May 29, 2020

Georgina Johnson has been busy over the last few years. Shelaunched her brand Laundry Service in 2016 which built upon the idea of creating contemporary couture aimed to improve representation in fashion.Under this label, which is currently on hiatus, she worked with photographers Campbell Addy and Tyler Mitchell, who has contributed to AnOther, publishing lookbooks-cum-zines with both. In 2017, she launched thecuratorial platform The Laundry Arts, which, like her brand, had a social mission at its core: highlighting and supporting the experiences of women and minority artists. Which leads us to Johnsons latest project: her first book, The Slow Grind: Finding Our Way Back to Creative Balance, an anthology of essays addressing radical change, sustainability, and how hyper-acceleration affects both the planet and people in a social, physical and psychological sense.

Independently published and available to pre-order from today, the publication features contributions from figures across the worlds of fashion and art: from designer Bethany Williams, to activist Caryn Franklin, previously mentioned photographer Campbell Addy, writer and AnOther contributor Francesca Gavin, stylist Ib Kamara, writer and Noon editor Maisie Skidmore, writer and artist Wilson Oryema, and more. The result of a collaboration with the writer Tamar Clarke-Brown, who assisted in editing the book, and the designer Josh Woolford, who helped put it together,Johnsondescribes The Slow Grind as essential reading for anyone and everyone that engages with the [fashion] system Whether you are an environmental novice, futurist or simply someone who wants to slow down, gather their thoughts and figure out how they can safeguard our collective future. Here, speaking in her own words, Johnson tells us the story behind the book and what she hopes it achieves.

In 2018, I wrote a manifesto in collaboration with mental health activist Sara Radin titled Slow Fashion to Save Minds, for an evening of the same name, which I curated under The Laundry Arts. This manifesto was in response to both myself and Sara experiencing and witnessing anxiety, depression and burn-out as a result of precarious working conditions, bad practice, internalisation of productivity, value and discrimination within the fashion and creative industries. The manifesto was a blueprint for the utopia we sought; one centred on community, care and regeneration. Essentially, it was about looking at the whole, not just at waste and recycling how sustainability had been marketed up until that point. I felt especially that mental health and race needed to be embedded into the sustainability algorithm, and that they had been considered separate issues for too long.

The response to the manifesto was overwhelming. It resonated not only with those active in the fashion and creative spheres, but those in the wider creative constellation DJs, artists and thinkers alike. I didnt want to leave the conversation there because we see it all the time with this accelerated state we are in, we miss the necessary longevity in conversation because we move on to the next thing so quickly, but I want to commit to dismantling these oppressive systems and that takes time; it requires you to intentionally slow down. A couple of months later, at the end of 2018, I started having conversations with people I admired about what is now The Slow Grind.

My aim was to rethink the way we live. Its been a process of pulling things out of myself and unlearning the deep-set beliefs ingrained within my person. With this book I want to radically upheave our sense of value. I want to encourage everyone to really think about their mental health and the mechanisation of their bodies; how weve missed the point and cant continue believing that resources, people, the planet, labour, energy are limitless. We dont have infinite resources. This mentality is way out of bounds because it then automatically increases the load when there is no need to do so. Its about dramatically increasing your self-awareness and refuting the standards set and redefining needs. While it focuses on fashion and creativity most of the ideas in the collection can be adopted to any industry.

The Slow Grind is that guide for these uncertain times and a resource for the future industries we are envisioning now. We need the raising of voices, because it gives us permission to raise our own and actually take a step back and think about how we contribute to the unbalance. The Slow Grind invites you to think about how you can turn it around. The crisis is revealing the chasm in society, one if we looked at holistically we might have a chance at really tackling. Extreme autonomy and individualism are bedfellows with capitalism, that allow for this nonsensical and exceedingly damaging pace to take priority in our lives. I dont think most of us know why we are living so fast. But if we take the time to slow down and take the time to consider the intention in our actions as well as the significance of human action as it pertains to the fragility of life, then we could be on our way to revolutionising the way we live and centring radical care. Only then will no one be left behind.

Pre-orderThe Slow Grind: Finding Our Way Back to Creative Balancehere.

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How Georgina Johnson Wants to Change the Fashion System - AnOther Magazine

I think I got disappointed in some way by tennis, says Dinara Safina, pictured during the 2008 French Open. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The oldest Dinara Safina press conference archived on the internet dates back to 2003. Safina was 16 years old, ranked 63rd in the world and she had just defeated Anna Kournikova, the most famous Russian player across the lands. As usual, many questions were about people other than Safina; about Kournikova, her mother, her superstar brother. Finally, somebody wondered what she actually wanted from her own career. The sport life is so short, she replied. I just want to enjoy it and dont get injured.

Safina went on to have an enviable career. She won 12 titles, Olympic silver and reached No 1. She bullied top players with her brutal weight of shot, reaching three grand slam finals. Even though she never won Roland Garros, she is one of the best clay-court players of the 21st century.

It has been nine years since Safina, now 33 and retired, last competed and she is locked down in Moscow. It takes just one question about whether she would return to the sport if not for the stress fractures in her back to understand that for everything she did, she never actually managed to reach either of those simple goals she set years ago.

If I would be able to start from the beginning of my career, maybe, but I dont feel like coming back to the tour. Its something that I guess is very deep. I think I got disappointed in some way by tennis, because I dreamed that once you become really famous, you become No 1 in the world, you would have a different life. But once you have this, everything, and you realise that its not what youve been dreaming of, then all your dreams fall apart.

Safina grew up training in Valencia as her brother, Marat Safin, ascended to No 1 in 2000. Despite his two major titles, Safins discipline never matched his talent. Fans lined the stadiums for his charisma, looks and famed selfdestructions as much as his tennis. Safina was different. Her discipline drove her success as she became a supreme athlete, but she always directed her frustrations inwards. While he would break racquets, she would break down.

This is where her disappointment lies she came to take everything in her career so seriously that the pressure was suffocating and her joy was lost: I couldnt handle my emotions and all these things, and for me thats why it was tough.

The rise itself was thrilling. Safina announced herself to the world in the spring of 2008, beating both Justine Henin and Serena Williams to win a breakthrough title in Berlin. Within a year she was No 1 and dominant on clay, but the more Safinas ranking rose the more she would play the biggest moments in a state of perpetual torment, on the verge of tears, unable to cope.

I always had a dream to be famous, No 1 and all this, but then suddenly I felt so much pressure being there. I didnt expect that I would have this pressure. I thought it was going to be fun, you know? You become famous, you become No 1. And everybody is happy. Its actually the opposite! Everybody wants to beat you.

In the 2009 Australian Open final, she froze and was eviscerated 6-0 6-3 by Williams. She collapsed under pressure in the Roland Garros final against Svetlana Kuznetsova, infamously serving a double-fault on match point. By Wimbledon, she was the No 1 player in the world yet Serena held three grand slam titles. She became the butt of every joke.

Of course, you hear every day the same questions in every interview: When are you going to win your first grand slam? And Im like: You think I dont want to win a grand slam? And then I started to struggle with this because its something that was really annoying for me and it was very painful because its something that I really wanted to win.

There was no chance for the redemption achieved by the likes of Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters. By 2010 her back pain felt like somebody stabbed a knife in your back. As she continually rehabbed for a return, just the thought of stepping on to the court became a source of trauma. She quickly learned that no longer competing was also a relief for her mental health. It was so deep in my mind, because phew... I just couldnt go back again to feel this pain. I had enough of this pain and I think another thing [was] that, finally, I could step away from all the pressure I had.

When your whole life is tennis, hotels and travelling the world every week, stopping abruptly can have a huge impact. [Retirement] was different. Completely different, which I was also not ready for. I guess its my journey in life. I take it always with philosophy, I dont start to make a drama out of it. Well, thats my journey, anyway we only have one life. And thats it. So why not try everything?

Safina sees her future in the player box rather than on the court. She cannot wait to fly back to Valencia and work as a coach. She may not have been able to enjoy herself at the top of the sport, nor to stay healthy, but the emotional intelligence and self-awareness she displays as she talks in her third language will carry her a long way. Perhaps it can help.

For all the experiences that I went through while I was struggling, I dont want players that I coach to feel like that. I want them to understand that tennis is a beautiful life. Its a beautiful sport. Its so much joy and even the hard work should be a joy. Tennis is not a struggle. Its fun and its a short period of life. I dont want to go back for my perspective myself because I know that Im going to be the same taking it too seriously and crying. Then she laughed. I want to teach the players not to make the same mistakes Ive made.

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Dinara Safina: 'Being world No 1 is not fun, it is the opposite' - The Guardian

A new randomized control trial published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice investigates whether elements of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be combined effectively into an integrative treatment for anxiety. The researchers found that while CBT was effective in lowering anxiety symptoms, an integrative approach, featuring psychodynamic principles, was more effective than CBT alone.

CBT is often considered the gold standard in psychotherapy due to the proliferation of studies on its effectiveness. This status has been contested as there is limited evidence that CBT is more effective when compared to other approaches. Also, meta-analytic research has found that psychodynamic therapy is as effective as CBT. These two approaches to psychotherapy are often seen as working toward different purposes, as CBT focuses on skill-building and behavioral changes, and psychodynamic therapy prioritizes gaining insight.

CBT is one of the shortest forms of psychotherapy with a planned duration of 10 to 20 sessions, depending on diagnosis, symptoms, severity, treatment goals, and conditions of the health care system. Practitioners of CBT often develop individualized and time-limited therapy goals that attend to the reduction of symptoms, reduce distress, and attempt to change the thinking and behavioral styles of their patients.

On the other hand, psychodynamic therapy includes long-term and short-term forms of treatment (7-40 sessions) and places a focus on self-discovery. Psychodynamic approaches improve mental health but attempt to create other positive changes that go beyond symptom-reduction, such as improved self-awareness and more authentic relationships.

Research in counseling psychology has investigated the similarities and basic principles across different theories of psychotherapy. There are a variety of common factors between therapies that include (but are not limited to): the therapeutic alliance, expectations of positive change, therapists qualities, logical understanding of clients problems, and systematic therapeutic practices. Differences between therapeutic approaches usually include formulation, focus on past-vs.-present, among others.

For this reason, the study authors developed an integrative model of psychotherapy, where the clients past experiences can be explored to gain insight into their present experiences, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. The therapy also focused on developing skills for changing behaviors once they were better understood.

Although there is strong evidence suggesting that both CBT and psychodynamic therapy work, there is scarce research about the efficacy of such an integrative approach. The authors of this study were interested in the combination of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies in hopes of merging the formers stability (patients are less likely to relapse) and the latters effectiveness (remission occurs with fewer sessions).

The researchers developed a therapy manual that lasted 15-sessions and an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of the manual. The effectiveness of the manual was to be compared with traditional CBT. They identified 36 participants who had been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, using a psychiatrists diagnosis, DSM-V clinical diagnostic interviews, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA).

Because generalized anxiety is often found to be comorbid with depression, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess for a possible depression diagnosis. Those whose depression was their main concern were ruled out of the study.

Out of the 36 participants, the researchers randomly assigned twelve to each of the experimental groups (1 for integrative therapy and 1 for CBT) and the other twelve to a control group. The efficacy of each treatment was evaluated by assessing each participants symptoms and severity using the HRSA and BDI self-report surveys before and after they were exposed to psychotherapy.

The results suggested that CBT without the integration of psychodynamic therapy is effective in reducing generalized anxiety when compared to the control group. Similarly, integrative psychotherapy (psychodynamic therapy and CBT) was also effective. However, the integrative treatment was found to be more effective than CBT alone.

These results are novel, as no other study assessing the effects of the combined therapeutic approaches was identified. In a culture of psychotherapy where frameworks are often pitted against one another, this article illustrates the similarities and complementariness of different methods. Moreover, it highlights the strengths of both therapies and how they can be combined to alleviate client suffering efficiently and for a more extended amount of time.

The study suggests that an integrative form of therapy may be useful for anxiety. Although psychodynamic treatment is often ignored as a legitimate and evidence-based therapy, it is not only effective as a stand-alone approach (as evidenced by past studies) but can improve the effectiveness of other forms of therapy.

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Orvati Aziz, M., Abolghasem Mehrinejad, S., Hashemian, K. & Paivastegar, M. (2020). Integrative Therapy (Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 39, 101122 (Link)

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Integrating Psychodynamic Approaches with CBT Improves Therapy - James Moore

4chan has taken it upon themselves to judge the good from the bad in our society. Sadly, the shopping trolley theory is entirely reasonable.

How can we test whether someone is a good person or not? A theory of sorts is doing the rounds on Twitter currently, and it likely does the job better than any psychology test.

The theory originated from an unlikely source for a morality test (alas, 4chan) but has gained real traction since being shared on Twitter by Jared from Atlanta. It did not take long for the tweet to reach over a half a million likes and spark a decent discourse on the matter.

The theory proposes is premised upon the fact that returning your shopping cart to a bay is an easy task but is also the appropriate thing to do. It follows that ones moral character can be determined by the simple act of deciding, or not, to return their shopping cart to a bay. The statement is simple, but the rationale travels deep.

Most people participating in the comment threads agree that returning the shopping cart is the correct thing to do and that refusing to do so pretty much renders you as a bad person.

One such expert, psychotherapist and counsellor Tati Silva, has validated the theory and makes some valid points. It goes back to character and personality, both used to describe someones behaviour, Silva toldBored Panda. As for ones character like honesty, virtue, and kindliness, they are revealed over time, through various situations.

Character is heavily influenced by the different situations we engage in. Therefore, if you choose not to take the shopping cart back it will expose your character, Silva explained. Since there is no law that prohibits the action or says that it is wrong, the behaviour will continue. The individual needs to determine what is right or wrong, good or bad because again there arent any social norms or rules that specify this behaviour might be considered inappropriate.

Silva believes that the underlying reasoning behind the shopping cart theory can be expanded to other behaviours too, such as not laughing when someone falls, or not holding the door for others. One might do it without being aware of it because it is engraved in their habit. However, that can be changed by expanding self-awareness. It is likely the first step in gaining control over any behaviour you wish to change.

This theory is not too dissimilar from the actual moral dilemmas used by researchers to identify psychopathic traits as they can offer deep insights into someones judgement.

One scenario, developed by philosopher Philippa Foot, has been used for such a task for decades. The Trolley Dilemma can be summarised as follows: A runaway trolley is about to run over and kill five people and you are standing on a footbridge next to a large stranger; your body is too light to stop the train, but if you push the stranger onto the tracks, killing him, you will save the five people. Would you push the man?

A 2011 study published in the journalCognition found that people who answered Yes to the above situation scored higher on measures of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and life meaninglessness compared to those who chose not to push the innocent man.

It is not much of a stretch to think this famous dilemma inspired the shopping cart theory.

Original post:
Are you a good or bad person? Apply the shopping trolley theory and find out! - The Big Smoke Australia

You couldnt call this SLR column pure satire because it mixes parody with unexaggerated facts that would be funny, were they not so tragic. The predictably inflexible subject of his ire is non-other than our Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he labels sclerotic, a carefully-chosen medical term that accurately describes her rigidity and many of her perplexingly stubborn responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He reminds us of her Zuptoid links and woeful performance as African Union Commissioner to answer those who may still be puzzled by her utterances and decrees. In Simons opinion, shes the poster girl for non-accountability, having been the proxy for her dethroned husband in the narrowly contested ANC presidential leadership race. Perhaps he sums it up most kindly when he says that, shes not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness. Which begs the question of whether its that, or the ANCs record of not holding its senior ministers and members to public account (they hold them strictly to party account), as in this recent assistant editors quote; they dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage. It may well be both. Chris Bateman

By Simon Lincoln Reader*

When it was announced that Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ) would play a central role in the countrys response to the pandemic, strange noises could be heard in support. YAAASSSS; my KWEEN NDZ and; unlike America and DRUMPF, we R LED were some of the comments.

To her credit, Dr. NDZ wouldnt be enthused by this kind of millennial speak. She belongs to an older order of political incompetence, where politicians are just useless as opposed to being useless AND campaigning for gender-neutral flavoured bathrooms in Palestine, like Kamala Harris in the US, or Dawn Butler in the UK. Here at least we owe her: a Dr. NDZ that featured the more revolting expressions of social justice would be unbearable.

People were frightened, so the adoration could be afforded the benefit of doubt. But other than that theres no excuse for believing that her participation would relieve the country of its anxieties.

**

The researcher Gareth van Onselen once described Sarafina 2, the controversial sequel to the Broadway musical, as the original Nkandla. It was this and more, occasioned within a department where Dr. NDZ sat at the top. Whereas the arms deal was layered in complexity and funded by sophisticated European institutions, the original Nkandla provided the designs for smaller scale looting, the kind that would be seized upon by municipalities and smaller branches of government in the future. The original Nkandla also mapped the route to no consequences; more sensible countries would have immediately terminated the command authority of ministers involved in such a disaster. But the original Nkandla demonstrated, perhaps for the first time, the ANCs unwillingness to investigate let alone prosecute its own, encouraging sympathy where there should have been scrutiny.

**

There was no sympathy from the former chair of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission when Dr. NDZs term as African Union (AU) Commissioner ended in 2016. Writing for The Times that year, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu remarked: During her tenure, Africa confronted multiple social challenges: Ebola in West Africa; Yellow Fever in parts of Southern Africa; climate change and food security around the Sahel and Horn of Africa, as well as an international migration crisis. On each and all of these challenges, Dr Dlamini-Zuma was out to lunch or blissfully missing in action.

But no embarrassing attacks from a respected activist could deter the role already decided for her as proxy for the notorious schemes and ways of her ex-husband. It was a vindictive, desperate move by Jacob Zumas supporters and equally, an illustration of just how stubborn Dr. NDZ had learned to be.

**

By that time the damage had already been done in ways we seldom examine. In one of the only credible observations to have emerged from Beijing24 in recent years, deputy editor Pieter du Toit noted the behaviour of Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and the rare surfacing of consequences within the ANC. Ndabeni-Abrahams, and many ministers in her league, such as Fikile Mbalula and Lindiwe Zulu, du Toit said, dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage.

But du Toit didnt go far enough. Indeed, successive generations of choice grade thinkers have crowded cabinet and the parliament, but they had to learn from somewhere. In the legacy of the original Nkandla these people found their high priestess and the convenient style of pedestrian, sclerotic and paranoid politics.

**

Which explains why the response to the pandemic has mutated into infantile, self-destructive fiddling with the levers of power temptations too attractive to resist in the circumstances. Long before Covid-19, the American social theorist described so much of the world at present: It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

There is no real evidence to suggest Dr. NDZ is a criminal. The photograph of her with an alleged tobacco smuggler does not spell allegiance to state capture as much as it betrays the kind of absentmindedness the UK Labour Partys former leader Jeremy Corbyn was frequently guilty of. She is not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness.

As she continues to defend some of the now near indefensible parameters of lockdown, its worth revisiting 2015. One of the reactions that forced her ex-husband into a humiliating reverse, having just sacked his Minister of Finance, came from an unlikely source. The Chinese. Sensing their interests were now under threat, they called Pretoria to read a few lines from the riot act (though they were never credited and Jacob Zuma was to later accuse the leaders of banks of bullying him).

Theoretically, if things got so bad and China was to repeat the intervention, the spectacle of a country partially responsible for the mess seen assisting in cleaning up another countrys response to it would be the most fitting summary of Dr. NDZs political career to date.

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SLR: NDZ and the perils of choice grade thinking - BizNews

Luke Kirby, who continues his role as the taboo-flaunting comic Lenny Bruce on Season 3 of Amazons The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, won an Emmy as Best Comedy Guest Actor last year. He managed to beat out such A-level talents as Matt Damon and Robert De Niro, who were both up for their appearances on Saturday Night Live.

Kirby, who is sporting a rather impressive quarantine mustache these days, was rather calm as he gave his acceptance speech onstage and offered thanks to all the right people as he read his speech off a card. Was that just an act?

In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), he reveals, I think it was likely an act. My adrenal glands have a tendency to lean towards a more laconic, lethargic tone. I think sitting there for the two hours that it took to get to that category. All the blood had been drawn from my body. I was slamming my hands down on my thighs just trying to get a pulse. Thats probably all it was. Restarting my heart beat.

His portrayal of the controversial stand-up on the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a little rougher around the edges, considering that Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) had to bail him out of jail, but his take on the legendary comic has greatly evolved since then.

He says, I wasnt sure at the beginning what it was going to be. How much of Lenny Bruce was going to be involved in the storyline. And I sort of felt like because we were taking liberties with history because of her story that really he wanted to exist more in the realm of fable. Ive said before its like a fairy godmother. Its sort of his role. This person who appears at moments in Midges life that are remarkable and I kind of went with that and it in some ways opened up a lot of possibilities because I didnt feel the pressure of having to play a strictly historic Lenny Bruce or adhere to the sort of timeline of his life.

His interpretation is also quite different than Dustin Hoffmans approach in the 1974 biopic movie Lenny, which was directed by Bob Fosse and earned six Oscar nominations. Kirby says he saw it as a teenager: I kind of had a little dalliance with Lenny Bruce in high school and Lenny the movie was one of (my) first ins to him. And I just adored it. I just sopped it up. I was just so compelled by Dustin Hoffmans performance and Valerie Perrine and the movie itself is very beautifully composed.

On the third season, Lenny shows up in two episodes. The character gets to meet Midges dad, Abe (Tony Shaloub), after she tells her father about his act and that he tackles issues of freedom of speech. Abe ends up at The Gaslight club to see him perform and stands up for his rights to pull out a Playboy centerfold. That is when the vice cops move in and both men spend the night in jail. Midges mom Rose (Marin Hinkle) ends up bailing them out.

Lennys second appearance on the most recent season is when he catches Midges act at the famed Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. He stops by to check out her act, of which he heartily approves, and she joins him on a TV show called Miami After Dark, a take-off of the type of hip late-night show that Playboys Hugh Hefner hosted and one that Bruce visited.

Kirby adds, That was super fun. I also familiarized myself with Playboy After Dark. Its so peculiar. The most striking thing about that clip now, when you watch it, yes, theyre all sort of dressed up and they look great. But the newness of television, the medium of it, is so new and theyre so clearly trying to riff in a way that in some ways I dont know that the medium allows and theres a sort of self-awareness to them thats a little discomforting and sort of endearing as well at the same time.

SEEAmy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) says of stand-up comic, Midge: Shes a streaming gal [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]

After their TV appearance together, the evening continues as Lenny and Midge share a lovely dinner and dance to Till There Was You from the musical The Music Man. The pair take a romantic walk along the water and end up at Lennys rather chintzy motel room as he invites her in but she turns him down. Was she right to not go there? Kirby says, I think I have to plead the fifth on the right or wrong of that. In situations like that, the odds are always 50/50. You have to honor her choice, certainly.

Kirby also talks about the time when the comics daughter Kitty Bruce visited the set on the second season, his rendition of Bruces song All Alone that the comic sang on The Steve Allen Show, where he keeps his Emmy trophy and whether his character will continue his journey on Season 4.

PREDICTthe 2020 Emmy nominees now; change through July 28

Be sure to make your Emmy nominations predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before the nominees are announced on July 28. And join in the thrilling debate over the 2020 Emmy Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

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Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel): Was Midge wrong to walk away from Lenny Bruces motel room? I have to plead the fifth [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO...

Newswise When people are highly confident in a decision, they take in information that confirms their decision, but fail to process information which contradicts it, finds a UCL brain imaging study.

The study, published inNature Communications, helps to explain the neural processes that contribute to the confirmation bias entrenched in most people's thought processes.

Lead author, PhD candidate Max Rollwage (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL and Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research) said: "We were interested in the cognitive and neural mechanisms causing people to ignore information that contradicts their beliefs, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias. For example, climate change sceptics might ignore scientific evidence that indicates the existence of global warming.

"While psychologists have long known about this bias, the underlying mechanisms were not yet understood.

"Our study found that our brains become blind to contrary evidence when we are highly confident, which might explain why we don't change our minds in light of new information."

For the study, 75 participants conducted a simple task: they had to judge whether a cloud of dots was moving to the left or right side of a computer screen. They then had to give a confidence rating (how certain they were in their response), on a sliding scale from 50% sure to 100% certain.

After this initial decision, they were shown the moving dots again and asked to make a final decision. The information was made even clearer the second time and could help participants to change their mind if they had initially made a mistake. However, when people were confident in their initial decision, they rarely used this new information to correct their errors.

25 of the participants were also asked to complete the experiment in a magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanner. The researchers monitored their brain activity as they processed the motion of the dots.

Based on this brain activity, the researchers evaluated the degree to which participants processed the newly presented information. When people were not very confident in their initial choice, they integrated the new evidence accurately. However, when participants were highly confident in their initial choice, their brains were practically blind to information that contradicted their decision but remained sensitive to information that confirmed their choice.

The researchers say that in real-world scenarios where people are more motivated to stand by their beliefs, the effect may be even stronger.

Senior author Dr Steve Fleming (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL, Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research and UCL Experimental Psychology) said: "Confirmation bias is often investigated in scenarios that involve complex decisions about issues such as politics. However, the complexity of such opinions makes it difficult to disentangle the various contributing factors to the bias, such as wanting to maintain self-consistency with our friends or social group.

"By using simple perceptual tasks, we were able to minimise such motivational or social influences and pin down drivers of altered evidence processing that contribute to confirmation bias."

In a previous, related study, the research team had found that people who hold radical political views - at either end of the political spectrum - aren't as good as moderates at knowing when they're wrong, even about something unrelated to politics.

Because the neural pathways involved in making a perceptual decision are well understood in such simple tasks, this makes it possible for researchers to monitor the relevant brain processes involved. The researchers highlight that an understanding of the mechanism that causes confirmation bias may help in developing interventions that could reduce people's blindness to contradictory information.

Max Rollwage added: "These results are especially exciting to me, as a detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms behind confirmation bias opens up opportunities for developing evidence-based interventions. For instance, the role of inaccurate confidence in promoting confirmation bias indicates that training people to boost their self-awareness may help them to make better decisions."

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Strong convictions can blind us to information that challenges them - Newswise

CARLSBAD, Calif., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Zen Health Technologies today announced that its EverStrong App is now available for iOS and Android. EverStrong is a new mobile app to help users improve emotional intelligence and self-awareness through clinically-chosen mental fitness exercises. EverStrong is now available for an extended free trial through June 16, 2020.

EverStrong combines science with ancient mindfulness training to strengthen emotional intelligence. After selecting specific goals such as "Ease Stress" or "Stay Focused," users complete 30-second mental exercises to help them reach those objectives. Unlike breathing and meditation apps, EverStrong develops mind muscles, emotional strength, and self-awareness.

"Everyone is stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed right now, and the simple exercises available through the EverStrong app immediately relieve stress and help you feel better," said Sibyl Badugu, Founder and CEO of Zen Health Technologies. "EverStrong brings focus and balance back into people's lives. By strengthening individual emotions, we can help uplift our families, friends, and communities during this very stressful time."

EverStrong offers easy, timed exercises by Zen Health Technologies' health and therapy clinical team. When stress and feelings of burnout hit, users can open EverStrong and complete a 30- to 60-second exercise to handle anxiety and manage emotions. The app also includes a quick exercise to get grounded in the "Break Time" section and a tracker to monitor their progress. EverStrong is now available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

ABOUT ZEN HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES Founded in 2015, Zen Health Technologies provides mobile apps, websites, and other technology to help individuals build emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and empowerment. Its flagship product is EverStrong, an app that strengthens emotional intelligence and improves mindfulness. The company continues to develop new, advanced solutions to relieve stress, prevent burnout, and bring balance to people's lives. For more, please visit: https://zenhealthtech.com/

SOURCE Zen Health Technologies

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Strengthen Emotional Intelligence and Improve Mindfulness with EverStrong App - Benzinga

Video conferencing software has been a runaway success during the coronavirus pandemic, topping download charts, becoming the lynchpin of business communication, and being hailed as the defining technology of the lockdown.

But a new phenomenon is emerging alongside this rise video call fatigue.

It describes the feeling of being worn out by endless virtual meetings, chats and quizzes, borne witness to by widespread complaints on social media. And academics say the reasons behind it include having to perform for the camera and missing real people.

But wellness experts say video chats can have great benefits, too, helping people stay connected in isolation.

The popularity of Zoom has soared during the coronavirus pandemic.

Image: Prioridata/Statista

So why are some people finding video conferencing so tiring?

Psychologist Dr Linda Kaye from the UKs Edge Hill University says in large part it is because we see ourselves on screen, and naturally want to present a good image to friends and colleagues.

It's likely that this is enhancing our self-awareness to a greater level than usual, and therefore resulting in us making additional self-presentational efforts than in face-to-face interactions in the real world, she explains.

And then, of course, it could simply be a volume issue. We may be over-scheduling ourselves simply based on the fact we have more time available.

Gianpiero Petriglieri, an expert on workplace learning at INSEAD business school, tells the BBC that another key factor is the extra effort needed to process non-verbal cues such as body language.

Our minds are together when our bodies feel we're not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally.

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect peoples livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

Another factor explored by researchers at University College London is gaze duration. While people are happy to stare at people they feel comfortable with for longer periods, gazes of more than 3 seconds can feel uncomfortable in less relaxed situations.

The BBC cites a German study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies that finds speech transmission delays of little over a second can cause participants to perceive those on the video call as less attentive, extraverted and conscientious".

There is also the problem, Gianpiero Petriglieri explains, of self-complexity. In simple terms, human beings like variety, but now many aspects of our lives are coming together in one place video calls.

Coronavirus has been tough for many Americans.

Image: Gallup

The growing frustration with video conferencing may also be related to the wider well-being challenge the lockdown is posing.

A recent survey by US pollster Gallup found almost 60% of Americans feel worried up 20% on last summer while 45% told the Kaiser Family Foundation the coronavirus crisis was harming their mental health.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to reduce video chat fatigue.

The benefits of face-to-face

But many are singing the praises of video chats.

Yale Professor Laurie Santos whose popular lessons on wellness have made her an influential voice on mental health issues during the pandemic says face-to-face communication can help with lockdown isolation.

The research suggests that the act of hanging out with folks in real time - in other words, things like Zoom or FaceTime - can be a really powerful way to connect with people.

You see their facial expressions, hear the emotion in their voice, you're really able to connect with them.

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Why 'video call fatigue' might be making you tired during lockdown - and how to beat it - World Economic Forum

THE HILARIOUS WORLD OF DEPRESSION By John Moe

Not every book is for everyone, and not every book on depression is for every depressive. But the question that might be asked of any mental health book, regarding its raison dtre, is: Can this help someone?

The Hilarious World of Depression, by John Moe, the veteran NPR host and creator of the podcast after which this book is named, could be a particularly useful tool for those who grew up in homes where seeking therapy was seen as weakness, those who dont have the language for mental illness, and particularly for men age 50 and older. If youre looking for a Fathers Day book for a depressed dad who is aware of his condition but averse to seeking treatment, this is the one.

Tonally, the book may be best described as jocular Americana, rife with vintage cultural references like The Carol Burnett Show, the original Match Game, Dick Cavett, Fleetwood Mac, the Coneheads, Hogans Heroes and Glenn Frey. Rather than tackle the past, Moe writes of his early unwillingness to delve into his trauma, I was willing to settle for a tense cease-fire with it, letting my life be like Middle East countries that hate each other. There would be car bombings, but a homeland is a homeland. In his search for a 12th therapist one with whom he can finally have a long-term relationship Moes criteria stipulated that candidates had to offer a cognitive behavioral approach, and that they couldnt be, like, 23 and/or named Kristi.

Moes humor is more universally astute when describing the depressives propensity for faulty reasoning, particularly in terms of negative self-attribution and self-defeating thoughts. One problem with clinical depression is that it speaks in what sounds like the sufferers own voice; thus, even in spite of therapy, proper medication and self-awareness, a person with depression can still find it difficult to discern a distorted thought from an objective truth. Moe captures these blind spots well.

On being hit by a car in seventh grade, he says, Yes, Im blaming myself for getting hit by a car. On having contemplated suicide on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle: Jumping would mean doing something. Doing something was not really my thing. In describing his time working as a senior editor for Amazons e-cards initiative during the first dot-com bubble, Moe recalls reasoning that if no one said the cards sucked, that meant they sucked.

This exploration of impostor syndrome is where the book really shines. He employs tidbits from his years worth of interviews with comics and artists like Neal Brennan, Maria Bamford, Jeff Tweedy, Jen Kirkman and Andy Richter to convey the way a person with depression may perceive tomorrows success as an antidote to his or her suffering, only to discover that no amount of achievement ever feels like enough. As Richter says to Moe, The hole will never be full.

Unfortunately, these sound bites often feel cursory small blips in Moes overarching narrative. The book would be better served if it included longer, deeper takes from these podcast guests.

Yet the message of the book is a good one: that mental illness is not a cause for shame, and that sharing honestly (and even humorously) with fellow sufferers can be a path to healing. If there are readers out there who still believe, as Moe once did, that mental illness is for people in the booby hatch doing sad craft projects with safety scissors as in Girl, Interrupted, this book could be their path to deeper understanding and openness, by way of laughter in the dark.

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The Funny Thing About Depression Is ... - The New York Times