Chronic stress profoundly affects mental health, significantly influencing mood, behavior, and overall quality of life. Research closely links chronic stress with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Ongoing exposure to stress can lead to physiological and psychological changes, initiating a cycle of emotional distress and maladaptive coping mechanisms.
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or...

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) serves as the primary classification system for mental health disorders, providing standardized diagnostic criteria for clinicians and researchers. First published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1952, the DSM has undergone several revisions to reflect evolving psychiatric understanding. The fifth edition, DSM-5, released in 2013, introduced key updates that expanded diagnostic categories and modified diagnostic...

The representative heuristic describes a biased way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something. For example, you may assume that your professors spend their free time reading books and engaging in intellectual conversation, because the idea of them spending their time playing volleyball or visiting an amusement park does not fit in with your stereotypes of professors.

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the...