Clever Psychology and Assessments

13/01/2026

Unfortunately, when depression sets in, we are inclined to focus on the negatives.

Focusing on the positive isn’t just a mindset, it physically reshapes your brain through neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections based on experience, thought, and emotion. When you deliberately pay attention to what is good, meaningful, or safe, you strengthen the neural pathways linked to positive emotions, making it easier for your mind to notice and access uplifting experiences over time.

Consistent practices like gratitude, mindfulness, or positive affirmations act like exercise for your brain. Just as muscles grow stronger with repeated use, these habits reinforce circuits associated with reward, joy, and hope, gradually shifting your default perspective toward optimism and solution-focused thinking.

The flip side is equally true: repeatedly focusing on stress, fear, or negative thoughts strengthens those pathways, making your brain more efficient at spotting threats and problems.

This process is active and intentional. It doesn’t ignore challenges or difficulties, it simply trains your brain to recognize the full spectrum of experience, including the positive. By consciously directing attention, you can shape your emotional patterns, stress responses, and overall outlook, creating a brain wired to notice possibility, resilience, and hope.

09/01/2026

Robin Williams’ death is still widely misunderstood.
While depression was part of his suffering, medical evidence shows that the driving force behind his rapid decline was advanced Lewy body dementia — a severe, aggressively progressive neurological disease that was only diagnosed after his death through brain autopsy.

By the time of his death, specialists who later reviewed his case described his condition as severe and irreversible, with an estimated life expectancy of roughly two more years, marked by escalating cognitive collapse, loss of independence, and the need for full-time care.

His brain was undergoing catastrophic neurological failure, affecting thinking, movement, sleep, perception, and emotional regulation all at once.

“Depression was a symptom — not the cause. Lewy body dementia was the disease.” — Susan Schneider Williams

Why this distinction matters:
When his death is framed simply as “depression,” it unintentionally oversimplifies a profoundly complex neurological reality and misrepresents the nature of his illness. Depression is a serious but often treatable psychiatric condition; Lewy body dementia is a terminal neurodegenerative disease that physically dismantles the brain systems responsible for cognition, emotional regulation, and perception.

This misunderstanding also carries broader public health implications. Presenting his death as solely depression-related can inadvertently reinforce hopelessness narratives around mental illness and contribute to harmful assumptions about prognosis and recovery. Accurate medical framing supports more responsible conversations around both mental health and neurological disease.

Failing to differentiate the two:

Misleads families facing similar diagnoses,

Reinforces stigma around mental illness,

Obscures the realities of neurodegenerative disease, and

Weakens efforts toward early recognition, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate care.

Understanding what Robin Williams was truly facing does not diminish the tragedy. It honors his experience and helps ensure that others suffering from devastating brain diseases are seen, understood, and supported more accurately.

For a deeper explanation with clinical context and references, you can read the full article on my website.

31/12/2025

Change won’t be instant but will steadily progress over the coming years.

Australia recently passed a law banning children under 16 from using social media. While parents may assume such rules are about screen time or bad behavior, the move was actually driven by science. Researchers identified a neurological threshold in the developing brain that social media can affect.

During adolescence, the brain is highly plastic. Certain neural circuits, especially those linked to reward, attention, and emotional regulation, are still forming. Overstimulation from social media can disrupt these pathways, increasing vulnerability to anxiety, impulsivity, and attention difficulties. Lawmakers acted when evidence showed that children’s brain signals were crossing unsafe limits.

The decision highlights how brain science is shaping policy. It is not about punishing kids but protecting their cognitive development during a critical growth period. Early exposure to addictive interfaces may have long-lasting effects, altering decision-making and stress responses well into adulthood.

This ban encourages parents to rethink digital habits for their children. Outdoor play, reading, and face-to-face social interaction are now more important than ever. Protecting young brains may be more urgent than controlling screen time.

26/12/2025

Children who grew up in the 90s experienced play differently than children today. Many games and activities required effort, patience, and problem-solving without instant rewards. This type of play helped train the brain for persistence, frustration tolerance, and emotional regulation.

Games in the 90s often had limited lives, no hints, and no auto-save features. Losing meant stopping and returning later. This process, while frustrating at times, strengthened the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for impulse control, planning, and decision-making. Effort without immediate gratification gave children the opportunity to develop resilience.

Modern play, often characterized by constant stimulation and instant rewards, removes opportunities for the brain to practice these skills. Children today may have less experience with delayed gratification and managing frustration, which are crucial for long-term emotional and cognitive growth.

Parents can recreate these learning opportunities through structured challenges, calm guidance, and real-world problem-solving. Activities that encourage patience, effort, and connection help rebuild skills that modern play may not develop naturally. By understanding how play shapes the brain, families can support resilience, focus, and emotional regulation in children today.

24/12/2025

10/12/2025