Will Baum, LCSW

The Claim: A Fake Smile Can be Bad for Your Health (NYT Really?)

[S]cientists examined what happened when the drivers engaged in fake smiling, known as “surface acting,” and its opposite, “deep acting,” where they generated authentic smiles through positive thoughts, said an author of the study, Brent Scott, an assistant professor of management at Michigan State University.

After following the drivers closely, the researchers found that on days when the smiles were forced, the subjects’ moods deteriorated and they tended to withdraw from work. Trying to suppress negative thoughts, it turns out, may have made those thoughts even more persistent.

Placebo Outperforms Drug in Oxford Study (PsychCentral):

Positive expectations of a treatment may be more powerful than the drug itself when it comes to getting well.  According to a brain imaging study at Oxford University, volunteers who believed their medication would help actually doubled the natural physiological or biochemical effects of an opioid drug.  On the other hand, it was found that negative expectations could actually override the effects of the powerful pain-relieving drug.

Yes–one Sunday a month at the Southern California Counseling Center.  Today (February 13, 2011, 2-6pm) is one such.  Keep tabs and get details on the clinic’s Facebook page.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Consultation Clinic
The Southern California Counseling Center
5615 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 937-1344

NPR Science Friday:  Growing A Bigger Brain Is A Walk In The Park

A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that adults who walked for 40 minutes three times a week for a year had brain growth in the hippocampus — an area of the brain associated with spatial memory. Study author Arthur Kramer and psychologist Margaret Gatz discuss their research.

Inspiration from Brain Stimulation? (PsychCentral):

Are we on the verge of reality transcending science fiction with the use of brain electrodes to enhance individual creativity and expression? Doctoral student Richard Chi and Dr. Allan Snyder from the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney seem to think so.

They found that participants who received electrical stimulation of the anterior temporal lobes were three times as likely to reach the fresh insight necessary to solve a difficult, unfamiliar problem than those in the control group.

Also: Brain Pacemaker Holds Promise for Untreatable Depression

Slate asks, Is Facebook Making Us Sad?

Facebook is, after all, characterized by the very public curation of one’s assets in the form of friends, photos, biographical data, accomplishments, pithy observations, even the books we say we like. Look, we have baked beautiful cookies. We are playing with a new puppy. We are smiling in pictures (or, if we are moody, we are artfully moody.) Blandness will not do, and with some exceptions, sad stuff doesn’t make the cut, either. The site’s very design—the presence of a “Like” button, without a corresponding “Hate” button—reinforces a kind of upbeat spin doctoring.

How Meditation May Change the Brain (NYT):

[S]cientists say that meditators…may be benefiting from changes in their brains. The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

Good deals dept.–relayed by Lynn McFarr of the CBT Society of Southern California:

Free marital therapy for couples over the age of 55
Hello all, We are providing free marital therapy for adults over the age of 55 as part of a research study at UCLA. Couples will receive up to 16 sessions of IBCT, supervised by Andrew Christensen, Ph.D. If you have clients in the Los Angeles area that may benefit from this service, please contact Meghan McGinn at mmcginn@ucla.edu for more information.

What’s IBCT?  ”Integrative Behavior Couple Therapy.” Explanation here.

Positive Vibes Really Do Protect Health (PsychCentral):

An evidence-based review of published literature finds support for the premise that feeling good may be good for your health…“We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives,” said Anthony Ong, Ph.D., of Cornell University, author of the review article. The data he reviews suggest that positive emotions may be a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and illness.

Helpful tips from Beth S. Patterson (GoodTherapy.org):

I often suggest journal writing to my clients who are grieving the death of a loved one or dealing with a difficult life change as a useful way to deal with and befriend the intense emotions that often accompany these experiences. Some say, “oh, I’m not a good writer.”  To that I reply that what is important is the act of expression, not how pretty or correct it is. In fact, the word “express” literally means “push out”, that is, pushing out all of those churning, claustrophobic and chaotic feelings in a way that gives them “breathing room” and makes them workable.