Thoughts — Research

When I see how polarised the world is right now, I always wonder – how did we reach these opposite sides so quickly and so passionately? Why are we so ready to give in to violence over an idea that was not ours in the first place? From ridiculous arguments on the internet to full-fledged wars that threaten millions of lives, how did we even get here?  According to political scientist Lilliana Mason, our brains are wired to work this way. It doesn’t take much for our brains to switch over to an ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ mindset – research suggests...

What does the term “junk food'' mean to you?  In 2017, an article by Milani et al., said that “the more the term ‘junk food’ is used, the more confusing its actual meaning becomes…neither political nor public health organisations have given a common definition of junk food.” Every other person has different definitions of junk food. Some believe it’s nutritional value, some believe that anything that does not come under traditional food is junk. The article also states that a lot of people list foods that have high content of saturated fats and salt (or added sugar) in the junk...

I am going to tell you about one of my favorite studies that I happened to come across during my Masters degree. The research basically focuses on the spread of happiness and talks about the impact of other people's happiness on us. As social beings, I think that very often we include food, water and shelter as essentials for survival. But we mostly tend to forget another crucial and extremely important facet - human connections! Here’s the thing. Our relationships (and connections with others) play a huge role in determining our mental and physical health, resilience and most importantly, our...

Overthinking in the simplest terms is “to think about something too much or for too long.” While it’s human nature to think things through when making a decision or evaluating a situation, it turns into overthinking when you can’t get out of your own head. It happens to almost everyone at some point in our lives – we all experience events that cause us worry or stress!  At times, a lot of us aren't able to turn off these concerns and end up worrying about the future and thinking about negative extremes. The constant tape that plays during these thoughts...