Addiction Archive

While it’s true that one’s inclination to happiness is partially inherited, an individual’s choices and behaviors also contribute significantly, and research has found that the happiest people all have certain traits in common.

The experience of having an “earworm”—a song that’s stuck in your head—is extremely common. But why do they happen? And how do you get rid of one?

A little bit of worry and stress is normal — even beneficial. But chronic anxiety may raise your risk for heart problems.

 Image: © grinvalds/Thinkstock

If you feel anxious now and then, that's perfectly normal. In fact, worrying can spur you to take positive action that may benefit your health, such as getting screening tests or doing regular exercise. But excessive worrying can have the opposite effect.

"Small amounts of anxiety and stress can push people to be more productive. The problem happens when anxiety becomes so overwhelming that you're unable to function normally," says Dr. Christopher Celano, a psychiatrist at the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. That level of worry and stress may represent an anxiety disorder, a group of conditions that affect some 40 million adults in this country.

Recreating the workplace dynamics helps older men strengthen their social bonding and thinking skills.

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Men who retire are often happy to leave behind their work life, but one aspect they still need is the workplace's packlike male bonding. Group lunches, team projects, watercooler banter — all these help men establish social connections that keep their brains and bodies active and healthy.

"Women tend to make friends across their life span, while men acquire friends in clumps through shared experiences like sports, the military, and work," says Dr. Richard S. Schwartz, a psychiatrist with Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. "When one source is eliminated, men tend to lose some of those friends over time and have to find other ways to connect with people and fill those missing gaps."

Research we're watching

A growing number of older adults are misusing opioids, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that the percentage of adults ages 50 and older using heroin or misusing prescription opioids jumped from 1.1% to 2% between 2002 and 2014. In contrast, opioid use in adults ages 18 to 25 dropped from 11.5% to 8.1% over the same period.

Drug use can bring particular risks to the health and well-being of older adults because they are more likely than younger people to have other illnesses and often take medications that can interact with opioids, according Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. "These findings highlight the need for prevention programs for all ages as well as to establish improved evidence-based treatment, screening, and appropriate referral services," Dr. Kimberly Johnson, director for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, said in a written statement.

A trio of studies investigated the connection between the ability to accept the negative emotions generated by stressful situations and a person’s long-term psychological health.