Thrive

FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH, WELLNESS & INSPIRATION

THE LOOK OF LOVE

DID YOU KNOW THAT SIMPLY THINKING ABOUT OR VIEWING PICTURES OF YOUR ROMANTIC PARTNER ACTIVATES THE BRAIN REGIONS RELATED TO MOOD AND PAIN REGULATION? IT ALSO HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON ENERGY AND REDUCES YOUR STRESS HORMONE LEVELS. RESEARCHERS THEORIZE THAT A GOOD RELATIONSHIP INCLUDES TRUST AND SECURITY, HELPING CALM YOUR NERVES AND ALLEVIATE THE STRESS RESPONSE. NOT CURRENTLY IN LOVE? NOT TO WORRY: CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY WERE SHOWN TO HAVE SIMILAR POSITIVE EFFECTS ON BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH.

Thrive MIND& BODY

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world

Is there really an upside to anger? Experts say yes.

By Judy Minich

The past year has been an emotional roller coaster. From natural disasters to disastrous discord, it was like trying to keep your balance on a fun-house moving walkway that was, let’s face it, anything but fun. But as you grappled with fear and confusion and sought hope and joy, didn’t it all sometimes just make you mad?

Is It Bad to Be Mad?

Anger is a normal human emotion — natural but much-maligned — and if you had a dollar for every time someone said, don’t be mad, you’d march off to the bank with a fistful of greenbacks. So is there really an upside to anger? According to Michael Mantell, Ph.D., cognitive behavior coach and author of The Link Is What You Think (CreateSpace, 2017), the answer is yes.

“Using the sense of physical power, energy, and feelings of invulnerability and control that sometimes comes with anger can be motivating,” Mantell explains. “It can be the trigger that allows you to leave your job or an abusive relationship.”