eat can improve your digestion and mood—and reduce disordered eating.
Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

KEY POINTS-
The gut–brain axis is a vital modulator to whole-body health, regulating emotions, cognitive functioning, digestion, and more.
The gut–brain axis is bidirectional, meaning that nutrition interventions may support recovery from mental health conditions.
Psychological interventions may help reduce symptoms in gastrointestinal and other health conditions.

With new findings regarding the gut–brain axis, we’re closer to understanding just how connected we truly are on the insides. The gut and brain communicate through the vagus nerve, which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. This connection is known as the gut–brain axis, and it enables the two organs to receive and send signals to each other. This communication helps regulate emotions, cognitive functioning, digestion, and other bodily functions.

While the gut–brain connection means that proper nutrition may result in substantial improvements to mental as well as physical health, disturbances to either side of the axis may contribute to problems. Both eating disorders and anxiety produce physiological imbalances that alter the amount and composition of gut microbiota, the microorganisms that live in the gut.

There are many ways to positively modulate this relationship. Here are nine tips to improve your gut–brain connection and support a healthier way of living.

1. Eat a variety of foods.
Eating a wide variety of plant-based foods (such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits, legumes, and nuts), along with regular consumption of fish, poultry, and dairy products, increases microbial diversity in the gut while providing a range of nutrients (such as omega fatty acids and antioxidants) that improve overall brain health. Research shows that foods typically consumed by those living in the Mediterranean region are especially beneficial to the gut microbiota and the brain. In particular, fruits and vegetables contain a group of compounds called polyphenols, which may decrease inflammation and offer neuroprotective benefits. When it comes to protein, studies demonstrate that adequate protein consumption promotes an abundance of good bacteria in the gut while reducing pathogen numbers. Amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, play an important role in the production of neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, all of which are essential for brain function.

2. Take probiotics.
Recent studies indicate that patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, or anxiety show an imbalance in gut microbiota, which help with immune and metabolic functioning and weight regulation. When they become imbalanced, our immune system response isn’t as strong and we experience inflammation, which can be a precursor to disease. Fortunately, probiotics can help. These live microorganisms are comparable to the good bacteria found naturally in the stomach. Probiotics may help with better digestion, vitamin generation, improved motility and cognitive function, and reduced inflammation. Ask a licensed dietitian for specific recommendations.

3. Improve your mental health.
Research suggests that the gut–brain axis is bidirectional. This means that nutrition interventions may support recovery from mental health conditions, and psychological interventions may help reduce symptoms in gastrointestinal and other health conditions. Neurons and neurotransmitters are found in both the brain and gut, so feelings of happiness or anxiety, for example, could be triggered through the gut.

4. Treat IBS.
There’s a high correlation between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and anxiety. In some studies, participants with anxiety showed lower microbial richness. The thinking, then, is by improving the health of the gut, we also improve mental health (and lessen IBS symptoms). Interestingly, antidepressants may also help reduce some of the symptoms of IBS; a study of adolescents with newly diagnosed IBS found that the antidepressant amitriptyline significantly reduced symptoms and increased overall quality of life.

5. Reconnect and experience a sense of safety.
Stress impacts the gut barrier and gut microbiota, while trauma can have a negative impact on eating habits and the gut itself. For example, there is good evidence that individuals who have experienced trauma are more vulnerable to binge-eating disorder. Additionally, research shows that an individual who experienced early traumatic experiences may be more vulnerable to changes in the composition of their microbiome and the nervous system:

Long-lasting immune consequences and [an] increase [in] the risk of developing stress-related disorders later in life. –Leclercq, et al.

6. Meditate.
Meditation is often used as part of treatment for eating disorders, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. But new research shows added promise for meditation’s potential positive impact on the gut–brain axis, by altering the composition of the gut microbiome. A study of 37 male Tibetan monks and control subjects concluded that

The specific microbiota enriched in monks was associated with a reduced risk of anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disease and could enhance immune function. Overall, these results suggest that meditation plays a positive role in psychosomatic conditions and well-being. –Sun et al.

7. Rule out viral and bacterial infection.
Viral or bacterial infections may precede the onset of stomach problems, including the onset of eating disorders. The infections and response from your immune system can lead to associated changes such as intestinal inflammation, intestinal permeability, appetite dysregulation, and decreased richness of gut microbiota. It is possible that adaptations in the gut may be physiologically helpful when healing from infection. However, when intestinal gut microbiota responses persist after the pathogen is no longer present, there may be an elevated risk of developing an eating disorder.

8. Get educated.
Being educated about the science of good bacteria in the gut may enhance your motivation to eat more intentionally and help you to apply changes that will be effective. When you are equipped with the truth, misleading advertisements and fad diets may be less able to convince you that dieting, restricting your food intake, avoiding certain foods, or purging has no impact on your health. Knowledge can empower you to turn what you learn into practice.

9. Stay hopeful.
By making your eating more intentional, you can impact your gut biome. And, with bidirectional influences, you can improve your gut with emotional well-being and improve how you feel by increasing the richness of your gut microbiota. To make a concerted effort in improving your gut health and mood, reach out to professionals—dietitians, therapists, meditation instructors, and medical doctors—who are familiar with the gut–brain research.

The significant connection between feeling good and the well-being of your gut microbiota offers new paths for health, healthy eating, and eating disorder recovery. Being intentional about what you take into your body and your mind can have powerful whole-body effects, so nourish both with care.