Expressing thanks may be one of the simplest ways to feel better.

The Thanksgiving holiday began, as the name implies, when the colonists gave thanks for their survival and for a good harvest. So perhaps November is a good time to review the mental health benefits of gratitude — and to consider some advice about how to cultivate this state of mind.

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual ...

Researchers are testing family interventions for treatment and prevention.

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems in the United States, affecting about one in six adults at some point. About 7.5 million of those affected each year are parents. When a parent is depressed, the likelihood increases that his or her children will develop this mood disorder as well.

In the population as a whole, for example, surveys indicate that about 20% of young people develop depression by age 18. In families where one parent is depressed, however, about 40% of youths develop depression by age 20, ...

Sometimes it's normal to forget things. Here is a look at the most typical lapses.

Forming and storing a memory is a multistep process that involves several parts of the brain. A memory is not a single entity, like a book on a shelf. Instead, memory is the aggregation of multiple streams of sensory information, filtered through the perception of the person observing or participating in the event. Each of the different components of memory is stored and processed in a different region of the brain.

Because memory storage and retrieval is so complex, even healthy people can experience memory ...

Researchers studying the relationship between nicotine and depression found that a certain smoking-cessation drug caused mice to eat less and lose weight.

Interpersonal therapy is another option for people with social anxiety disorder.

A long-term study of people with borderline personality disorder found that most people who obtained treatment were able to achieve remission.

Sleep apnea and other similar breathing problems may increase the risk of cognitive decline in older age.

Q. A friend jokes she is a "chocoholic." Can you really become addicted to chocolate or other foods?

A. With so many Americans overweight or obese, public health experts are also asking this question. Since it is so difficult to follow the simple advice to "eat a healthy diet" and "exercise more," they realize that food might have addictive properties. Yet common sense demands that food — even chocolate — be placed in a different category from substances like heroin or alcohol.

Addiction involves three essential components: intense craving, loss of control over the object of that craving, and continuing ...