Do you madly crave cheese? Does the thought of a cheese platter make you salivate? Do you compulsively eat a whole slab of cheese at one sitting and then feel guilty afterwards? Well, you might call yourself a cheese lover, but some scientists claim you’re a cheese addict, hooked on what they refer to as ‘dairy crack’. “That’s ridiculous!” I hear you say. “How can cheese be addictive?” Well, according…
One of the most common forms of OCD is classed with the obsessive-phobic disorders. We’re talking about an obsession with cleanliness and hygiene, sometimes called mysophobia or germophobia. People suffering from this condition find that it affects their private and social lives. After all, how can you live a normal life when you’re constantly afraid of being contaminated by germs or infected by microbes? When you avoid public places, and…
Heard of bibliotherapy? Surprisingly few people have, yet it’s a remarkably effective healing tool, helping to alleviate anxiety and depression. Expressed simply, bibliotherapy is about reading your way to health. Reading is, to the mind, what exercising is to the body; a means of building and maintaining wellbeing. A good book is engrossing, stimulating and satisfying. Moreover, as all subjects have been covered in book form, bibliotherapy can be informative…
In this post we’re talking about addiction to soap operas. The French have a word for it – “sériephilie”, or “sériphile addict” to borrow a phrase from sociologist Clément Combes. The very idea of soap addiction makes some people smile. So who’s hidden behind the label? A person who loses control of their consumption of television series, to the point where their social life is affected. And we have to…
We all need to stay active to maintain our health. Sport is a great way to do so, but if you need to boost your energy levels to join in, here are four important tips. Focus on your diet. Many people take the word ‘diet’ to mean starving yourself to attain a desired weight, but crash diets can lead to nutritional deficiencies. A far healthier alternative, and one that is…
This example of addiction may cause a few smiles. Dedicated runners are among the first to laugh at themselves, describing their regular outings as a drug fix. Behind all this joking, though, maybe there’s a basis of truth? The paradox here is that running is supposed to improve our physical condition, making us well and healthy. Once again, it’s doing it repeatedly that can take us over the line. To…
Guest Writer, Donna Gregory—yoga teacher and holistic therapist at Donna Crystal Holistics Addictions are easy to develop but a tremendous struggle to overcome. People typically do not realize they are becoming addicted until after the addiction has already secured a strong grip on their lives. Trying to beat the addiction causes a high level of stress. Willpower alone may not be enough, and sometimes, attempts to quit can lead the…
Can an addiction to pessimism be detrimental to our health? Is a negative outlook holding us back from a happier, healthier state of being? Modern research tends to suggest that the way we view the world; ourselves, our future, work, family etc., can have a huge effect on how we experience it. So how can a pessimistic outlook affect us, and what can we do to turn that frown upside…
Eating too much or too little – bulimia and anorexia, two extreme pathologies in our relationship with food, affect primarily adolescent girls and young women. A combination of factors lies at the origin of eating disorders, and the psychological aspect is the most important of these. The example of anorexia illustrates the point. Like all illnesses of a psychological nature, anorexia is difficult to pin down or treat. However, since…
Irritability, stress, feeling jumpy … these are the most obvious consequences of lack of sleep, which everybody has experienced at some time. Sleep deprivation also forms part of the most effective tortures dreamt up by dictatorial regimes. In many ways, sleep is really restorative. “Did you sleep badly? Did you get out of bed on the wrong side?” Popular common sense often reminds us that lack of sleep affects our…