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Public health officials consistently promote hand-washing as a way for people to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, this virus can live on metal and plastic for days, so simply adjusting your eyeglasses with unwashed hands may be enough...

Isolation, social distancing and extreme changes in daily life are hard now, but the United States also needs to be prepared for what may be an epidemic of clinical depression because of COVID-19. We are clinical psychological scientists at the...

The media is replete with COVID-19 stories about people clearing supermarket shelves – and the backlash against them. Have people gone mad? How can one individual be overfilling his own cart, while shaming others who are doing the same? As...

As the world continues to deal with the life-altering effects of the novel coronavirus, a small but not-insignificant number of individuals have been expressing their fears about COVID-19 through the language of government conspiracies and wild alternative health cures. Last...

Touch has profound benefits for human beings. But over the last few decades, people have become increasingly cautious about socially touching others for a range of reasons. With the novel coronavirus spreading, this is bound to get worse. People have...

People who suspect they may have come into contact with the coronavirus are being advised to self-isolate (stay at home) for 14 days. For some people, the idea of self-isolation may seem like a dream come true. For others, the...

As cases of COVID-19 proliferate, there’s a pandemic of fear unfolding alongside the pandemic of the coronavirus. Media announce mass cancellations of public events “over coronavirus fears.” TV stations show images of “coronavirus panic shopping.” Magazines discuss attacks against Asians...

The other day I went into Costco to buy some toilet paper. It came as a small shock when I couldn’t find a single roll. The new coronavirus is inspiring panic buying of a variety of household products such as...

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues its global spread and the number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases continues to increase, anxiety related to the outbreak is on the rise too. As a psychologist, I am seeing this in my practice already. Although...

An ad featuring Ron Reagan, son of the Republican former President Ronald Reagan, surprised some viewers of the recent Democratic primary debates. In the 30-second spot, run by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Reagan expressed concern that religious beliefs have...

Why do we stop dancing when we grow up? Why do we disconnect and alienate ourselves from the body? It is surprising to me that dance/movement therapy (DMT) is not more popular within the fields of psychology and psychotherapy globally....

More than 500 people have travelled into space to date and, while we know a little about how life without gravity affects our physical health, we know almost nothing about how it affects our minds. So, my colleagues and I...

Hyperbole can be rampant in health news, particularly with respect to cannabis. One recent headline declared: “CBD is effective in treating heroin addiction.” Another proclaimed: “New study finds CBD could curb heroin addiction.” These stories were referring to a recent...

Physical activity has long been associated with better mental health. What’s not well understood, however, is whether too much activity can negatively impact psychological well-being. As a researcher on physical activity and mental health, I often hear people say, “The...

Airline pilots are often exhausted. An extreme example happened in 2008, when a pilot and a co-pilot both fell asleep at the controls, missing their landing in Hawaii – earning pilot’s license suspensions as well as getting fired. More recently,...