Despite being highly confident that they can understand the minds of people with opposing viewpoints, the assumptions humans make about others are often wrong, according to new research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in partnership with the University of Oxford.

frequency of persuasive bullshitting (i.e., bullshitting intended to impress or persuade others) positively predicts susceptibility to various types of misleading information

"The ability to increase the firing rate, though, comes with a hidden cost. Severe psychological trauma becomes a distinct possibility when military training overrides safeguards against killing: In a war when 95 percent of soldiers fired their weapons at the enemy, it should come as no surprise that between 18 and 54 percent of the 2.8 million military personnel who served in Vietnam suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder—far higher than in previous wars."

experts are cautioning against going overboard with the “good vibes only” trend. Too much forced positivity is not just unhelpful, they say — it’s toxic

people who habitually avoid acknowledging challenging emotions can end up feeling worse.

"Culturally, we encourage boys and men to adhere to rigid notions of masculinity that emphasize stoicism, self-sufficiency, and control. Men lose their emotional voices early in their lives."

repressed memories aren't a thing

The idea that people "block out" traumatic memories has been proven wrong over and over. Why, then, do therapists continue to promote it?

"“Instagram vs. Reality” posts exposing the fake side of Instagram might help body image, suggests a new US study (n=305), which found that unrealistic images with photo editing tools increase women’s body dissatisfaction, but posts exposing these images as fake can improve women’s body image."

Very interesting point made at the end, doing something quick and easy, that makes you feel like you're doing something useful, may come at the expense of actually doing something useful.

"Having an anxious reaction, and living to tell the tale, is actually an important part of learning to live with one’s brain. Rather than issuing trigger warnings, universities can best serve students by facilitating access to effective and proven treatments for P.T.S.D. and other mental health problems... if you feel you need a trigger warning, maybe what you really need is better medical care"

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."