Inside the Mind

We need food for sustenance and nutrition, but we also eat for pleasure. We like the way some things taste, and enjoy the experience of eating, but can food actually make us happy?

By Josh Clark

Clowns might seem to have more foes than friends, but these entertainers are a key part of laughter therapy in hospitals. There is increasing evidence that a few hearty chuckles can help you along the road to recovery.

By Molly Edmonds

Traditional psychology has proven effective in studying and treating mental illness. However, some in the field want to study what makes patients happy instead of what makes them miserable.

By Josh Clark

Exercise, hot peppers, sex: All of these things are said to give you an endorphin rush. What's the science behind this chemical high -- and how do you keep it going?

By Tom Scheve

Most people would recall every detail of being held up in a bank robbery but not so well the details of their last birthday party. The brain is wired for recalling trauma for a very good reason.

By Colleen Cancio

We often throw around the word "insanity" for acts that seem to have no rational explanation (like a teacher giving an insanely difficult test). Legally speaking, though, it's actually a narrow term that's very difficult to prove in court.

By Chris Opfer

Most of us don't intuitively classify electroshocks as therapeutic, but this 1950s-era treatment has changed a lot since it was first introduced. When and why do mental health experts now turn to it?

By Kate Kershner

Alcoholism can be difficult to spot. Learn the difference between heavy drinking and alcoholism, how alcohol affects the body, what factors may lead to alcoholism and what treatments are available for this addiction.

By Stephanie Watson

What exactly is fear? In this article, we'll examine the psychological and physical properties of fear, find out what causes a fear response and look at some ways you can defeat it.

By Julia Layton

Dreams combine verbal, visual and emotional stimuli into mystifying storylines. Should we bother to interpret them? Are they random brain impulses, or do they offer insight into our waking lives?

By Lee Ann Obringer & Yves Jeffcoat

You've just touched a hot stove -- and probably felt an immediate sharp pain, then a dull ache. How do we sense pain, and why does it eventually go away?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

That man dressed in animal skins and running around Jerusalem trying to baptize people isn't alone. Tourists in Jerusalem sometimes suffer from a strange conviction that they are Biblical figures. Are they mentally ill or is there more to it?

By Katie Lambert

Sleepwalking is an intriguing phenomenon. How can a person be unconscious but still coordinate his or her limbs? And how do we know when we're really awake?

By Katie Lambert

Nostalgia, contrary to centuries of common knowledge, appears to be a good thing. A really good thing.

By Julia Layton

You've probably experienced that moment where you're driving, get lost, turn down the radio, and then think, "Why did I just do that?"

By Maria Trimarchi

Pain is subjective — what is excruciating to you might be tolerable to me. Which is why it's so difficult to measure and control.

By Jennifer Sellers

Odd as it may seem, many antidepressants like Zoloft having warning labels about increases in suicidal thoughts. Why would that be? And how will you know if your medication is actually working?

By Laurie L. Dove

Have you ever met someone with a unique first name, and then all of a sudden you hear the name everywhere you turn? That's the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon at work. How did it get that handle?

By Kate Kershner & Austin Henderson

Are you a person who likes to be social but also values some alone time? You are? How did we guess without knowing you? Welcome to the Barnum effect.

By Kate Kershner

Why does the experience of sleep paralysis often summon explanations of demonic visitations? Visit the place where dreams and reality overlap, and where science and myth attempt to interpret our hallucinations.

By Robert Lamb

You're deep in dreamland when you hear an explosion so loud you wake up. But there's nothing outside or inside your house making the noise. What just happened?

By Sean Russell

When you see someone yawning, even in a picture, chances are a yawning urge will come over you, too. But is this also true of sneezing, and if so, why?

By Laurie L. Dove

Ever tried to get your child, spouse or friend to do something by telling them to do the opposite? That's reverse psychology. But how often does it work?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

There's no doubt that humans are a violent species. The real question is: Why? Are some people wired differently than others? Is it a matter of survival? Or are we just taking our frustrations out on others in violent ways?

By Jonathan Strickland

Are looking for ways of raising your self-esteem? Check out what we have uncovered for elevating your self-esteem in this article.

By DiscoveryHealth.com writers