Is Sisterhood the most powerful force for Women's Health?

"Female friendships are just a hop to our sisterhood, and sisterhood can be a very powerful force" - Jane Fonda

In ancient times women shared a lot more than they do today. They shared care of their babies, gathered food and cooked together. The women and the children shared their lives intimately, and were a source of strength and comfort to each other on a daily basis. Traditions like the Red Tent, where women came together during menstruation to be together, often with synchronized cycles, were a beautiful time for nurturing, sharing women's business and keeping each other resilient and happy.

Today, women are a lot more isolated in their own homes and lives and more separate from each other. The opportunities for coming together are much more limited and the time spent together in this way greatly reduced. Because of this women miss the beautiful healing and nourishment that comes from being with other.

Depression is a global epidemic. It is the main driver behind suicide, which now claims more than a million lives per year worldwide. One in four Americans will suffer from clinical depression within their lifetimes, and the rate is increasing with every generation.

It robs people of sleep, energy, focus, memory, sex drive and their basic ability to experience the pleasures of life, says author of The Depression Cure Stephen Ildari. It can destroy people's desire to love, work, play and even their will to live. If left unchecked it can cause permanent brain damage.

Do you ever scour the Internet, scanning articles for information, then find yourself suddenly asking yourself questions about the topic being proposed? Your curiosity to dive further into a subject might send you into a tailspin of clicks as you search for answers. According to a new study from the University of California, Davis, when our curiosity is stimulated, our brain responds by preparing to learn about the topic we are interested in, along with incidental information.

Empathy, the ability to understand others and feel compassion for them, is arguably the most defining human quality - setting us apart from smart machines and even other animals. Without it, we couldn't function in social areas such as the schools, court rooms and office workplaces that are the cornerstones of our society.

But babies and toddlers are generally poor at showing sensitivity to other people's feelings. So how do they develop this crucial skill - do they learn it gradually or is it just an innate ability that kicks in at a certain age?

Empathy involves being sensitive to the emotions of others, understanding those emotions and responding in an appropriate way. Studies on how empathy develops need to look at how children understand and respond to emotions rather than their ability to recognise them. This is because children who have difficulties with empathy generally have little or no difficulty in identifying emotional reactions in others, but rather in understanding the purpose or cause of it.

For most children empathy seems to come naturally. Others may be perfectly capable of understanding the emotions of others but choose to respond in an inappropriate way, such as being aggressive. On the other hand, children with autism spectrum disorder may be very sensitive to the emotions of others but at the same time have difficulty in understanding those emotions and knowing how to respond. That difficulty can result in negative social experiences, leading to poor social confidence and social withdrawal.

This shows just how important the development of empathy is: poor social skills in childhood have been linked to a number of issues in adulthood - ranging from relationship and mental health problems to low income and substance abuse.

As his presidential campaign marches on, with seemingly no scandal or gaff harming him in the least, millions of sane Americans have been asking, in the words of Henry Alford of Vanity Fair: "What exactly is wrong with this strange individual?"

Now, science has finally answered that question...

While there is no official clinical diagnosis of psychopathy, the textbook traits of it and related Anti Social Personality disorders like Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Sociopathy, are somewhat easy to spot once you know the signs.

The failure for there to be an official way to diagnose these disorders is due more to the fact that the individuals who have these traits are adept at masking them, or giving the answers to questions that psychologists "want" to hear.

Donald Trump is "remarkably narcissistic," according developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

"Textbook narcissistic personality disorder," clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis explained.

The Mayo Clinic explains "Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism." They add that "a narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life." The sufferer "may be generally unhappy and disappointed when you're not given the special favors or admiration you believe you deserve."

Clinical psychologist George Simon said that Trump is "so classic that I'm archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there's no better example of his characteristics." He conducts lectures and seminars on manipulative behavior exhibited by narcissists, psychopaths and sociopaths - all related Anti Social Personality Disorders. "Otherwise, I would have had to hire actors and write vignettes. He's like a dream come true."

People with high intelligence proved to be a fascinating exception to the usual rule.

The more that intelligent people socialise with their friends, the less satisfied they are with life, new research finds.The finding challenges the accepted idea that socialising generally makes people happier. It may be that for some people — especially those with high intelligence — socialising does not increase life satisfaction.

The possible reason why is intriguing...

The long-term study followed adults aged between 18 and 28-years-old. It looked at the density of the population and people's satisfaction with life. The results showed that, in general, people who lived in less densely populated areas were more satisfied with life.

Countless parents have asked their kids, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?"

And although it's unclear exactly when in human history the first child might have rolled her eyes in response to this query, it does turn out that moms and dads are right to worry: The influence of those around us can affect decisions we make about risk-taking, according to a new study.

In the study, researchers analyzed the behavior of people who risked money (not personal safety) and found that after observing risky behavior in others, people were more likely to take risks themselves.

Social scientists use the term "behavioral contagion" to explain the phenomenon of people shifting their beliefs, opinions, or emotional states to conform with those expressed by others around them, said Shinsuke Suzuki, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar in neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology.

What if the cure for your cold was opening a door for a complete stranger? Or watering your neighbor's roses while they are away on vacation when you notice them wilting? How about stopping your headache by putting some spare change in someone's parking meter when it is about to expire? Or, reversing inflammatory joint pain by letting someone cut in front of you in traffic without getting miffed? These are not just Pollyanna wishes for curing mental and physical ailments. Science abounds with proof that kindness cures, an even makes us smarter.

Though there are opponents to the 'smile-or-die' phenomenon, but many studies actually provide sound evidence that kindness, and thereby, happiness, make you healthier.

"Oh for a book and a shady nook..." - John Wilson.

In a dark room, late at night, a little light can be found... Much to my fiancé's dismay, it's my little reading light illuminating my latest "can't-put-it-down" literary obsession. Life can be pretty trying at times between challenges, obstacles, and not enough hours in the day. Complaining is easy, but in most cases you're just preaching to the choir.

So perhaps it's time to curb the complaints and find a way to unwind and "escape." Having a diversion from the day to day, whether it's a break from the same old routine—or never-ending chaos—is necessary. While on some days I certainly wish that I could escape to a tropical island with my dog, you've got to be realistic. My go-to escape? Pages. Pages upon pages of words that can transport me to any location, straight from the comfort of my couch, office break room, beach chair, or inexplicably uncomfortable plane seat.

Whether you're contemplating a future where you achieve all your goals, solid A's on your report card, a big raise at work or an affirmative answer to the request for a date, the common thread is hope. Animals don't hope, people do. So this is a distinctly human emotion that nonetheless is somewhat ambiguous. These 10 thoughts may shed some light.

Hope is:

Sunshine on a cloudy day

When everything looks dismal and the solutions to problems nonexistent, hope has the ability to snake through the darkness and cast a warm, healing light. The fact that it can arrive so unexpectedly makes it all the sweeter. Once you experience hope, there's no mistaking the profoundness of the emotion. Unlike sunshine, however, hope can stick around. Hope will still be there even when the going gets tough.