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Rajiv Narayan

I've lost a lot of weight and gained a little insight about obesity and health care. I like to read and write about those things, but my true obsessions are with bad puns, Beyoncé, and the Bay Area. I curate for Upworthy because I believe health care policy can (one day) be understood. If you want to wonk it up, reach out to me on Twitter and Facebook.

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There are two stories of Jo's addiction. Only one is actually helpful.

Jo Harvey used to tell her story of addiction in a dark and messy way.

It started when Jo was 7. On a hiking trip, she was given her first drink. She liked the taste, and by the time she was 12, she had experimented with more alcohol and other drugs. In high school, she was introduced to cocaine. She became a party girl, one who didn't remember most wild nights and spiraled into a deep addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Eventually, she gave up the drugs and went in for treatment. In the years since, Jo not only has been sober, but she's dedicated her life to helping others through similar struggles. Today, Jo is completing a doctorate while working to develop alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs for her university.

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Honestly, just watching this makes me happier.

Mind you, Dr. Amit Sood is not a self-help author or a salesman of snake oil or a motivational storyteller aiming to sell high speaking fees. He's a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a well-respected researcher and practitioner of integrated medicine.

Sood put together the following short on how to cultivate a (very) happy brain. It's backed by an evidence base, and it's powerful. So go ahead and give his lessons a try. It's the doctor's orders.

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Rajiv Narayan

Scientists tested a theory of human nature on toddlers. The results are delightful.

You do you.

Well, Dr. Felix Warneken is here to prove that one of the biggest assumptions behind capitalism? Yeah. It's wrong. NBD.

Warneken's research shows that we have innately altruistic tendencies. And not only do we want to help our fellow man — we derive joy from it.

How a tour of a Norwegian jail might make you reconsider how effective the U.S. justice system is

The point here is not so much that one system is obviously better than the other, but that the way we run prisons in the U.S. is not the only way to do it.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "jail?"

A documentary series that follows a tour of a Norwegian prison shows a very different method of imprisonment.

The Norwegian system focuses more on prison as a venue of rehabilitation rather than one of punishment.

Perhaps Norway's way of doing things isn't as bizarre as we think.

Her story of addiction is pretty common, but her recovery depended on how she told that story.

There are two stories of Jo's addiction. Only one is actually helpful.

Jo Harvey used to tell her story of addiction in a dark and messy way.

Now she tells her story as the story of a struggle that saved her.

Why did Jo carry so much guilt and shame around her addiction? Well one factor may have been her gender.

Jo now believes that the key to recovery comes down to the stories we tell.

A doctor's advice for inner happiness is so easy that I wasn't a believer until I tried it.

Honestly, just watching this makes me happier.

A Happy Brain

Three Traits of the Brain

But What Does This All Mean?

Breastfeeding mom's touching encounter with an orangutan has people swooning—and debating

People are sharing the simple life hacks that made their daily routine so much easier

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

People share small acts of kindness that can be used every day, and some are brilliantly simple

Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime. This moving clip shows what his reaction to his popularity would look like today.

14 things that will remain fun no matter how old you get