“They seem/seemed so happy.” “They have everything together.” “I/They don’t have any reason to complain.” Chances are you’ve said at least one of these things about someone, or maybe you’ve even said them about yourself. Researchers are discovering a surge in this topic that many are calling “smiling depression,” or the more technical term, “atypical depression.” These terms describe individuals who seem to “have it all together,” who appear happy—but under their external facade or appearance are struggling with depression. … Read more
March 18, 2019
You Can’t Judge Depression By Its Cover
March 18, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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March 11, 2019
Dealing With Others’ Emotions
March 11, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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We all know that when someone yawns, then we start yawning too. New research shows that our emotions cause the same chain reaction. A study out of Yale University—lead by sociologist Nicholas Christakis—documented a variety of interactions of approximately 5,000 people living in one town over the course of 32 years. When discussing the results of this study, Christakis says, “We were able to show that as one person became happy or sad, it rippled through the network.” The study… Read more
March 5, 2019
How to Make The Most Out of Lent
March 5, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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Lent is upon us and many of us are still praying and thinking about what Lenten sacrifice or practice we should implement over the next forty days. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what we should do for Lent. Of course there are the popular ideas of giving up social media or giving up chocolate, and while these can absolutely be helpful to our personal growth and relationship with God, these and other popular Lenten ideas can often be… Read more
February 18, 2019
How To Get Your Feelings Heard And Your Needs Met
February 18, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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“Hi! How are you?”, “I’m fine…” End of conversation. This type of exchange is very common, but has become entirely ineffective when it comes to actually getting to know and understand how someone is feeling. The greeting, “How are you?” has essentially become a closed ended (yes or no) question and leaves it entirely up to the person asking the question to decide how positive or negative we are feeling. A new Yale study published in the Journal of Pediatric… Read more
February 10, 2019
How to Build Sustainable Happiness in Our Every Day Lives
February 10, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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We live in a busy world. Our daily schedules are hectic enough, and with the currently popular push to prioritize self-care, it can often feel as though our own happiness is just another thing we have to schedule onto our to-do lists. But it shouldn’t be this way! So how do we find happiness in our every day lives, just based on what we are already doing? New research out of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Recovery Research Institute identified… Read more
February 3, 2019
How To Make Our Anger Result in Action
February 3, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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There are lots of things for us to be angry about, but new research shows we often don’t do anything about it. A new study out of Carnegie Mellon University reveals that we typically become angry about two types of injustices. First, when a bad thing happens to a good person and second when a good thing happens to a “bad” person despite their bad behavior. In the first instance—such as when a natural disaster devastates a town—the research shows… Read more
January 30, 2019
Cuomo Scandal: Excommunication Isn’t Only Way To Demand Justice
January 30, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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Like so many of my fellow Catholics, I have been truly sickened by the NY Legislature’s passage of the law allowing abortion up to birth. Worse, the bloodlust is spreading as other states are either passing or considering similar legislation. In light of the NY law’s passage, most of the public conversation has focused on whether Governor Cuomo could or should be excommunicated. I would absolutely support such a canonical response to Cuomo’s advocacy of what I believe are moral… Read more
January 27, 2019
Does Our Parenting Style Influence Our Child’s Empathy?
January 27, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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Parenting styles can come in many different shapes and sizes, but does how much warmth we show towards our children influence their ability to develop empathy and a positive moral compass? A new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry evaluated the small differences in parenting practices among 227 identical twins. The researchers for this and subsequent studies included questions such as “I often lose my temper with my child” and “My child… Read more
January 23, 2019
Historic Gathering Seeks Renewal of Catholic Family Life
January 23, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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The Catholic Family Life Symposium Helps Families Find Time for Christ Major conference with 30 experts at the University of Notre Dame July 19-21 will discuss the renewal of Catholic family life, Families are under more pressure than ever today. School, work, social media, drugs, materialism and other issues all challenge each member of the family and make it more difficult to find a spiritual connection. The constraints on time alone make it tough for families to even have dinner together!… Read more
January 21, 2019
Our Kids Might Know More Than We Think They Do
January 21, 2019 By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak
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As parents, we often want to protect our children from negative encounters or situations that we experience in our adult lives. But is this the best approach? New research reveals that kids may know more about how we feel than we might think. A study conducted at Washington State University Vancouver evaluated mother’s and father’s interactions with their children after experiencing an anxiety inducing event (such as public speaking with negative feedback from the audience). The participants were separated into… Read more
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