In spite of The Netherlands being an equal opportunities and very tolerant nation, the Dutch themselves have a saying about ‘not sticking your head above the cornfield’ because it will get chopped off. In English we talk about ‘sticking our necks out’. In both cases, standing out in some way seems to have definite disadvantages […]
Halos, auras, flashes of light, pins and needles running down your arms, the sudden scent of sulphur—many symptoms of a migraine have vaguely mystical qualities, and experts remain puzzled by the debilitating headaches’ cause. Researchers at Harvard University, however, have come at least one step closer to figuring out why women are twice as likely […]
People often think of love and lust as polar opposites—love as the binder of two souls, lust the transient devil on our shoulders, disturbing and disruptive. Now neuroscientists are discovering that lust and love work together more closely than we think. Indeed, the strongest relationships have elements of both. The divided treatment of love and […]
I have mentioned here before my love of writing and languages. In the last weeks, several articles have caught my attention around not only the healing power of writing but also how our choice of words & metaphors can influence ourselves and others. In the vein of wanting to wish you all manner of good […]
With Christmas and the ‘Festive Season’ rapidly approaching, it seems that every year there is increasingly more focus on the amounts of food we buy, make and consume. In the days leading up to Christmas our local Amsterdam supermarket looks as though there is going to be a famine because people are pilling up their […]
I love it when science catches up with what we ‘know’ from natural medicine. Recently several studies have caught my attention in which ‘treating the mind’ relieves physical symptoms. Gastritis and Anxiety People with gastritis—a blanket term for stomach and intestinal discomfort, including heartburn, nausea and abdominal pain— are nearly twice as likely as […]
Self-esteem, or a person’s overall sense of self-worth, is generally considered to be critical to healthy functioning. Its darker side, however, has been largely overlooked. The quest for greater self-esteem can leave people feeling empty and dissatisfied. Recent research bolsters the case. Even when we achieve goals we anticipate will make us feel good about […]
September brings with it another acamdemic year – a time when the children go back at school, universities start up again, and people go back to work after the summer break. Each year at this time I notice the whiff off ‘wanting to learn’ wafting around in my surroundings. Not just my own curiosity but […]
Traditionally psychologists have attributed negative body image to pictures in the media of unusually thin or beautiful people with whom the rest of us compare our own physique. In June 2011 the American Medical Association released a statement that urged advertisers to stop the use of digitally altered photographs after researchers found links among exposure […]
The Dalai Lama is reknown for his interest in neuroscience. When I stumbled across this very recent article by top neuroscientist Christof Koch about his experience with the Dalai Lama, I knew that I had to share this with you all. So here it is, cut & pasted without apology straight into my newsletter :=) […]
It is quite incredible that even though scientists have been studying strokes for decades, the only intervention available is a drug that breaks up blood clots, and only a small number of patients benefit from it. Brain damage is unfortunately inevitable in most cases. However, new research in rat studies has shown that they were […]
Imagine you get nine hours of sleep every night, squeeze in long naps whenever you can, and yet every waking hour is a blur of exhaustion, poor focus and longing for the next time your head will hit the pillow. That is the reality for people with primary hypersomnia, a poorly understood, rare condition of […]