#mentalwellbeing — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #mentalwellbeing, aggregated by home.social.
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You’ll silently bloom, beautifully in your own way. – Dhiman By @inhaarcedoarts
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #wellbeing #growth -
You’ll silently bloom, beautifully in your own way. – Dhiman By @inhaarcedoarts
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #wellbeing #growth -
DATE: August 12, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Scientists identify 19 core dimensions of positive mental health in new consensus study
A recent study published in Nature Mental Health identifies a core set of elements that make up positive mental health, offering a standardized framework to define what it means to truly be well. By consulting experts across multiple disciplines, the research outlines nineteen specific dimensions, ranging from life satisfaction to social connection. The findings provide a foundation for creating more consistent strategies to support and measure psychological well-being in communities and workplaces.
Positive mental health encompasses more than just the absence of mental illness. It includes aspects of functioning effectively, feeling good, and connecting with others. High levels of mental well-being are associated with better recovery from stressful events, lower risks of chronic disease, and widespread benefits for society.
Despite its broad relevance, the exact definition of positive mental health varies widely depending on the field of study. Psychologists, public health officials, economists, and sociologists often use different terms and models to describe similar ideas, such as flourishing, thriving, or coping.
This lack of a shared vocabulary causes fragmentation in research and policy. When different organizations use completely different standards to define well-being, comparing research data or evaluating the success of public policies becomes incredibly difficult.
“Put very simply, there is very little agreement on what we mean when we say mental wellbeing, flourishing, positive mental health, or related terms,” said Matthew Iasiello, head of data and research translation at Be Well Co and postdoctoral research fellow at Adelaide University’s School of Biomedical Science. “These terms can all be used interchangeably, and each discipline defines them slightly differently, meaning that measures often focus on different things and evidence is hard to synthesize. This leads to confusion in the academic world, which also trickles into the ‘real world’ with governments and funders guessing about what to measure and where to invest.”
To address this inconsistency, researchers set out to establish a unified list of components that constitute positive mental health. Building a shared framework helps ensure that professionals across all sectors are aiming for the same targets when designing mental health interventions.
The researchers used a technique known as the Delphi method, which involves surveying a group of experts over multiple rounds to reach a consensus on a specific topic. The study recruited 122 prominent academics from 26 countries, representing 11 different disciplines. These fields included clinical psychology, psychiatry, public health, philosophy, nursing, and economics.
The experts had an average age of about 53 years and an average of nearly twenty years of experience in their respective fields. About 84 percent of the participants identified as Caucasian or European, and a majority resided in Western nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The response rate for the survey was approximately 10 percent of the invited academics, though the participating experts were highly cited in their disciplines.
In the first round of the survey, participants evaluated 26 potential dimensions of positive mental health drawn from previous scientific reviews. The experts rated each dimension on a four-point scale from irrelevant to essential. To be included in the final framework, a dimension needed to reach at least 75 percent agreement among the experts. Participants also had the opportunity to suggest additional components in open-text boxes.
In the second round, the experts reviewed the newly suggested dimensions and re-evaluated the items that had not yet reached a consensus. In the third and final round, the participants rated the approved dimensions to determine if they were primarily drivers that cause positive mental health or outcomes that result from it. They used a visual scale from zero to 100, where zero indicated a driver and 100 indicated an outcome.
The panel reached a consensus on nineteen distinct dimensions that constitute positive mental health. Six of these components achieved greater than 90 percent agreement for inclusion. These highest-rated components included meaning and purpose, life satisfaction, self-acceptance, connection with others, autonomy, and happiness.
Iasiello noted that the average person should understand “that positive mental health is broad. It’s more than feeling happy and more than simply not being unwell.” He added, “When we asked a large, cross-disciplinary panel of experts to agree, six dimensions stood out as near-universal: meaning and purpose, life satisfaction, self-acceptance, connection, autonomy and happiness. So if you want a fuller picture of how someone is doing, those are good places to look.”
Other dimensions that made the final list of nineteen included optimism, competence, engagement, calmness, vitality, and a sense of belonging. Rounding out the accepted framework were acceptance, achievement, activities and functioning, development, fun, self-congruence, and a sense of safety. The panel also agreed to exclude certain concepts altogether. For instance, avoidance coping, which involves attempting to ignore stressors, achieved only about 20 percent agreement and was excluded.
The experts debated the boundary between psychological and physical elements of well-being. Factors like physical health achieved only 62.8 percent agreement, and personal circumstances achieved only 62.5 percent agreement, meaning both failed to reach the 75 percent threshold for inclusion. This indicates a tendency among the experts to classify these physical and environmental factors as outside influences rather than core parts of mental well-being itself.
When categorizing the finalized components on the zero to 100 scale, the panel rated happiness and life satisfaction primarily as outcomes of positive mental health, with scores averaging near 74 and 72, respectively. On the other hand, elements like autonomy and a sense of safety were considered primarily as drivers that help produce well-being, scoring around 29 and 32 on the scale.
Differentiating these variables proved to be a challenging task. “Probably how difficult it was for our panel to separate ‘outcomes’ or ‘drivers’ of positive mental health,” Iasiello told PsyPost, regarding what surprised the research team. “The surprising finding was that most of the 19 included dimensions could be seen as both an outcome or a driver, depending on the research question or population. This points to the complexity of the topic!”
The feedback from the participants helped shape a new working definition of positive mental health. The updated definition emphasizes that positive mental health is a subjective experience of functioning well and feeling content. It also specifically notes that a person can experience positive mental health and take action to improve it even while managing a mental health condition.
This proposed taxonomy represents a starting point for standardizing the field, but it possesses built-in limitations. “The main misinterpretation is thinking that this work is a finished product,” Iasiello said. “This shared taxonomy aims to be a starting point towards reaching greater consistency in the field. Our panel was highly expert but heavily Western and English-speaking, so the taxonomy almost certainly carries a Western view of well-being, and concepts like the Japanese idea of ikigai may not sit neatly inside it.”
Concepts like ikigai, which broadly translates to a reason for being or a sense of purpose in everyday living, highlight how different cultures prioritize unique psychological traits. A panel consisting predominantly of academics from industrialized, English-speaking nations might overlook elements of well-being that emphasize communal harmony or spiritual connection.
The boundaries between the causes of mental health and the outcomes of mental health also remain highly complex. A factor like social connection can serve as a driver of well-being on one day and an outcome of a positive mood on the next. The dynamic interactions between these variables suggest that any standardized list will struggle to capture the fluid nature of human psychology in everyday life.
To address these gaps, the researchers have several goals for subsequent studies. “First, test the taxonomy well beyond a Western panel, and deliberately include non-Western concepts and the lived experience of groups often left out, such as people managing chronic illness,” Iasiello said. “Second, work out the structure, which dimensions act as drivers, which are outcomes, and how they nest together, rather than leaving them as a flat list.”
“Third, map positive mental health against mental illness, since the two aren’t just opposite ends of one line,” Iasiello continued. He also emphasized a desire for practical applications moving forward. “Alongside that, we want the science to reach real communities through partnerships between universities, councils, businesses, NGOs, and practitioners, so it gets tested where people actually live and work.”
The study, “A Delphi consensus study on the dimensions of positive mental health,” was authored by M. Iasiello, J. van Agteren, K. Ali, E. Kolovos, P. J. Batterham, F. Goodman, A. Jarden, T. B. Kashdan, M. Kyrios, L. G. Oades, D. Weziak-Bialowolska, and D. B. Fassnacht.
Below is the complete list of the components and their meanings as outlined in the study:
The Top Six Dimensions (Greater than 90% Agreement)
• Meaning and purpose: Having clear goals, a sense of direction, and a larger aim in life and/or the feeling that what we do is worthwhile, rewarding, and valuable.
•• Life satisfaction: The degree to which a person positively evaluates the overall quality of their life as a whole (i.e., how much the person likes the life they lead).
•• Self-acceptance: Experiencing different aspects of oneself (e.g., one’s body, personality, thoughts, and feelings) in a positive, tolerant, receptive, or non-judgmental way; experiencing positive self-worth.
•• Connection: Involving a feeling of belonging, mutual caring, love, and closeness to friends, family, and loved ones.
•• Autonomy: The perception that we have ownership over our behavior and choices, and the ability to express oneself.
•• Happiness: States that are characterized by moderate-arousal pleasant feelings, such as feeling happy, cheerful, and pleased.
•The Remaining 13 Dimensions
• Acceptance: The ability to self-reflect, identify what is within a person’s control, and accept what is outside one’s control.
•• Achievement: Having done something successfully, using one’s own efforts and skills.
•• Activities and functioning: Overall satisfaction with our activities and leisure, and our ability to undertake these tasks.
•• Belonging: The feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences.
•• Calmness: States characterized by low-arousal pleasant feelings, like serenity and peacefulness.
•• Competence: Feeling and perceiving oneself as effective and able to overcome challenges and stressors, and achieve desired outcomes.
•• Development: Experiencing growth and improvement.
•• Engagement: Having an absorbing experience in which the individual is completely focused on the task at hand or experiencing a state of mindful awareness.
•• Fun: Experiencing light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; entertainment.
•• Optimism: Having a positive outlook on life, and positive expectations about the future.
•• Self-congruence: The perception that our actions and behaviors are compatible with our interests, values, and beliefs.
•• Sense of safety: The feeling of relative security in one’s daily life.
•• Vitality: States characterized by high-arousal pleasant feelings, such as feeling energetic and lively.
•-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PositiveMentalHealth #MentalWellbeing #DelphiConsensus #MeaningAndPurpose #LifeSatisfaction #SelfAcceptance #Connection #Autonomy #Happiness #WellbeingFramework
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DATE: August 12, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Scientists identify 19 core dimensions of positive mental health in new consensus study
A recent study published in Nature Mental Health identifies a core set of elements that make up positive mental health, offering a standardized framework to define what it means to truly be well. By consulting experts across multiple disciplines, the research outlines nineteen specific dimensions, ranging from life satisfaction to social connection. The findings provide a foundation for creating more consistent strategies to support and measure psychological well-being in communities and workplaces.
Positive mental health encompasses more than just the absence of mental illness. It includes aspects of functioning effectively, feeling good, and connecting with others. High levels of mental well-being are associated with better recovery from stressful events, lower risks of chronic disease, and widespread benefits for society.
Despite its broad relevance, the exact definition of positive mental health varies widely depending on the field of study. Psychologists, public health officials, economists, and sociologists often use different terms and models to describe similar ideas, such as flourishing, thriving, or coping.
This lack of a shared vocabulary causes fragmentation in research and policy. When different organizations use completely different standards to define well-being, comparing research data or evaluating the success of public policies becomes incredibly difficult.
“Put very simply, there is very little agreement on what we mean when we say mental wellbeing, flourishing, positive mental health, or related terms,” said Matthew Iasiello, head of data and research translation at Be Well Co and postdoctoral research fellow at Adelaide University’s School of Biomedical Science. “These terms can all be used interchangeably, and each discipline defines them slightly differently, meaning that measures often focus on different things and evidence is hard to synthesize. This leads to confusion in the academic world, which also trickles into the ‘real world’ with governments and funders guessing about what to measure and where to invest.”
To address this inconsistency, researchers set out to establish a unified list of components that constitute positive mental health. Building a shared framework helps ensure that professionals across all sectors are aiming for the same targets when designing mental health interventions.
The researchers used a technique known as the Delphi method, which involves surveying a group of experts over multiple rounds to reach a consensus on a specific topic. The study recruited 122 prominent academics from 26 countries, representing 11 different disciplines. These fields included clinical psychology, psychiatry, public health, philosophy, nursing, and economics.
The experts had an average age of about 53 years and an average of nearly twenty years of experience in their respective fields. About 84 percent of the participants identified as Caucasian or European, and a majority resided in Western nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The response rate for the survey was approximately 10 percent of the invited academics, though the participating experts were highly cited in their disciplines.
In the first round of the survey, participants evaluated 26 potential dimensions of positive mental health drawn from previous scientific reviews. The experts rated each dimension on a four-point scale from irrelevant to essential. To be included in the final framework, a dimension needed to reach at least 75 percent agreement among the experts. Participants also had the opportunity to suggest additional components in open-text boxes.
In the second round, the experts reviewed the newly suggested dimensions and re-evaluated the items that had not yet reached a consensus. In the third and final round, the participants rated the approved dimensions to determine if they were primarily drivers that cause positive mental health or outcomes that result from it. They used a visual scale from zero to 100, where zero indicated a driver and 100 indicated an outcome.
The panel reached a consensus on nineteen distinct dimensions that constitute positive mental health. Six of these components achieved greater than 90 percent agreement for inclusion. These highest-rated components included meaning and purpose, life satisfaction, self-acceptance, connection with others, autonomy, and happiness.
Iasiello noted that the average person should understand “that positive mental health is broad. It’s more than feeling happy and more than simply not being unwell.” He added, “When we asked a large, cross-disciplinary panel of experts to agree, six dimensions stood out as near-universal: meaning and purpose, life satisfaction, self-acceptance, connection, autonomy and happiness. So if you want a fuller picture of how someone is doing, those are good places to look.”
Other dimensions that made the final list of nineteen included optimism, competence, engagement, calmness, vitality, and a sense of belonging. Rounding out the accepted framework were acceptance, achievement, activities and functioning, development, fun, self-congruence, and a sense of safety. The panel also agreed to exclude certain concepts altogether. For instance, avoidance coping, which involves attempting to ignore stressors, achieved only about 20 percent agreement and was excluded.
The experts debated the boundary between psychological and physical elements of well-being. Factors like physical health achieved only 62.8 percent agreement, and personal circumstances achieved only 62.5 percent agreement, meaning both failed to reach the 75 percent threshold for inclusion. This indicates a tendency among the experts to classify these physical and environmental factors as outside influences rather than core parts of mental well-being itself.
When categorizing the finalized components on the zero to 100 scale, the panel rated happiness and life satisfaction primarily as outcomes of positive mental health, with scores averaging near 74 and 72, respectively. On the other hand, elements like autonomy and a sense of safety were considered primarily as drivers that help produce well-being, scoring around 29 and 32 on the scale.
Differentiating these variables proved to be a challenging task. “Probably how difficult it was for our panel to separate ‘outcomes’ or ‘drivers’ of positive mental health,” Iasiello told PsyPost, regarding what surprised the research team. “The surprising finding was that most of the 19 included dimensions could be seen as both an outcome or a driver, depending on the research question or population. This points to the complexity of the topic!”
The feedback from the participants helped shape a new working definition of positive mental health. The updated definition emphasizes that positive mental health is a subjective experience of functioning well and feeling content. It also specifically notes that a person can experience positive mental health and take action to improve it even while managing a mental health condition.
This proposed taxonomy represents a starting point for standardizing the field, but it possesses built-in limitations. “The main misinterpretation is thinking that this work is a finished product,” Iasiello said. “This shared taxonomy aims to be a starting point towards reaching greater consistency in the field. Our panel was highly expert but heavily Western and English-speaking, so the taxonomy almost certainly carries a Western view of well-being, and concepts like the Japanese idea of ikigai may not sit neatly inside it.”
Concepts like ikigai, which broadly translates to a reason for being or a sense of purpose in everyday living, highlight how different cultures prioritize unique psychological traits. A panel consisting predominantly of academics from industrialized, English-speaking nations might overlook elements of well-being that emphasize communal harmony or spiritual connection.
The boundaries between the causes of mental health and the outcomes of mental health also remain highly complex. A factor like social connection can serve as a driver of well-being on one day and an outcome of a positive mood on the next. The dynamic interactions between these variables suggest that any standardized list will struggle to capture the fluid nature of human psychology in everyday life.
To address these gaps, the researchers have several goals for subsequent studies. “First, test the taxonomy well beyond a Western panel, and deliberately include non-Western concepts and the lived experience of groups often left out, such as people managing chronic illness,” Iasiello said. “Second, work out the structure, which dimensions act as drivers, which are outcomes, and how they nest together, rather than leaving them as a flat list.”
“Third, map positive mental health against mental illness, since the two aren’t just opposite ends of one line,” Iasiello continued. He also emphasized a desire for practical applications moving forward. “Alongside that, we want the science to reach real communities through partnerships between universities, councils, businesses, NGOs, and practitioners, so it gets tested where people actually live and work.”
The study, “A Delphi consensus study on the dimensions of positive mental health,” was authored by M. Iasiello, J. van Agteren, K. Ali, E. Kolovos, P. J. Batterham, F. Goodman, A. Jarden, T. B. Kashdan, M. Kyrios, L. G. Oades, D. Weziak-Bialowolska, and D. B. Fassnacht.
Below is the complete list of the components and their meanings as outlined in the study:
The Top Six Dimensions (Greater than 90% Agreement)
• Meaning and purpose: Having clear goals, a sense of direction, and a larger aim in life and/or the feeling that what we do is worthwhile, rewarding, and valuable.
•• Life satisfaction: The degree to which a person positively evaluates the overall quality of their life as a whole (i.e., how much the person likes the life they lead).
•• Self-acceptance: Experiencing different aspects of oneself (e.g., one’s body, personality, thoughts, and feelings) in a positive, tolerant, receptive, or non-judgmental way; experiencing positive self-worth.
•• Connection: Involving a feeling of belonging, mutual caring, love, and closeness to friends, family, and loved ones.
•• Autonomy: The perception that we have ownership over our behavior and choices, and the ability to express oneself.
•• Happiness: States that are characterized by moderate-arousal pleasant feelings, such as feeling happy, cheerful, and pleased.
•The Remaining 13 Dimensions
• Acceptance: The ability to self-reflect, identify what is within a person’s control, and accept what is outside one’s control.
•• Achievement: Having done something successfully, using one’s own efforts and skills.
•• Activities and functioning: Overall satisfaction with our activities and leisure, and our ability to undertake these tasks.
•• Belonging: The feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences.
•• Calmness: States characterized by low-arousal pleasant feelings, like serenity and peacefulness.
•• Competence: Feeling and perceiving oneself as effective and able to overcome challenges and stressors, and achieve desired outcomes.
•• Development: Experiencing growth and improvement.
•• Engagement: Having an absorbing experience in which the individual is completely focused on the task at hand or experiencing a state of mindful awareness.
•• Fun: Experiencing light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; entertainment.
•• Optimism: Having a positive outlook on life, and positive expectations about the future.
•• Self-congruence: The perception that our actions and behaviors are compatible with our interests, values, and beliefs.
•• Sense of safety: The feeling of relative security in one’s daily life.
•• Vitality: States characterized by high-arousal pleasant feelings, such as feeling energetic and lively.
•-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PositiveMentalHealth #MentalWellbeing #DelphiConsensus #MeaningAndPurpose #LifeSatisfaction #SelfAcceptance #Connection #Autonomy #Happiness #WellbeingFramework
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When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower. Alexander Den Heijer
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #wellness #growth -
When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower. Alexander Den Heijer
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #wellness #growth -
Support group for first pancakes. By Mark Parisi
#mentalhealthhumor #funnymemes #copingwithhumor #humorheals #ymhc #mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing -
Support group for first pancakes. By Mark Parisi
#mentalhealthhumor #funnymemes #copingwithhumor #humorheals #ymhc #mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing -
Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air. -Emerson
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air. -Emerson
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
"Sometimes I feel I haven't done much," said the boy. "You've got up and carried on... which is brave and magnificent." By Charlie Mackesy
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased -
"Sometimes I feel I haven't done much," said the boy. "You've got up and carried on... which is brave and magnificent." By Charlie Mackesy
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased -
Just when the caterpillar thought it's life was over... it became a butterfly.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #adversity #courage -
Just when the caterpillar thought it's life was over... it became a butterfly.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #adversity #courage -
Whatever you do today do it with the confidence of a 4 year old in a bat man t shirt
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Whatever you do today do it with the confidence of a 4 year old in a bat man t shirt
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
DATE: August 8, 2026 at 11:50PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEEDTITLE: Scientists say just 7 days of meditation can rewire your brain
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260807235243.htm
An intensive seven-day meditation retreat triggered striking changes across the brain and body, including shifts tied to neuroplasticity, immunity, metabolism, and natural pain relief. Participants also showed brain connectivity patterns resembling those associated with psychedelic experiences, suggesting that powerful altered states may be achievable without drugs.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260807235243.htm
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Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #meditation #neuroplasticity #brainhealth #mindfulness #7dayretreat #mentalwellbeing #immunityboost #painrelief #functionalneuroscience #psychedelicwithoutdrugs
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DATE: August 8, 2026 at 11:50PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEEDTITLE: Scientists say just 7 days of meditation can rewire your brain
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260807235243.htm
An intensive seven-day meditation retreat triggered striking changes across the brain and body, including shifts tied to neuroplasticity, immunity, metabolism, and natural pain relief. Participants also showed brain connectivity patterns resembling those associated with psychedelic experiences, suggesting that powerful altered states may be achievable without drugs.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260807235243.htm
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #meditation #neuroplasticity #brainhealth #mindfulness #7dayretreat #mentalwellbeing #immunityboost #painrelief #functionalneuroscience #psychedelicwithoutdrugs
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Growth is growth, no matter how slow. Celebrating small victories builds momentum and confidence.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased -
Growth is growth, no matter how slow. Celebrating small victories builds momentum and confidence.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased -
Follow your passion. It will lead to your purpose.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Follow your passion. It will lead to your purpose.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
What I can't control. What I can control.
#healthyhabits #boundaries #healthyboundaries #emotions #feelings #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalwellness #mentalwellbeing #ymhc -
What I can't control. What I can control.
#healthyhabits #boundaries #healthyboundaries #emotions #feelings #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalwellness #mentalwellbeing #ymhc -
You're not too much. You're just not making yourself smaller anymore!! By @anxiety.positive
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
You're not too much. You're just not making yourself smaller anymore!! By @anxiety.positive
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Your worth is intrinsic and important, no matter how productive or successful you may be. Better yet, YOU get to define what “productive” and “successful” mean to you!
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Your worth is intrinsic and important, no matter how productive or successful you may be. Better yet, YOU get to define what “productive” and “successful” mean to you!
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
People who get excited about sunrises, sunsets, a sky full of stars, full moons, deep connections, and heart to heart conversations are my kind of people.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
People who get excited about sunrises, sunsets, a sky full of stars, full moons, deep connections, and heart to heart conversations are my kind of people.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
Which step will you reach today?
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #copingskills #strengthbased #courage -
Which step will you reach today?
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #copingskills #strengthbased #courage -
Not everyone will understand your journey. Just be yourself and carry on. By @colormehappii
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #courage #wellbeing -
Not everyone will understand your journey. Just be yourself and carry on. By @colormehappii
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #strengthbased #courage #wellbeing -
For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychological healthy without social support. That “unless you love yourself, no one will love you.” The truth is, you cannot love yourself unless you have been loved and are loved. The capacity to love cannot be built in isolation. -Bruce Perry
#mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing #hope #ymhc #communitycare -
For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychological healthy without social support. That “unless you love yourself, no one will love you.” The truth is, you cannot love yourself unless you have been loved and are loved. The capacity to love cannot be built in isolation. -Bruce Perry
#mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing #hope #ymhc #communitycare -
What's the most beautiful place you've ever seen in person?
#mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #gratitude #gratitudeattitude #gratitudepractice #grateful -
What's the most beautiful place you've ever seen in person?
#mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #gratitude #gratitudeattitude #gratitudepractice #grateful -
You make the world a better place just by being in it.
#mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #hope #ymhc #inspiration #positivevibes -
You make the world a better place just by being in it.
#mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #hope #ymhc #inspiration #positivevibes -
She'll shoot herself in the foot like she always does. Don't let it distress you; it's not worth it. Your mental well-being is too important.
#important #foot #distress #MentalWellbeing #worth #PaulineHanson
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I do understand. I think that’s what I was trying to express too.
But I’ve learned to see it without allowing the anxiety or distress to take over. My mental well-being is far too important to me these days to give it more attention than it deserves.
#express #understand #learn #anxiety #distress #mentalwellbeing #important #attention
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I do understand. I think that’s what I was trying to express too.
But I’ve learned to see it without allowing the anxiety or distress to take over. My mental well-being is far too important to me these days to give it more attention than it deserves.
#express #understand #learn #anxiety #distress #mentalwellbeing #important #attention
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You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #adversity #strengthbased #courage -
You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc #resilience #adversity #strengthbased #courage -
DATE: August 2, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psilocybin increases brain flexibility and shifts information flow weeks after use
A new study published in Human Brain Mapping suggests that a single high dose of psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” changes how information flows through specific brain circuits up to a month later. By using computer models to analyze brain scans, researchers found evidence that the brain becomes more flexible and shifts its communication patterns from top-down control to bottom-up sensory processing. These long-term changes in brain dynamics might help explain why the substance tends to relieve symptoms across various mental health conditions.
Psilocybin is currently being explored as a potential treatment for debilitating conditions like depression, anxiety, addiction, and eating disorders. Clinical trials provide evidence that one or two moderate to high doses can improve mental well-being for up to six months. The serotonin receptor known as 5-HT2A acts as the primary target for psilocybin in the brain. When this receptor is activated, people experience the immediate psychedelic effects of the drug.
Brain imaging has shown that during this acute phase, higher-level cognitive networks become less cohesive, allowing different parts of the brain to communicate more freely. Much less is known about how the brain reorganizes itself weeks after the drug wears off. Past research points to enduring changes in regions connected by fronto-striatal-thalamic circuits. These pathways connect the frontal lobes, which handle complex decision-making, to deeper structures like the striatum and thalamus, which process rewards, motivation, and sensory information.
“Psilocybin has shown remarkable promise in producing rapid and sustained improvements in symptoms across several psychiatric disorders, yet the brain mechanisms underlying these long-term effects remain poorly understood,” said Lorenzo Pasquini, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Recent studies in healthy volunteers have suggested that psilocybin can induce lasting structural changes in frontostriatal circuits, a network involved in motivation and goal-directed behavior. We wanted to build on these findings by examining how the functional dynamics of these circuits change over time after a single dose of psilocybin, and whether computational modeling could provide insights into the underlying neurochemical mechanisms.”
The authors recruited 25 healthy adults who had never taken psychedelic drugs. The participants underwent brain scans using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a technique that measures brain activity by tracking blood flow. The participants completed a baseline brain scan and a survey measuring their mental well-being on a scale with a general population average of 51.
The next day, they received a small, one-milligram dose of psilocybin. This served as a control condition because it is too low to produce noticeable psychedelic effects. Four weeks after this control dose, the participants returned for a second brain scan and well-being survey. The next day, they received a fully active, 25-milligram dose of psilocybin. Finally, four weeks after the high dose, the participants underwent their third and final brain scan and completed the well-being survey one last time.
The scientists first examined how uniform the activity in the frontal, striatal, and thalamic brain regions remained over the course of each scanning session. They found that the differences were not statistically significant when comparing the baseline scan and the scan four weeks after the low control dose. However, four weeks after the 25-milligram dose, the brain activity in these regions became much more variable over time compared to the one-milligram control scan.
This increased flexibility in brain activity tended to align with increases in the participants’ self-reported mental well-being scores. The researchers controlled for the participants’ baseline well-being, baseline brain activity, and head movement during the scans to ensure these factors did not distort the findings.
To figure out the mechanics of this increased flexibility, the researchers used a mathematical computer model to simulate the brain’s physical wiring. The physical wiring of the brain normally restricts how different regions fire together, acting like roads that guide traffic. The computer model provides evidence that four weeks after the high dose of psilocybin, this physical wiring had a weaker constraining effect on the brain’s functional activity. This reduced structural constraint allowed the brain regions to adopt more diverse and flexible activity patterns.
Next, the authors looked at the direction of information flow between different brain areas, a concept known as effective connectivity. By analyzing the timing of the brain signals, the model estimates whether one region is sending information to another. The models showed that four weeks after the high dose, top-down information flow from higher-order cortical areas, like the prefrontal cortex, decreased. In contrast, bottom-up information flow from deeper, lower-order subcortical regions, such as the thalamus and putamen, increased.
The researchers then mapped these changes in information flow onto publicly available atlases that show where specific chemical receptors are concentrated in the brain. They found that the decreases in top-down control matched the physical distribution of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex. At the same time, the increases in bottom-up information flow from deeper brain regions matched the distribution of dopamine D2 receptors. Dopamine is a chemical messenger heavily involved in processing rewards and learning.
“One of the most exciting aspects of the study was how computational modeling was able to reveal potential neurochemical mechanisms that would not have been apparent from brain imaging data alone,” Pasquini told PsyPost. “This highlights the value of combining neuroimaging with mechanistic modeling to better understand how neuropharmacological interventions affect the brain over time.”
“Our findings suggest that a single psilocybin experience may produce lasting changes in the way brain regions involved in motivation communicate with one another,” Pasquini added. “By combining brain imaging with computational modeling, we found evidence that these long-term changes are consistent with contributions from both serotonin- and dopamine-related systems. While more work is needed, these results provide new clues about how psilocybin may support lasting changes in mood and behavior.”
The small sample size of 25 participants means that the statistical evidence supporting these brain changes is relatively modest. The exact mathematical parameters and simulated brain patterns serve as tentative approximations rather than definitive biological facts. Because all participants received the exact same doses in the exact same order, factors like getting used to the scanning environment or expecting a positive outcome could have influenced the brain activity readings. The study design makes it difficult to completely separate the chemical effects of the drug from the psychological effects of participating in a month-long trial.
Another limitation is the use of generalized, public brain maps to locate serotonin and dopamine receptors. Every individual has a slightly different brain structure and chemical makeup, so relying on group averages obscures personal differences that might dictate how someone responds to psilocybin. The study also focuses narrowly on specific frontal and striatal circuits, leaving out other brain networks, like those involving the hippocampus.
“An important point is that our study does not directly measure serotonin or dopamine activity,” Pasquini noted. “Instead, our conclusions are based on computational models informed by known receptor distributions. These findings should therefore be viewed as generating mechanistic hypotheses that will need to be tested in future experimental studies.”
Future research needs to track these brain changes using larger groups of people, individualized brain scans, and randomized, placebo-controlled designs.
“Our long-term goal is to better understand how psilocybin influences motivation, social behavior, and well-being over time,” Pasquini said. “We are now extending this work into longitudinal clinical trials to investigate how changes in brain function relate to meaningful improvements in psychological health, particularly in older adults.”
“This study was a wonderful international collaboration between researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and Imperial College London,” Pasquini concluded. “We are also grateful for the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which helped make this collaboration possible.”
The study, “Modeled Long-Term Effects of Psilocybin on Dynamic Activity and Effective Connectivity of Fronto-Striatal-Thalamic Circuits,” was authored by Lorenzo Pasquini, Jakub Vohryzek, Anira Escrichs, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Adrian Ponce-Alvarez, Sebastian Idesis, Manesh Girn, Leor Roseman, Jennifer M. Mitchell, Adam Gazzaley, Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Morten L. Kringelbach, and Gustavo Deco.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsilocybinBrainFlexibility #DynamicConnectivity #FrontostriatalThalamicCircuits #5HT2A #DopamineD2 #BottomUpProcessing #TopDownControl #Neuropharmacology #BrainImaging #MentalWellBeing
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DATE: August 2, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psilocybin increases brain flexibility and shifts information flow weeks after use
A new study published in Human Brain Mapping suggests that a single high dose of psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” changes how information flows through specific brain circuits up to a month later. By using computer models to analyze brain scans, researchers found evidence that the brain becomes more flexible and shifts its communication patterns from top-down control to bottom-up sensory processing. These long-term changes in brain dynamics might help explain why the substance tends to relieve symptoms across various mental health conditions.
Psilocybin is currently being explored as a potential treatment for debilitating conditions like depression, anxiety, addiction, and eating disorders. Clinical trials provide evidence that one or two moderate to high doses can improve mental well-being for up to six months. The serotonin receptor known as 5-HT2A acts as the primary target for psilocybin in the brain. When this receptor is activated, people experience the immediate psychedelic effects of the drug.
Brain imaging has shown that during this acute phase, higher-level cognitive networks become less cohesive, allowing different parts of the brain to communicate more freely. Much less is known about how the brain reorganizes itself weeks after the drug wears off. Past research points to enduring changes in regions connected by fronto-striatal-thalamic circuits. These pathways connect the frontal lobes, which handle complex decision-making, to deeper structures like the striatum and thalamus, which process rewards, motivation, and sensory information.
“Psilocybin has shown remarkable promise in producing rapid and sustained improvements in symptoms across several psychiatric disorders, yet the brain mechanisms underlying these long-term effects remain poorly understood,” said Lorenzo Pasquini, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Recent studies in healthy volunteers have suggested that psilocybin can induce lasting structural changes in frontostriatal circuits, a network involved in motivation and goal-directed behavior. We wanted to build on these findings by examining how the functional dynamics of these circuits change over time after a single dose of psilocybin, and whether computational modeling could provide insights into the underlying neurochemical mechanisms.”
The authors recruited 25 healthy adults who had never taken psychedelic drugs. The participants underwent brain scans using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a technique that measures brain activity by tracking blood flow. The participants completed a baseline brain scan and a survey measuring their mental well-being on a scale with a general population average of 51.
The next day, they received a small, one-milligram dose of psilocybin. This served as a control condition because it is too low to produce noticeable psychedelic effects. Four weeks after this control dose, the participants returned for a second brain scan and well-being survey. The next day, they received a fully active, 25-milligram dose of psilocybin. Finally, four weeks after the high dose, the participants underwent their third and final brain scan and completed the well-being survey one last time.
The scientists first examined how uniform the activity in the frontal, striatal, and thalamic brain regions remained over the course of each scanning session. They found that the differences were not statistically significant when comparing the baseline scan and the scan four weeks after the low control dose. However, four weeks after the 25-milligram dose, the brain activity in these regions became much more variable over time compared to the one-milligram control scan.
This increased flexibility in brain activity tended to align with increases in the participants’ self-reported mental well-being scores. The researchers controlled for the participants’ baseline well-being, baseline brain activity, and head movement during the scans to ensure these factors did not distort the findings.
To figure out the mechanics of this increased flexibility, the researchers used a mathematical computer model to simulate the brain’s physical wiring. The physical wiring of the brain normally restricts how different regions fire together, acting like roads that guide traffic. The computer model provides evidence that four weeks after the high dose of psilocybin, this physical wiring had a weaker constraining effect on the brain’s functional activity. This reduced structural constraint allowed the brain regions to adopt more diverse and flexible activity patterns.
Next, the authors looked at the direction of information flow between different brain areas, a concept known as effective connectivity. By analyzing the timing of the brain signals, the model estimates whether one region is sending information to another. The models showed that four weeks after the high dose, top-down information flow from higher-order cortical areas, like the prefrontal cortex, decreased. In contrast, bottom-up information flow from deeper, lower-order subcortical regions, such as the thalamus and putamen, increased.
The researchers then mapped these changes in information flow onto publicly available atlases that show where specific chemical receptors are concentrated in the brain. They found that the decreases in top-down control matched the physical distribution of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex. At the same time, the increases in bottom-up information flow from deeper brain regions matched the distribution of dopamine D2 receptors. Dopamine is a chemical messenger heavily involved in processing rewards and learning.
“One of the most exciting aspects of the study was how computational modeling was able to reveal potential neurochemical mechanisms that would not have been apparent from brain imaging data alone,” Pasquini told PsyPost. “This highlights the value of combining neuroimaging with mechanistic modeling to better understand how neuropharmacological interventions affect the brain over time.”
“Our findings suggest that a single psilocybin experience may produce lasting changes in the way brain regions involved in motivation communicate with one another,” Pasquini added. “By combining brain imaging with computational modeling, we found evidence that these long-term changes are consistent with contributions from both serotonin- and dopamine-related systems. While more work is needed, these results provide new clues about how psilocybin may support lasting changes in mood and behavior.”
The small sample size of 25 participants means that the statistical evidence supporting these brain changes is relatively modest. The exact mathematical parameters and simulated brain patterns serve as tentative approximations rather than definitive biological facts. Because all participants received the exact same doses in the exact same order, factors like getting used to the scanning environment or expecting a positive outcome could have influenced the brain activity readings. The study design makes it difficult to completely separate the chemical effects of the drug from the psychological effects of participating in a month-long trial.
Another limitation is the use of generalized, public brain maps to locate serotonin and dopamine receptors. Every individual has a slightly different brain structure and chemical makeup, so relying on group averages obscures personal differences that might dictate how someone responds to psilocybin. The study also focuses narrowly on specific frontal and striatal circuits, leaving out other brain networks, like those involving the hippocampus.
“An important point is that our study does not directly measure serotonin or dopamine activity,” Pasquini noted. “Instead, our conclusions are based on computational models informed by known receptor distributions. These findings should therefore be viewed as generating mechanistic hypotheses that will need to be tested in future experimental studies.”
Future research needs to track these brain changes using larger groups of people, individualized brain scans, and randomized, placebo-controlled designs.
“Our long-term goal is to better understand how psilocybin influences motivation, social behavior, and well-being over time,” Pasquini said. “We are now extending this work into longitudinal clinical trials to investigate how changes in brain function relate to meaningful improvements in psychological health, particularly in older adults.”
“This study was a wonderful international collaboration between researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and Imperial College London,” Pasquini concluded. “We are also grateful for the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which helped make this collaboration possible.”
The study, “Modeled Long-Term Effects of Psilocybin on Dynamic Activity and Effective Connectivity of Fronto-Striatal-Thalamic Circuits,” was authored by Lorenzo Pasquini, Jakub Vohryzek, Anira Escrichs, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Adrian Ponce-Alvarez, Sebastian Idesis, Manesh Girn, Leor Roseman, Jennifer M. Mitchell, Adam Gazzaley, Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Morten L. Kringelbach, and Gustavo Deco.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsilocybinBrainFlexibility #DynamicConnectivity #FrontostriatalThalamicCircuits #5HT2A #DopamineD2 #BottomUpProcessing #TopDownControl #Neuropharmacology #BrainImaging #MentalWellBeing
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Strange, isn't it? You know yourself better than anyone else, yet you crumble at the words of someone who hasn't even lived a second of your life. Focus on your own voice, it's the only one that matters.
#motivation #inspiration #positivevibes #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #hope #ymhc -
If you could teach young people one thing based on your life experiences, what would it be?
#mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing #ymhc #mentalhealthmatters #youthmentalhealth #gratitude #resilience