Social support plays a critical role in recovery from addiction

'The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety—it's human connection'

This thought-provoking TED talk from journalist Johann Hari challenges conventional wisdom about addiction, with a special focus on his global research investigating its root causes. Through personal stories and scientific evidence, Hari debunks some of the most common myths around addiction.

Positive role models are a benefit of support groups

Meeting individuals who are going through similar life experiences or navigating similar health journeys can provide inspiration and be a benefit of attending in-person or online support groups.

The science of addiction treatment

A helpful resource from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (part of the NIH). This article examines addiction treatment and recovery through the science behind several accepted methods. The guide draws helpful comparisons with other chronic disease treatments. In particular, it discusses the overlap between medications and therapeutic treatments, and the understanding that relapse doesn’t indicate treatment failure—only a need for continued or modified care.

'The Father of Positive Psychology' gives tips on building resilience

People differ in how they respond to setbacks. Famed psychologist Martin Seligman outlines three key pillars for resilience: developing mental toughness by interpreting failures as external and temporary, recognizing and using one’s signature strengths, and cultivating strong relationships that offer support and meaning.

An animated short film portraying the arc of addiction

This simple yet profound award-winning animated short film uses the metaphor of a bird discovering golden nuggets to explore how addiction develops, with a special focus on the progressive nature of substance dependency. The film went viral, amassing nearly 30 million views by 2024.

Surviving the crash: a personal story of burnout

Jennifer Moss founded a tech company, had a baby in the middle of the start-up process, and crashed after months of rising exhaustion and disconnection from a career she once felt passionate about. She shared her story of burnout and the techniques she used to turn her life around and repair her relationships in this piece.

Doctors are prescribing social activities—and seeing good results

Physicians, especially in the UK, are asking patients what they enjoy and then prescribing a consistent regimen of doing that type of activity to improve fitness and overall health, including community exercise classes, volunteering, and spending time in nature. This approach may provide better incentives to stick with an activity.

Trauma is a primary risk factor for substance use disorder later in life

Studies indicate 75% of people with substance use disorder have experienced at least one traumatic experience in their life. These experiences alter brain function, leading to heightened stress and emotional pain. Substances offer temporary relief, but this often results in dependency.

Psychedelics interact with neurotransmitter systems to alter one's perception

LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA can suppress the brain's default mode network and enhance connectivity. Research shows that, when paired with therapy, psychedelics may help treat mental health conditions, including depression, addiction, and PTSD.

How self-care led to Ozempic's success

Self-care has become a $1.5T economy that idealizes restraint and willpower, leaving behind those who can't shake off human nature. This article explores how Ozempic and similar weight loss medications pick up where self-care left off.

Key tips for helping the depressed—including listening without judgment

Major depressive disorder is a clinical diagnosis and is not a lifestyle choice. Those who struggle with depression can express persistent feelings that are difficult to process and make sense of for friends and family. This guide walks through some counterintuitive perspectives, including resisting the urge to force a depressed person to do the things that would make them feel better.

Hear from a couple about how they live their lives with MS—and how they met

This short narrative video describes the ups and downs of a woman's experience with progressive MS, and her husband's experience supporting her while navigating his own relapsing-remitting MS.

Board games can improve life satisfaction and coping self-efficacy

They provide distraction, foster self-determination, and promote personal transformation. Purposeful engagement with games builds the capacity to face real-life problems.

Developing adaptable brain-body systems lets athletes thrive beyond 30

Success in high-level sports after age 30 relies on physical fitness and building brain resilience through deliberate training, recovery, and stress regulation. This creates a feedback loop where body and mind reinforce each other.

Therapy & intimacy in the age of Twitch.

There are thousands of people streaming for single digit audiences. We asked them what it’s like, and the steps they’ve taken to grow their audiences.

Learn about a new schizophrenia healthcare model that's making a difference

Schizophrenia used to be considered a progressive disease that was beyond a patient's ability to manage. This article gives an in-depth look at OnTrackNY, a New York-based program that empowers patients to define the goals of their own treatment for psychotic disorders. At the time of this 2022 article, it consisted of 25 affiliate clinics and hospitals in 14 New York counties, with another seven sites then slated to begin offering services in 2023.

Watch a Yale University psychologist explain his new supportive parenting anxiety therapy

Dr. Eli Leibowitz says that accommodating a child's fears and anxieties—say, sleeping on the floor next to them or submitting to their requests to repeatedly come tell them goodnight—can further their anxiety. Instead, parents should change how they approach fear to equip children to think they don't need parental rescue.

The peer support movement may date back to 18th century France

At the Bicêtre Hospital, an asylum near Paris, Jean-Baptiste Pussin (who had previously been a patient but later led the hospital administration) tried to hire as many staff as possible from among recovered patients. Chief physician Philippe Pinel found these individuals to be kinder than other staff and "averse from active cruelty" which was common at the time. This approach allowed the facility to move away from shackling patients and other violent methods.

Volunteering can alleviate the feeling of loneliness

The Freakonomics team explored loneliness in this 2020 podcast episode and discussed how volunteering can be a powerful way to make lonely individuals feel needed, like they have a purpose, and combat feelings of isolation.

Using AI to restore speech 30 years after a stroke

Through a novel surgical procedure involving electrodes implanted in the brain, along with the help of artificial intelligence, a stroke patient is regaining her ability to speak. This technology converts her thoughts into speech through a digital avatar, allowing her to verbally express herself for the first time in decades.

A sociologist makes the case for libraries and parks as essential public infrastructure

Eric Klinenberg argues that social infrastructure that brings people together is as vital to a community as roads or power grids. He contends that when communities invest in these spaces, residents grow more connected, and when they are neglected, isolation follows.

Why do people join cults?

This quick TED video dives into some of the social psychology behind membership in radical cults, including famous ones where members took their own lives.

Understanding how Billie Holiday's traumatic childhood led her to drugs

At 10 years old, the jazz singer was raped and then returned to House of the Good Shepard under protective custody. Her rapist was eventually convicted, but the court still sent her to an all-girls Catholic reform school. Jake Brennan, the host of the Disgraceland podcast, believes those early events led Holiday to the transcendent world of performing, but that it also led her to the escape of drugs.

TikTok's personalized algorithm activates the brain's reward system

A 2025 Washington Post study found that 75% of the TikTok users it studied nearly doubled their time spent on the app within a month. Experts in design and psychiatry say this is due to the app's interface and algorithm, which, after learning about the user's preferences, recommend videos more likely to activate that person's dopamine reward system than non-personalized suggestions.

Social jetlag—differing weekend and weekday schedules—is physiologically similar to jet lag

Recovering from schedules that drastically differ between weekends and weekdays, something that was first described in academic work in 2006, is a growing concern in public health as more research shows that consistent daily routines are important for human health.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.