Looking at research like the studies by Stinson on self-esteem, relationships and illness (Stinson, Logel et al. 2008), it's easy to start to see self-esteem as a "the-more-the-better" quality.  It is true that higher self-esteem is robustly associated with higher levels of happiness, increased initiative and less tendency to depression and eating disorders.  As Baumeister and...

Poor relationships damage our health.  Recent research powerfully demonstrates this point (Stinson, Logel et al. 2008).  In these studies, relationships were assessed in three different ways - relationship quality (closeness, trust, satisfaction), number of friends, and relationship stress.  Sheldon Cohen (Cohen 2004) has argued that these three aspects of relationships are all important in...

Bryant, R. A., J. Mastrodomenico, et al. (2008). "Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Arch Gen Psychiatry 65(6): 659-667  [Abstract/Full Text] 
               Context Recent trauma survivors with acute stress disorder (ASD) are likely to subsequently develop...