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It’s like he died—except if somebody dies, they’re not going to show up at your doorstep one day.” That’s how Lynn describes what it felt like when her ex—let’s call him Aidan—abruptly cut off all contact last year. The two had been dating for seven years, and shared a home in sunny California with... Read Full article on HadNews.com

The emotional toll of a breakup can be physically felt, and one woman decided to track her heart rate using her Apple Watch during a particularly intense breakup. The results were shocking, with her heart rate spiking to 176 beats per minute during heartbreaking conversations. The average resting heart rate for adults is typically between 60 to 100 beats per minute, making this woman's skyrocketing heart rate during her breakup a cause for concern. The data captured by the Apple Watch provides a unique insight into how our bodies physically react to emotional distress. To read further about this woman's experience and see the data captured...... Read Full article on HadNews

"Inside Out 2" takes us back into the mind of Riley as she navigates the challenges of being a teenager. Just when her emotions- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust- think they have everything under control, a new emotion, Anxiety, shows up throwing them off balance. As they try to adapt to this new addition, they realize they are not the only ones changing. Envy, Embarrassment, and Sarcasm also make an appearance, bringing a whole new dynamic to the emotions' headquarters. Together, they must learn to work as a team to help Riley through the ups and downs of high school. With humor, heart, and plenty of emotions, "Inside Out 2" promises ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Forty-three thousands years ago, our ancestors were making music. We know this because scientists have found unmistakable prehistoric flutes made of bone and ivory in caves nestled within a mountain range in southwest Germany. The discovery clarifies that humans evolved with rhythm and melody for at least tens of thousands of years, possibly far longer. (Alas, anthropologists will never find concrete evidence of singing; vocals don’t fossilize.) The fact that music has been with us for so long explains why it affects us so profoundly — both mentally and physically. Tears can uncontrollably seep from even the most hardened eyes when Bru...... Read Full article on HadNews

What is love? Could those feelings you label as love be something else? What about infatuation? Obsession? A passing fancy? Being smitten? Enthrallment? Beguilement? Lust? A crush? A squish? Platonic admiration? Why do people categorize some attachments as romantic love but not others? Suppose Holly meets someone on vacation. They quickly become romantically and sexually intimate and seem deeply compatible. Holly is from the U.K., where the term “holiday romance” is commonly used and part of her vocabulary. Because she knows this term, she can apply its social scaffolding to this relationship. She understands that the rapid emotiona...... Read Full article on HadNews

True Love — and the Myth of “Happily Ever After” | Francesca Hogi | TED In the TED talk "True Love — and the Myth of 'Happily Ever After'," relationship expert Francesca Hogi challenges the fairytale industrial complex that has been feeding us the myth of "happily ever after." Through a pervasive web of marketing, advertising, music, movies, and more, we have been led to believe that love is something external and scarce, something that can only be achieved through luck, worthiness, and the approval of a high-status partner. Hogi argues that instead of treating love as a storybook fantasy, we need to center self-love and self-worth and pri...... Read Full article on HadNews

Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn’t concentrate for days? These types of emotions are unpleasant to experience and can even feel overwhelming. People often try to avoid them, suppress them or ignore them. In fact, in psychology experiments, people will pay money to not feel many negative emotions. But recent research is revealing that emotions can be useful, and even negative emotions can bring benefits. In my emotion science lab at Texas A&M University, we study how emotions like anger and boredom affect...... Read Full article on HadNews

Oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills, are used by more than 150 million women worldwide. Approximately one-third of teenagers in North America and Europe use them, making them the most prescribed drug for teenagers. It is well known that oral contraceptives have the power to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle. What’s less well known is that they can also have an effect on the brain, particularly in the regions that are important for regulating emotions. As a doctoral student and professor of psychology at UQAM, we were interested in the impact of oral contraceptives on the brain regions involved in emotional processes. ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Music’s power over your brain, explained | Michael Spitzer Humans have been making music and learning to recognize it from the moment our species learned to walk on two legs and create a predictable beat. Michael Spitzer, a music expert and professor of music at the University of Liverpool, explains in a video titled "Music’s power over your brain, explained" that humans are musical animals 4 million years in the making. The rhythm of walking has stamped human music, forging links between the brain, muscular exertion, and sound. Music reflects walking, and this gives humans a fascination with the metaphor that music moves. The video delves i...... Read Full article on HadNews

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why do we have a certain taste in music, different than others? – Shirya R., age 11 When you turn on the radio, you might hear songs you like and other songs you just skip past. But even the songs you don’t like usually have some fans. Maybe you don’t like older music, but your parents or grandparents might love it because they grew up with it. It’s familiar and comfortable. When you’re older, you’l...... Read Full article on HadNews

We all want to be happy — and for decades, psychologists have tried to figure out how we might achieve that blissful state. The field’s many surveys and experiments have pointed to a variety of approaches, from giving stuff away to quitting Facebook to forcing one’s face into a toothy grin. But psychology has undergone serious upheaval over the last decade, as researchers realized that many studies were unreliable and unrepeatable. That has led to a closer scrutiny of psychological research methods, with the study of happiness no exception. So — what really makes us happy? Under today’s more careful microscope, some routes to happiness seem ...... Read Full article on HadNews