Wendy J Freitag, Ph.D.

12/22/2025

This holiday season, as we gather with loved ones, let's nourish our bodies and minds to support emotional well-being and reduce everyday stress.

New research shows that individuals with anxiety disorders often have lower levels of choline—a vital nutrient for brain regions that regulate emotions and cognition—potentially contributing to heightened stress responses.

Excellent dietary sources of choline include eggs, beef liver, salmon, chicken, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

Researchers found that people with anxiety disorders consistently show lower choline levels in key brain regions that regulate thinking and emotions. This biochemical difference may help explain why the brain reacts more intensely to stress in anxiety conditions. Scientists believe nutrition could p...

12/21/2025

On this Winter Solstice, the longest night yields to the returning light—a timeless symbol of renewal.

As the sun is reborn, may we kindle our inner light: the enduring spark of hope, resilience, and compassion that shines through any darkness.

12/18/2025

This holiday season, let's prioritize what truly matters: meaningful conversations, laughter, and being fully present with loved ones.

Research shows that even the mere presence of a smartphone nearby can reduce cognitive capacity and available brain power—draining our focus without us realizing it.

Studies show that just having your smartphone within your view disrupts your ability to concentrate and reduces your cognitive abilities.

12/16/2025

Happy National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day!

A brand-new November 2025 review in Nutrition Reviews just confirmed that the flavonoids in dark chocolate lift mood, dial down anxiety, and sharpen thinking—even when stress is high. On these short, gray December days, one square of real dark chocolate is a tiny, delicious way to tell your brain everything’s going to be okay

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf188/8323383

12/11/2025

An April 2025 NIMH study reveals how the sleeping brain creates new memories with unique neural signatures, carefully protecting older ones to allow lifelong learning without overload. This remarkable precise hippocampal process quietly strengthens emotional resilience and turns daily experiences into lasting strength. As the days grow shorter and natural light fades, a brief evening of reflection, reading, or meaningful conversation becomes a powerful way to support this natural renewal.

A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health uncovered patterns in the activation of old and new memories during sleep that keep these memories separate.

12/09/2025

As December ushers in holiday festivities and New Year's reflections, Matt Cutts' TED Talk on committing to a new habit for 30 days offers timely inspiration for personal growth. Through engaging anecdotes—like daily sushi meals or novel-writing sprints—he demonstrates how bite-sized challenges foster creativity and resilience. Consider launching your own this month to close 2025 with purpose.

Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.

12/07/2025

A November 2025 systematic review in Nutrients looked at how polyphenol-rich diets affect adolescent mental health, pulling together findings from 19 studies. It turns out that incorporating foods like mangoes (about 300g a day) can improve gut microbiota diversity. From there, it increases short-chain fatty acid production, which cuts anxiety by up to 20% through signaling along the vagus nerve to the brain. Even better, this process helps balance serotonin levels—produced mostly in the gut—easing depressive symptoms and strengthening emotional regulation, which could make a real difference in PTSD recovery and building lasting mood stability.

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability for the onset of mental health difficulties, presenting an urgent need for scalable prevention strategies. Diet is a universal, modifiable factor, yet its evidence base remains inconsistent. This systematic review synthesised e...

12/05/2025

On International Volunteer Day we recognize the transformative power of volunteerism in building stronger communities. For inspiration, view George Tavola's TEDx Talk, "Find Meaning and Happiness through Volunteering," where he draws on two decades of global experience to show how service fosters personal purpose and joy.

George Tavola has worked with volunteers around the world for over 20 years. In his TEDx talk, George reveals how volunteering can give your life meaning and...

12/04/2025

December is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Awareness Month. It affects 3–6% of people in the U.S. Midwest, a recurrent winter depression driven by reduced sunlight that disrupts serotonin and circadian rhythms, per NIMH research. Key symptoms: low mood, fatigue, hypersomnia, and carb cravings.

Possible things to try:
• Light Therapy: 30 min daily with a 10,000-lux box for mood boost.
• Exercise: 30 min moderate activity to elevate endorphins.
• CBT: Therapy to reframe thoughts for lasting relief.
• Nutrition/Sleep: Vitamin D foods and consistent routines.

Information about seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression, including signs and symptoms, how SAD is diagnosed, causes, and treatment options.

12/02/2025

Today is . Consider a tax-deductable donation supporting the EMDR Research Foundation in funding studies on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy. This evidence-based approach helps trauma survivors process painful memories and reclaim their lives. Research shows it reduces PTSD symptoms in adults and children alike. Every contribution advances healing for those who've suffered .

Support Research that Matters The development of EMDR therapy has been solidly steeped in research from its origin. The EMDR Research Foundation, founded in 2006, is a natural outgrowth of the fundamental research roots of EMDR therapy. In 2018, we recognize that the research in EMDR is a global aff...

11/21/2025

Research from a large U.S. veterans cohort shows that moral injury – distress from actions that violate one’s deeply held moral beliefs – predicts chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD and suicidality more strongly than combat exposure severity alone.

The study found that moral injury fully mediated why some veterans do not respond to standard trauma-focused therapies. This suggests that many cases labeled “treatment-resistant PTSD” may actually reflect untreated moral injury, highlighting the need to specifically assess and address moral injury in clinical practice.

Moral injury contributes to functional problems beyond what is explained by posttraumatic stress and depression, and moral injury due to perpetration and depression most reliably predicted assignment to trajectories characterized by functional impairment over time.

11/16/2025

November is the month to remember thanks. Try Harvard’s 5-minute gratitude reset: Write three specific things you’re thankful for—and why they matter.

Science shows this practice rewires your brain to spot more positives, reducing stress by up to 23% over time.wires your brain to notice more positives, cutting stress by up to 23% over time.

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