What does looking into the hearts and minds of online trolls tell us?

That's the question Australian researchers tried to answer in a new study that investigates the psychological profile of trolls — that is, computer users who engage in the disturbing 21st century practice of deliberating provoking, demeaning, and threatening others online.

Researchers at Australia's Federation University used an online questionnaire to look closer at a handful of traits — psychopathy, sadism, and empathy — among those who engage in online trolling. The survey included 415 participants, approximately one-third male and two-thirds female, with a median age of 23 years. The researchers controlled the results for gender, a significant factor given that trolls dramatically skew male.

The so-called dark triad personality traits — narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy — manifest in people as excessive self-love, a manipulative attitude, and a lack of empathy.

It's unclear how many people have these traits, but various studies and estimates put the number at somewhere between 1% and 10%.

People with DTP traits are often reported to have an obsession with themselves and struggle to see the point in other people's feelings. Because of this, their relationships are often abusive and controlling. Romantic partners can be manipulated, used, and tricked into believing they are crazy before being abruptly devalued and discarded.

A common question that comes up is whether the offspring of a person with DTP traits would be treated any differently than the person's romantic partners. In other words, can a real narcissist ever truly love someone?

Many believe that alcoholism is a spiritual disease, and that at the very least there are real spiritual consequences of alcohol consumption. Yet, it is ubiquitous in our society, a strange culture which simultaneously prohibits those mind-altering substances which elevate consciousness and help us to live more meaningful lives.

Alcohol is decidedly more dangerous than cannabis, magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, LSD, and so many other drugs, but our cultural addiction to booze is evident everywhere. Research has shown that even moderate alcohol consumption is extremely detrimental to your health.

When asked to talk about images of places, painters are more likely to describe the depicted space as a two-dimensional image, while architects are more likely to focus on paths and the boundaries of the space.

"We found that painters, sculptors and architects consistently showed signs of their profession when talking about the spaces we showed them, and all three groups had more elaborate, detailed descriptions than people in unrelated professions," said senior author Dr Hugo Spiers (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences).

Artists' portraits predominantly present subjects' in a specific profile which aligns with their expectations and profession.

For the study, published in Cognitive Science, the researchers brought in 16 people from each of the three professions -- they all had at least eight years of experience and included Sir Anthony Gormley -- alongside 16 participants without any relevant background, who acted as controls. The participants were presented with a Google Street View image, a painting of St. Peter's Basilica, and a computer-generated surreal scene. They had to describe the environment, explain how they would explore the space, and suggest changes to the environment in the image.

The ways some "healthy voice hearers" cope might be able to help people with psychotic disorders.

Jessica Dorner was lying in bed at her cousin's house when her grandmother, a "pushy lady" in an apron who had been dead for several years, appeared in front of her. "I know you can see me," Jessica heard her say, "and you need to do something about it."

It was a lonely time in Jessica's life. She was living away from home for the first time, and she thinks her grandmother was drawn by some sense of that. She eventually told her parents what happened, and according to her they were concerned, but not overly panicked. "My parents are probably the least judgmental people I know," she said.

Yoga and meditation may do more than just help you feel relaxed in the moment. A new scientific review suggests that these and other mindfulness exercises can actually reverse stress-related changes in genes linked to poor health and depression.

In the new paper, published in Frontiers in Immunology, British researchers analyzed the findings from 18 previously published studies—involving a total of 846 people—on the biological effects of meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, Qi gong and Tai Chi. Together, the authors say, the studies show that these mind-body exercises appear to suppress the expression of genes and genetic pathways that promote inflammation.

Inflammation can temporarily boost the immune system, and can be protective against infection and injury, the authors write in their paper. But in today's society, in which stress is primarily psychological, the body's inflammatory response can become chronic and can impair both physical and mental health.

Today is the birthday of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But very few people know that he was not only the author of the Little Prince. He was a Nietzschean, who eventually found the God.

June 29, 1900 was born a man who left us a real miracle - The Little Prince. However, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is much more than the author of the book.

First of all, he is a real warrior. He devoted almost all his life to aviation. He first met the sky at the age of 12 - and fell in love with him for life.

The military pilot survived several air crashes, repeatedly got into extreme situations, but never complained. Saint-Exupéry voluntarily went to the front during the Second World War, explaining this simply: "I am obliged to participate in this war. Everything I love is under threat."

"I chose the job for maximum wear," he wrote, "I just wish that this vile war ended before I get up like a candle in a stream of oxygen." I have something to do after it. "

July 31, 1944 Saint-Exupéry flew from the Borgo airfield on Corsica in reconnaissance flight and ... did not return.

Every week almost one-quarter of Americans use this drug.

Acetaminophen — commonly known as Tylenol in the US and paracetamol elsewhere — reduces people's empathy for the pain of others, new research finds.

Acetaminophen is an ingredient in over 600 different medications, including being the main constituent of Tylenol.

The ubiquitous painkiller does not just kill pain, it also kills our fellow-feeling.

Brain scans of four different types of depression could aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Four types of depression have been newly identified by researchers using brain scans. The brain scans revealed distinctly different types of brain activity in each sub-type. The finding may eventually lead to treatments targeted to the particular sub-type of depression.

Dr. Conor Liston, who led the research, said:

"The four subtypes of depression that we discovered vary in terms of their clinical symptoms but, more importantly, they differ in their responses to treatment.

We can now predict with high accuracy whether or not a patient will respond to transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, which is significant because it takes five weeks to know if this type of treatment works."

The four different types of depression they identified are:

• Biotype 1 is characterised by anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue.
• Biotype 2 is characterised by exhaustion and low energy.
• Biotype 3 is characterised by an inability to feel pleasure as well as slowed movements and speech.
• Biotype 4 is characterised mostly by anxiety with insomnia along with the inability to feel pleasure.

Unless kept in check, stress can wreak absolute havoc on your life, undercutting your health and depressing your very will to live. Around the world, "burnout" is becoming an increasingly pervasive problem, affecting people from all walks of life. Being successful per se will not insulate you from burnout. On the contrary, it may actually raise your risk.

"The Day I Snapped" is a mental health documentary featuring five professionals who walked into the proverbial wall one day, "suddenly" unable to cope any longer. However, as noted in the film, while the crisis may appear sudden, that moment when a person "snaps" is really the culmination of an untenable situation that has been going on for a long time.

Why the Modern Workplace Promotes Burnout

The five individuals in the film suffered burnout due to work-related stress, which is the most typical scenario. But what is it about the modern workplace that pressures people beyond their limits? Key factors highlighted in the film include:

1. People are expected to work at a much faster pace than previously, while frequently having to put in longer hours and/or being closely monitored and evaluated based on a variety of performance metrics. In some workplaces, the pace is so high, they cannot even take a proper lunch break. As noted by one of the individuals in the film, it is the "having no choice in what you do" on any given day that "makes the stress unbearable"

2. Job duties are changing (and expanding) more frequently than before, and when combined with poor direction or guidance from management, it can cause a great deal of uncertainty and performance anxiety

3. Many jobs for which people are trained are being eliminated, thereby preventing many from fulfilling their skill-potential. This in turn can breed unhappiness and feelings of worthlessness

4. Deteriorating social support at home and at work