Mental Health - Reflectd - bringing psychology studies to life

Overthinking: Common Questions (and Answers) from Therapy

Simon Moesgaard — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 08:41:01 +0000

Overthinking often lurks beneath the surface of the struggles people bring to therapy. Yet we rarely pause to ask: What do we hope to gain by thinking so much? Most people don’t overthink because they enjoy it. They do it because it feels useful: a way to prepare, avoid mistakes, or find certainty in uncertainty. […]

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Rumination: Does Thinking Things All Over Again Actually Help?

Simon Moesgaard — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:30:05 +0000

“We think rumination will untangle the knot, but it only tightens it.” Returning to the same thoughts again and again, especially when something feels unresolved or difficult? This kind of thinking process is labeled as rumination in psychology studies. It can feel like a form of problem solving. Many people experience it as an attempt […]

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When the Body Reacts, the Mind Makes Meaning: How Emotions Take Shape

Simon Moesgaard — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:53:49 +0000

How Emotions Take Shape Over Time We often talk about emotions as if they simply appear. Anxiety hits. Anger flares. Joy arrives. This makes emotions sound like automatic signals sent by the body — clear, direct, and almost self-explanatory. But psychological research suggests something more nuanced: Emotions or feelings are something that take shape depending […]

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The Self is Not a Private Project: The Hidden Cost of Self-Focus

Simon Moesgaard — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:12:44 +0000

Modern psychology sometimes treats the individual mind as if it exists in a vacuum. Thoughts are analysed in isolation. Emotions are framed as personal deficits. Distress becomes something happening inside the person. But this view is historically naïve. Philip Cushman’s classic article Why the Self Is Empty (1990) reminds us of something uncomfortable: the way […]

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If You’re Not Playing, You’re Missing a Great Capacity

Simon Moesgaard — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:08:30 +0000

Play is wonderful. It may not rhyme with efficiency or productivity. In modern life, productivity has become a moral imperative, right? Time must be justified. Even rest is expected to “pay off.” In that context, play can seem pointless. Yet when play disappears, mental rigidity increases. Research consistently links play-like states to cognitive flexibility, emotional […]

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Is Stress Itself Harmful? A Closer Look at the TED Talk by Kelly McGonigal “How to Make Stress Your Friend”

Simon Moesgaard — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 20:30:32 +0000

When Kelly McGonigal’s TED Talk went viral back in 2013, many walked away with a striking message: “Stress only harms you if you believe it does.” It’s a compelling idea — the notion that the mind can reshape the body’s stress response. A decade later, the talk has surpassed 50 million views across platforms. With […]

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Why Intrinsic Motivation Beats Rewards: Lessons from a Danish Study on Work and Well-Being

Simon Moesgaard — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 14:49:56 +0000

Intrinsic motivation fuels satisfaction and performance — control suppresses both. I stumbled upon my 10-year old thesis. Since it’s still relevant, I want to share the findings with you, and at the same time, acknowledge the theory of Self-Determination (SDT) by Deci & Ryan. It investigates the role of self-determination (intrinsic motivation) in work motivation […]

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Mental Health Anxiety: How Worry Creates the Very Symptoms You Fear

Simon Moesgaard — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:46:41 +0000

When we don’t know what falls within the normal range of the mind, we can easily misinterpret our thoughts or feelings as dangerous or harmful. The same applies to physical symptoms: Am I just catching a cold, or am I seriously ill? Is this ordinary, or something I must act on immediately? In Metacognitive Therapy […]

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Manny and Max On The Rise: A Child’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety

Simon Moesgaard — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:07:21 +0000

Effective Treatment Principles Turned Into a Child’s Guide Manny and Max On The Rise is a child’s guide for children aged 5–10 years. It’s a book for children’s caregivers or their caring readers as well. Key Features: Relatable characters and situations that increase empathy Thought exercises to foster a new way of thinking and behavior […]

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How Children Learn to Worry, and How They Break Free

Simon Moesgaard — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 14:33:11 +0000

Metacognitive therapy (hereafter MCT) is a rather new and effective treatment for anxiety disorders. Studies comparing MCT with usual treatment find MCT superior (1, 2). A 2024 meta-analysis shows that metacognitive beliefs are present in children as well as adults and that they are related to psychological distress in children (3). MCT is based […]

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