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Pesticides go incognito
At no other time in world history have we been exposed to such a heady cocktail of chemicals which, while supposedly making our lives easier, also put us at risk. From the fumes we inhale in traffic-choked cities to the plastic residues we ingest on cling-filmed foods, we are arguably being bombarded. Pyrethroid insecticides are…
CBT forty years on
Albert Ellis (1913-2007) Last year, the World Health Organization ranked depressive disorders as the third highest cause of disease burden in the world. You don’t have to look very far to verify this claim. Psychotherapy has been rightly identified as a fundamental approach to its treatment and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has enjoyed pride of…
Are you anxious to make a decision?
How many of us can genuinely say we find decision-making easy? Sure, when the question is tea or coffee, spots or stripes, wine or mineral water, it’s no big deal. But what about when the stakes are higher, like ‘should I take that job that pays less but is less stressful’ or ‘should we leave…
How much do you love me?
Do you have a penchant for a certain brand of perfume or aftershave? Would you camp out overnight to lay your hands on the latest piece of Apple kit? One group of researchers has set out to discover whether people feel the same kind of love for brands as they do for people, in a…
Let them eat Prozac
The neurotransmitter theory, despite being a theory, has become hard-wired into our understanding of the way depression works. A shortfall in the neurotransmitter serotonin in the synapses between neurones represents a ‘chemical imbalance’ which leads to the symptoms of depression, right? Professor David Healy, author of a book published in 2004 entitled ‘Let them eat…
These results are not to be sniffed at
If you think that emotions can be contagious, you’d be right. It’s well established that feelings of happiness, for example, transfer between individuals through mimicry of facial expressions. But a new piece of research suggests this is not the only way we influence each others’ emotional states. It would appear that feelings can also be…
The latest weapon in the war on mental disorders
With the prevalence of mental disorders at an all-time high in the general population, any measure which promises to alleviate symptoms has to be worthy of attention. Recently, a woman I know who has spent time in a psychiatric hospital, mentioned, in passing, that she had been greatly helped by a therapist who had followed…
Give thanks for a happy heart
All too often, it’s the simple, commonsense practices which turn out to deliver genuine therapeutic benefits, with little recognition. That’s why this latest piece of research, published by the American Psychological Association, is highly deserving of attention and should warm the cockles of all our hearts. Because what it demonstrates is the power of that…
