Many of us struggle to find real happiness. Why is that? Studies in psychology suggest that part of the reason is that most of us are very bad at predicting how we’ll react when faced with many of life’s experiences. Consequently, we end up making choices that are potentially harmful to our emotional well-being. According to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, we tend to overestimate, by a long way, the extent and duration of the emotional impacts of, say, a pay rise, the death of a loved one, or even moving to an area that’s sunny all year round. This is simply because, when we’re trying to imagine how an experience will affect us emotionally, we tend to focus too much of our attention on the most salient features of the experience in question.

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Whether they're miracle cures or just plain strange, the alternative health industry is rapidly growing. Some patients swear by their naturopaths and holistic treatments, sometimes condemning conventional medicine. From fish that are purported to aid skin ailments to rocks said to be infused with healing powers, we have the low-down on some of the more unusual, emerging alternative health treatments promising big benefits – for a price, of course.

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Over the past 20 years, the field of sports psychology has grown to where a subject that once carried a stigma is now openly discussed. And as increasing numbers of teen athletes compete in the widening specialized world of amateur athletics, parents are taking their children to hypnotists in hopes that it will help performance.

It's no different than a pro having a personal trainer, swing coach or therapist. But seeing a hypnotist does not carry universal acceptance, and hypnosis remains a mystery shrouded in hard-to-break stereotypes.

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Ideally, anger arises in a comfortable, local situation and is vented right away. Voices are raised, sharp words are exchanged, and then some resolution is achieved; and with time the incident is forgotten. If remembered, it can be the subject of laughter. But we live in a complicated, overwhelming world that feels so out of control. Read the paper, watch TV — there's a lot out there to make us angry.

What to do with all that anger? An anger fantasy is that process whereby I grow really angry about somebody and I work it out in my head by verbally lashing that person and then beating him to a pulp, all so that he might learn the important lesson: You Should Always Be Considerate. In my anger fantasies, I shout and I beat and I kick until I'm satisfied that the jerk who brought it on himself is deeply sorry and won't ever do it again.

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Do you trust in your doctor? How you answer that question may improve or worsen your condition. Why? The power of expectation. When Parkinson's patients were told that they had a 75 percent chance of receiving an active drug, but were given a placebo, scans of their brains showed that they secreted dopamine on their own.

How does this work? When you get excited about getting rewarded — think of the anticipation of post-recovery sex — your brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is that feel-good neurotransmitter that makes you happy, reduces stress and boosts your immune system so that you can recover faster.

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Acupuncture has been — how shall we say? — one of the less ridiculed techniques of alternative medicine, at least in recent years. A body of evidence shows that it does indeed relieve pain, for many conditions. But a study released today suggests that acupuncture probably only works because patients believe that it will — and it's the belief, not the procedure, that makes the difference.

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Also read: Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Pain

In the United States, more patients are turning to alternative and complementary medicine as part of their health care.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health say that nearly 40 percent of adults have used some type therapy that isn't taught in medical schools. But more than 40 U.S. universities, including Stanford, UCLA, Duke and The George Washington University have integrative medicine centers.

Jean Ayers is not a regular patient. She is studying to be a physician assistant at George Washington University, which includes taking an elective course in integrative medicine. Participating in treatments is strongly encouraged.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health say that nearly 40 percent of adults have used some type therapy that isn't taught in medical schools. But more than 40 U.S. universities, including Stanford, UCLA, Duke and The George Washington University have integrative medicine centers.

Jean Ayers is not a regular patient. She is studying to be a physician assistant at George Washington University, which includes taking an elective course in integrative medicine. Participating in treatments is strongly encouraged.

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Researchers say a type of meditation called integrative mind-body training can strengthen connections in certain areas of the brain, even when practiced for as little as 11 hours. Psychologist Michael Posner describes the study, and explains the brain changes he documented.

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Here's more evidence that sleep, including napping, can make you smarter.

Dreaming may improve memory, boost creativity, and help you better plan for the future, new research suggests.

In a recent study, people who took naps featuring REM sleep–in which dreams are most vivid–performed better on creativity-oriented word problems. That is, the REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep helped people combine ideas in new ways, according to psychiatrist Sara Mednick, who led the study.

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Canadian experts say they fear stories of miraculous results from a controversial new MS treatment could be more about the "placebo effect" than an actual breakthrough – fears given new credence by two discouraging new European studies.

Dr. Jon Stoessl, a researcher with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the acting head of the division of neurology at the University of British Columbia, says patient expectations about medical treatments can affect their success rates. It's a kind of mind-over-matter, dubbed the placebo effect.

He's concerned the hopes of people with multiple sclerosis have been prematurely raised about the long-term success of Dr. Paola Zamboni's research, which suggests a connection between multiple sclerosis and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) – impaired blood drainage through the veins from the brain.

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