Wellness

Body and mind: mental health, stress, ADHD and neurodivergence, sleep, medicine and everyday psychology.

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#5452: Why Fasting Makes Bile Reflux Worse

Stomach bug recovery advice is being retired — and if you've had your gallbladder out, fasting hits differently.

medieval-world

#5449: The Neurotic Jew: Where the Stereotype Came From

The anxious, overthinking Jewish personality — where did it actually come from? The answer isn't what you'd expect.

mathematicsmathematicsjewish-historymathematicsanxiety

#5418: Why Dehydration, Not Hunger, Is the Real Risk of a 25-Hour Fast

Twenty-five hours without water is a different problem than twenty-five hours without food. Here's the physiology of dehydration — and how to prepare.

public-healthnutrition-and-dietexercise-and-fitnesssleep-and-circadian-rhythmaging-and-longevity

#5370: The Spotlight Effect and the Heckler's Playbook

Why a waiting room feels scarier than a stage — and how performers handle hostile crowds without losing the room.

stress-and-traumacognitive-biasesrelationshipshabits-and-behavior-changeanxiety

#5369: Pouch Full of Doubt: The Inner Critic at Urgent Care

A tool belt full of emergency supplies, two curious strangers, and the question: is your weird choice yours, or an echo of old ridicule?

relationshipscognitive-biasesstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counseling

#5363: One Well Adult vs. a Stomach Bug

Solo caregiver, sick kid, sick partner — how to run fluids, spot red flags, and decide on night checks.

immunity-and-infectionpublic-healthchild-safety

#5336: Cholera and the 3.4 Billion Without Safe Sanitation

Cholera is fast, cheap to treat, and entirely preventable — yet 3.4 billion people lack safe sanitation. Here's why the numbers don't add up.

immunity-and-infectionpublic-healthwater-and-sanitationnutrition-and-diet

#5304: The Skill of Expecting Less (But Not the Worst)

Realists beat optimists and pessimists on long-term well-being. Here's what the research says about keeping expectations accurate.

stress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-changecognitive-biasesanxietymigration-and-refugees

#5284: ADHD Meds, Border Rules, and Thank-You Gifts

Why is it so hard for adults with ADHD to fill a stimulant prescription — and is a thank-you gift to the pharmacist ethical?

adhdpsychiatric-medicationhealthcare-systemsstress-and-trauma

#5279: Heavy Metals: Real Syndromes vs. Online Noise

Lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium — each metal has its own syndrome, route, and treatment. The vague online version misses all of it.

public-healthhealthcare-systemstaxonomy-and-classificationnutrition-and-diet

#5269: Why 4 A.M. Wake-Ups Hit Different

A listener asks why 4 a.m. wake-ups feel so much worse than 1 a.m. — and what the insomnia science actually says to do about it.

sleep-and-circadian-rhythmstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counselinghabits-and-behavior-change

#5258: Vyvanse, Alcohol Withdrawal, and the Titration Problem

A listener's water-titration experiment with Vyvanse leads to a bigger question: can medicine model neurotransmitter systems in real time?

psychiatric-medicationaddictionsleep-and-circadian-rhythmadhd

#5246: Why Adult ADHD Support Skips the Physical Layer

ADHD support defaults to therapy and coaching — but what if the real friction is sensory and physical? A look at the occupational therapy gap for a...

adhdexecutive-functionsensory-processingtherapy-and-counselinghabits-and-behavior-change

#5214: Meningitis: Why It Kills So Fast

Meningitis is an anatomical description, not a prognosis. Same word, wildly different odds — from a bad week to five days from flu symptoms to a fu...

immunity-and-infectionpublic-healthhealthcare-systems

#5212: What Happens in Your Brain During a Migraine Aura?

A shimmering wave rolls across your visual cortex at 3mm per minute—and you can watch it happen. Here's the neuroscience behind migraine aura.

medieval-worldmemory

#5210: How the Placebo Trial Became the Gold Standard

Control groups, placebos, blinding, randomization — four inventions across 250 years, assembled into medicine's most trusted method.

history-of-technologystatisticshealthcare-systemscognitive-biases

#5209: Sensitivity, Specificity & the Numbers Doctors Use

A field guide to the numbers in a medical paper — what sensitivity, effect size, and risk ratio actually answer, and when they mislead.

healthcare-systemspublic-healthtaxonomy-and-classificationstatistics

#5201: Can You Gray Rock Without Losing Yourself?

Gray rocking protects you from a toxic person — but does practicing guardedness bleed into the rest of your life?

relationshipsstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counselinganxietydepression

#5200: Gray Rocking vs. the Info Diet: What to Actually Share

Gray rocking gets the attention, but the info diet — quietly censoring what you disclose — may be the sharper survival tool.

relationshipsstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counselingcognitive-biases

#5195: When Real Danger Silences Phobias

A year of war and housing crisis erased his cockroach phobia. The science says that's not as strange as it sounds.

stress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-changemiddle-east-historyisraelmemory