Articles About Health

Here in Melbourne, Australia we're halfway through a pretty cold and bleak winter and many of us tend to get a bit 'blue'.  Some have a more serious problem, SAD, or Seasonally Affected Disorder', which is an unfortunate change of body chemistry due mainly to lack of sunlight, and can be hard to overcome. However, most of us can do something to chee...

Most of us breathe automatically. That is, we leave it to our body and we don't even think about it. This is unfortunate because we could be doing it so much better and feeling better for it. The automatic breaths we take are just enough to exist – the recommended daily intake of you like. But it's the therapeutic dose, the amount or frequency, that make...

One of the hardest things for me as a psychologist is not giving people strategies and coping mechanisms to deal with SAD (Stress Anxiety Depression), that's relatively easy. The problem is how to get people to do it on a regular basis. As I often say – you don't wait until get holes in your teeth and then brush them (although it's never too late). But r...

Have you had the experience where you have gone on a weight reducing diet, cutting out carbohydrates, protein and fat, only to find you feel irritable and people are accusing you of being a grump? It’s common these days to think that fat and carbohydrates are bad for you and make you fat and in sufficiently high quantities, of course that’s a fact. But ...

20 ways to check if you're OK You feel reasonably contented most of the time with occasional spikes of happiness (and maybe the odd 'downer') You don't have 300 unopened emails in your inbox You strive – but don't expect to be perfect You don't take things too personally and if it seems that way you can tell yourself "It's not my problem if they thi...

'Prevention is better than cure', so the old saying goes. People tend to be proactive when it comes to physical health. We make sure we eat properly and exercise regularly because we're taught to do so as children. Keeping ourselves mentally healthy doesn't come as easily. We're not taught how to think and often we don't learn to emotionally regulate eith...

Will power seems like an old-fashioned notion to many people now - a Victorian 'stiff upper lip' thing. But having the ability to hold ourselves back from behaviours, a habit or a thought, is a tremendous skill and there are ways to improve it – build up your 'mental muscle'. Recently I heard an interview with Professor Roy Baumeister – author of the boo...

Breathing your way out of Stress and Anxiety There us a special type of breathing which does just this.  This method of breathing is ‘conscious’ – that is, it’s not the breathing you simply do to stay alive, it’s deliberate and can be done at any time, not just when you feel stressed to anxious.  Be pro-active! Relaxing breathing means breathi...

Not getting to sleep (insomnia), or sleep disturbance (waking during the night) happens to around half of us at some stage. A good night’s sleep is absolutely essential to your good health. Sleep is when your brain processes memory and when other important functions like the production of Human growth hormone happens in order to repair damaged cells, as ...

My mother passed away recently at the age of 98. Her name was Sophia Charlotte Waring Jack. She was bright and feisty right to the end and this was, I believe, largely due to her 'Rules for Living'. She did not call them that; I have collected them and put them into a list to pass on to you. They're good for any age. Use your brain. Sophie quoted her f...

Here's a ten-step routine to help you stop and reload:  

How can I make myself feel better now? It's a question that's been suggested in therapy for eons. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and many other therapies are all variations on a simple recipe. I accept that I feel bad. I accept the feelings that go along with feeling bad. In spite of feeling bad, I can cope. But what ...

The effects of water and nature on our brain and emotions The health benefits of being near water are legendary. Remember the Ancient Romans and their baths? In the days before beachside was the most common summer holiday destination – the forests of the mountains were popular. One would 'take the air' or 'take the waters' – walking in it, bathing in it,...

Don't be surprised that humans are emotional eaters – we're not designed to live at the pace we do today – eating is soothing and certain foods change our body chemistry and make us feel better – chocolate for instance. Our inner caveperson craves sweet and calorie rich foods as a survival mechanism. We crave salty things because salt is important to our ...

Ten things to do when nothing's working You were going OK, feeling pretty good, the coping methods were working – and suddenly, you feel like you're going backwards. This can last a day or two, or a week or two, but when you're feeling 'blagh' a day can seem like forever. So here are some tips to get you through when nothing seems to be working ...