The following piece was written as part of The Pandemic: Science and Society course offered from Aug. 17 – Sep. 4. Comorbidity is frequently used in psychology and medicine to describe a state in which two or more conditions and/or disorders present together. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic brought on by SARS-CoV-2,…
*All of this information is only accurate based on information until April 8, 2020.* SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has affected over 2.6 million people worldwide. Most current evidence suggests that the virus was transmitted from bats to pangolins and eventually to humans. The medium of transmission was most likely bodily fluid contact…
Mental health encompasses more than just clinically diagnosed conditions that don long, scientific titles. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, mental health is an umbrella term used to characterize any “condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling or mood” (1). Mental health struggles can present in drastically different fashions for different populations. For…
Love sucks. It makes people act in ways they can’t predict and gives them weird fluttering feelings in their stomach. However, healthy people at least tend to know what to expect with love, and modern research has even discovered the molecules involved in the development of romantic attraction, both emotionally and physiologically. One of cupid’s…
Socioeconomic status has long been considered as a potential explanation for discrepancies in professional expectations, lifestyle trends, and mental and physical health in America. The relationship between household income and mental disorders has been especially thoroughly examined. Numerous longitudinal studies over the years have consistently found a damningly strong correlation between the two variables. In…
It is common to find yourself in a scenario where a friend or family member suffers a physical injury, like a broken leg. The socially acceptable course of action would be to offer assistance in the form of rides to work or or offering to cook them dinner. We would send texts offering words of…
It’s midnight and Olin Library is packed with students studying for their exams. Soon enough, midnight becomes 2:00 am, yet most students still study away. In fact, most of these students don’t return to their dorms until around three, which is often a mere seven hours before their first classes. By the time they get…
Friends and family members of Alzheimer’s patients endure the heartbreak of watching a loved one lose their memory and independence. As the United States demographic becomes increasingly top heavy—with the portion of the population over 65 years estimated to more than double by 2060—the need for Alzheimer’s disease research is immediate. The suffering that Alzheimer’s…
Through hard work, determination and initiative, every resident in the United States should have the equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity: the very core of the American Dream. While it seems plausible in theory, many struggle to achieve this idealized version of the American life, as is the case for many undocumented immigrants. With…
While discussions about mental health are becoming more open and common, we still have a lot to learn on university and college campuses about how to best maintain that health and prevent illness. Specifically, how do institutions of higher education better deliver resources to the thousands of students who need them? One student at Washington…