At a time when we are separated by visible and invisible barriers, forced apart by social distancing, and almost completely reliant on more impersonal forms of communication like email, social media, and video chatting, a love letter is a particularly meaningful and romantic gesture because it’s slow, intentional, and deeply personal. Mental health counselor Chaute Thomson, LMHC, points out that couples can often forget to keep connecting with each other as they get swept up in the hustle and bustle of daily life....

“When I think of infatuation, I think of someone who has a strong attraction to a person they don’t know well,” Fogel Mersy explains. ‘It can also involve rejecting information that goes against the fantasy, such as ignoring red flags or early signs of incompatibility." Someone who is infatuated is constantly thinking about that person, Fogel Mersy adds. The feeling tends to form very quickly after meeting someone, says licensed mental health counselor Grace Suh, LMHC, LPC, and the infatuated person may feel like they’ve found “the one” even though they’ve just met them....

Turns out, some experts believe that the foods you include in your first post-fast meal (especially if you’ve fasted for a full day or more) are particularly important, helping to either amplify or sabotage your results. While breaking these types of fasts doesn’t require quite as much planning as breaking an extended fast, there are still some general recommendations. First and foremost, stick to whole foods and opt for a mix of macronutrients when you break a fast—you don’t want a straight shot of carbohydrates (especially refined carbs) on an empty stomach....

Patients with anxiety and/or depression are often prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications, which prevent the reuptake of serotonin, making more serotonin available for your brain. When these medications were originally developed over 30 years ago, it was believed that anxiety and depression were caused by low levels of serotonin1, the “feel good hormone.” It turns out that the mechanisms aren’t quite so binary. Serotonin and its role in brain function are much more nuanced2 than originally thought (and still being worked out)....

This kind of carbonated water is sold across the globe as plain, ready-to-drink sparkling water (think San Pellegrino), as part of pre-flavored soft drinks (everything from La Croix to Lemonade), and can also be made at home via special appliances, the most common being Soda Stream. A study undertaken by researchers from Birzeit University in Palestine, published in the peer-reviewed Obesity Research and Clinical Practice Journal, put carbonation under the microscope for a period of six months....

Unfortunately, when we look inside many sustainable bottles, we find something not-so-friendly: liquid plastics. And while it may be easy to immediately demonize this increasingly talked-about ingredient, we can’t be so quick to judge. To follow, a bit more information on what liquid plastics are and what you can do to contribute to a plastic-free future—or at least something close. In ingredient lists, some types of liquid plastics may end in -cone or -siloxane....

Sure, sleeping with someone outside of the relationship behind one partner’s back is pretty undoubtedly considered cheating. But what about frequently hanging out with someone you’re sexually attracted to? The latter, and more obscure, scenario could fall under the umbrella of “micro cheating.” This subtle form of cheating doesn’t involve physical intimacy with the other (i.e. they haven’t kissed or had sex with another person), but the actions do break a couple’s agreements about romantic exclusivity in other ways....