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…
“Citius, altius, fortius” (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”) – the famous words spoken in 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin on the creation of the International Olympic Committee. Today they’re more relevant than ever, but their meaning has been subverted. The desire to improve athletic performance is still a noble quest, but too often it leads athletes at the highest levels to overdo things, to lose their way and commit excesses including…
An intense love turns bad, a relationship which could potentially have worked falls apart, your partner decides to leave you …. whatever the reason for your broken heart, it’s never an easy thing. The expression is depressing enough in itself! You think you’re never going to get over it, and you get yourself into all sorts of states – depression, despair, isolation, flight, etc. People react in many different ways,…
Who wouldn’t want to be fit and well? It’s certainly a reasonable desire, but today’s society has made well-being, fitness and health into an obsession reinforced by media such as publicity, television and magazines. The number of people affected by hypochondria is increasing with every passing year, reinforced by new weight-loss programs, new dietary supplements, and new products to make you look younger. This obsession with having a perfectly healthy…