James' World 2

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Sociopaths are modern-day boogeymen, and the word “sociopath” is casually tossed around to describe the worst, most amoral among us. But they are not boogeymen; they are real people and, according to Patric Gagne, widely misunderstood. Gagne wrote “Sociopath,” her buzzy forthcoming memoir, to try to correct some of those misunderstandings and provide a fuller picture of sociopathy, which is now more frequently referred to as antisocial personality disorder. As a child, Gagne found herself compelled toward violent outbursts in an effort to try to compensate for the emotional apathy that was her default. As she got older, those compulsive behaviors turned into criminal ones like trespassing and theft. Eventually, she discovered that there was a name — that dreaded word — that could be used to describe and explain her experiences of remorselessness, criminality, and lack of empathy. The desire to destigmatize her experience and also to help others who may share it (Gagne previously worked as a therapist to those with the disorder and has also written about sociopathy) put Gagne on a path that led to “Sociopath.” “I’m not trying to say, ‘Sometimes we do bad things, but we’re really sweet on the inside,’” says Gagne, who is 48. “I’m saying there is more to this personality type.”

When I hear the word “sociopath,” I think of an antisocial, uncaring person who is interested only in satisfying his or her own desires. What’s a clearer picture? Sociopathy is a perilous mental disorder; the traits associated with sociopathy aren’t great. But that only tells part of the story. The part that’s missing is you can be a sociopath and have a healthy relationship. You can be a sociopath and be educated. That’s a very uncomfortable reality for some people. People want to believe that all sociopaths are monsters and that all monsters are easy to spot. 

In the book, you write about stabbing a classmate with a pencil when you were a kid, and then as you got older, trespassing  and stealing cars. You don’t succumb to those sociopathic compulsions anymore. How did you learn to control these urges? As a kid, I didn’t understand why I was acting out the way that I was. All I knew was I felt this pressure, and something in my brain was telling me, Punch that kid, and you’ll feel better. As I got older I understood, OK, there’s a name for this, there is a whole group of people who share this diagnosis. Once I understood that I wasn’t out in space untethered and going crazy, I was on the path to understanding that when I had those feelings of “go steal a car,” I could go, Yes, I could do that, but now I understand what’s going on. That understanding helped break the cycle — or at least redirect the compulsion toward something less destructive.

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By David Marchese Photo Illustration by Bráulio Amado

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Whether you are a seasoned gym-goer or are brand new to exercise, having a weekly workout plan can help you stay consistent and ensure you continue progressing towards your fitness goals.

And while life can sometimes get in the way of your scheduled workout program—for instance, maybe childcare falls through, and you have to skip yoga to watch your toddler, or a work meeting runs late so you can’t fit in the dumbbell weight lifting routine you had planned—having a set structure week-to-week can go a long way in helping fitness become an ingrained part of your lifestyle. 

As for what your weekly gym workout plan should look like? Well, that answer is really going to vary from person to person. Factors like your baseline fitness level, current health status, exercise goals, and how much room you have in your schedule to exercise will all dictate the best workout schedule for you. For example, the right exercise routine for an avid runner trying to set a new PR is probably going to be a whole lot different than the best workout schedule for muscle gain and muscle growth.

All that said, if you’re looking for some general info to get you started, there are some broad guidelines that can give you a good sense of what comprises a well-rounded weekly workout plan. With that in mind, we spoke with four experts to get some basic guidance on how often you should work out, the components of a good workout routine, how you can make it a lasting habit, and how much exercise is too much. Right this way for all the need-to-know intel.

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Monika Jurczyk via Adobe Images

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Even if you’re not Christian, you’ve probably at least heard of Lent — the 40 (really 46, since Sundays don’t count) days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. But what is Lent really about?

It’s about introspection. “Lent is a time of putting aside what we normally do to reevaluate our lives. It’s a time to ask, ‘Am I really being the person I intend to be?’” says Father Mark Morozowich, dean of the school of theology and religious studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

It’s about connecting with others. “Lent is a journey people can take together. Even if you don’t identify as Christian or identify as religious, you can take part in the journey with friends or family members,” says Corey MacPherson, university chaplain at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY.

It’s about slowing down. In the Orthodox tradition, Lent is considered a return to normalcy. “It’s being more mindful, and more involved, and bathing yourself in the rituals of the church, so you can see your own needs. It’s a beautiful time of year,” says Jeff Citro, licensed social worker, a Massachusetts-based counselor with broad experience in the Christian denominations.

Giving something up

Fasting and sacrifice are cornerstones of Lent. But if you just, say, stop eating chocolate for Lent, you’re missing the point. You need to reflect on the sacrifice. “Why have you been eating so much chocolate anyway? What are you trying to heal from, or medicate?” asks Citro. “Giving up something in and of itself is useless. It’s only meaningful in the context of your spiritual journey.”

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Lent can set a pattern that transforms you and puts your life back in balance. Julia Davila-Lampe / Getty Images

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If you’re already crushing your cardio sessions and going hard in the weight room (which we hope you are!), it’s time to add another, often-overlooked layer to your workout routine. Enter: our March 2024 Movement of the Month Club, a monthlong mobility training program focusing on improving your entire body’s movement.

Looking to take your workouts to the next level and prevent injury while weaving in some oh-so-crucial self-care? Mobility is for you. Looking to feel better and move easier every day? Mobility is for you. The goal isn’t just to get more bendy, but to leave you feeling less achy and better primed for your workouts—and the rest of your daily routine, too.

Over the next four weeks, we’ll explore feel-good mobility exercises that fit into your busy days—as in, you only need 5 minutes! You’ll be guided through the month by Alicia Rios, certified personal trainer and programming manager for Bold, an at-home, digital fitness platform.

“Early in my career I realized that quality of life and independence are two important life goals for many aging individuals,” she says. “However, a lot of us take those things for granted until we start to notice they’re in decline—and then it becomes much harder to change.”

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On a recent Monday evening, at an event called “Doing Theology: Jesus and Carbon Neutrality,” I sat in a circle around a large bowl of Cheez-Its with twelve parishioners from Circle of Hope, a progressive Anabaptist church in South Philadelphia. The church occupies a former Italian funeral home that was featured on the show “Mob Wives,” and the room was hung with black netting to symbolize Lent, the Christian liturgical season that began on Ash Wednesday, in late February, and ends forty days later, on Easter. Lent is historically a period of atonement and reflection, and these people had come together to discuss the church’s carbon footprint and their own.

“I feel like I’ve woken up in the ocean, and I’m trying not to get wet,” Jeremy Avellino, a forty-four-year-old architect who was leading the discussion, said. In 2010, Avellino had learned that buildings were responsible for thirty-nine percent of global carbon emissions, and considered leaving architecture completely, but God had told him not to. “I didn’t hear God audibly say, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to stay in this and make it better,’ ” he clarified, but he had had a brush with the Holy Spirit. In 2011, Avellino created Bright Common, an architecture studio that practices high-concept, low-carbon design. (Recently, during the panic shopping brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, he bought a Tushy, a seventy-nine-dollar bidet, to reduce his use of toilet paper.) Avellino finds solace in the energy-efficient houses and apartment buildings he builds. “But sometimes, when I zoom out on Google Earth and see the millions of other homes built, I sometimes slip into despair,” he said.

Sara Robbins, a thirty-three-year-old social worker who grew up in a conservative church, talked about trying to unlearn the idea that stories about humans damaging the planet, including through overpopulation, were fake news. “I grew up thinking that we had to have more children so that there were more Christians on the planet,” she said. She has started composting and using fewer single-use plastics. “I’m trying in the day to be more aware of how my actions have larger positive and negative impacts,” she said.

Many Christians observe the period of Lent by giving something up, often in the name of self-improvement. (Carbohydrates, say, or alcohol.) Over the past several years, however, some left-leaning Christians have made the commitment to limit their consumption in service of the Earth, rather than themselves. Last year, a group of nuns in Pennsylvania sent out a newsletter advising people on how to cut back on electricity usage during Lent. This year, the young adults of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, across the country, are fasting from single-use plastics, and other local sustainability practices. “It’s just way harder than I thought,” Savanna Sullivan, the twenty-seven-year-old national director of young-adult ministries, told me. “Yogurt, for instance: it’s healthy, but it’s in plastic, so I’ve given it up.” In St. Louis, the members of the University United Methodist Church are fasting from carbon. They recently shared a forty-day calendar that offers directives for each day, advising followers, for example, to collect their food waste to see how much they create and to keep it out of the garbage, where it produces greenhouse gases. The Church of England has devoted its annual #livelent campaign to “care for Creation,” and has advised practitioners to, among other things, plant a tree, turn their thermostats down, and eat less meat. “The individual actions are easy,” Jo Chamberlain, the national environmental officer for the Church, told me. “The ones that involve other people, like having my family eat more vegetables, are trickier.”

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″If you want to live longer, improve what you’re eating and start moving your body more,” said Dr. Linda Shiue, an internist and director of culinary and lifestyle medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

But knowing exactly which foods to eat for a longer life can be tricky. Shiue says that while no one needs to be perfect, it’s important to fill up on “foods in their natural state, like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs and nuts.” By doing so, she said, we replace the “ultra-processed foods” in our diets, “such as shelf-stable foods that have refined carbs and high sugars, like white bread.”

But even when we know which foods are good for us, it can be hard to figure out the right balance of healthy options that give us a better chance of living longer ― and hard to find sweets that are good for us when the craving strikes.

We asked three top longevity experts what’s in their grocery carts. Here’s what they told us.

Cruciferous Vegetables

All vegetables are packed with nutrition, but cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are powerhouses at helping you live longer. That’s because they are rich in anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-aging phytonutrients, said Dr. Mark Hyman, an author, family physician, and director of the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts.

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There’s nothing wrong with a little social media, but when seconds-long TikToks turn into hour long binges, Instagram Stories into mental scoreboards of who-liked-what, and Facebook feeds into not-so-fun grounds for discovering your uncle’s political views, it’s time to take a little break. Just a break, because quitting completely isn’t really an option or desire for many. There’s still much to be gained from the apps that dominate our screen times. But there’s also much to lose when scrolling takes up too much of our time, headspace, and energy.

A successful social media break will look different for everybody. Some people might want to deactivate all their social media profiles for a certain amount of time, while others might only want to limit some social media features. What matters most is to take from social media what benefits you and leave what doesn’t. 

In other words: Figure out what you like, find the right settings, and follow the tips below. 

Figure out what’s bothering you

Are you overwhelmed by seeing too much of other people’s lives? Is your like count feeding your toxic need for validation? Are you going broke from online shopping? There are many reasons that might lead you to want a break. It’s important to figure out what those reasons are because doing so will help you decide how to design your break. 

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