How to recognize and tame your cognitive distortions

Cognitive distortions are internal mental filters or biases that fuel anxiety and make us feel bad about ourselves. These filters can cause us to devolve into counterproductive brooding that can worsen depression or anxiety and stall positive lifestyle changes. So how can you recognize and overcome these distortions?

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LATE: A common cause of dementia you’ve never heard of

LATE is a brain disorder that causes dementia in older individuals. In fact it is the third most common cause of dementia, but it affects many of the same brain regions as Alzheimer’s disease so it presents with similar symptoms, and it’s only with the advent of special diagnostic tests that clinicians have realized how common it is.

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How to break a bad habit

We all have habits we’d like to break, but the brain doesn’t make changes easily. Breaking an unhealthy habit can be done; to do so, it helps to understand what’s happening in the brain, know why you want to change, and accept that there will be setbacks along the way.

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New Harvard tool helps fact-check cancer claims

Scary or misleading claims about things that may cause cancer are so plentiful that it’s hard to know which ones to take seriously. A new website developed by experts aims to provide reliable information about whether a particular cancer claim is true.

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Blood donations are down — so why restrict blood donors by sexual orientation?

The blood supply in the US is critically low, but FDA guidelines prohibit men who have sex with men from donating blood if they have been sexually active in the previous three months. All donated blood is tested for a number of transmissible infections, and medical organizations are calling for this policy to be changed.

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What is alopecia areata and how is it managed?

Hair loss is a common problem for many men and women, but what does it mean to have alopecia? Alopecia areata occurs when the body's immune system attacks hair follicles, resulting in hair loss. AA can affect the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or anywhere hair grows on the body.

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