Self-help is big business. And if self-help is empowering people, then it’s also common sense that health professionals are prescribing more than conventional medicine to their patients being treated for various psychological problems. On one level, self-help could be something like surrounding ourselves with things that lift our thoughts – photos of family and friends, art, flowers, etcetera. Things that
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I’ve been away from my blog for a while! Whilst travelling in this work, I’ve had the privilege of attending a conference in Santa Monica on spirituality in healthcare, and meeting people reporting on, or working in healthcare. Most of these media professionals, healthcare service providers, and the general public agree that spirituality is a key component in wellbeing and
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An article in The Sydney Morning Herald reminded me of a horrible incident. At my high school there was a senior boy who bit a frog in half, witnessed by other kids. I was horrified to hear of it – actually I’d never heard anything like it before – and at the same time I felt sad for him, thinking
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“Of the readers, by the readers, for the readers”… GOOD NEWS – a Readers’ editor was appointed and has commenced this week, in an Australian flagship newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald. Judy Prisk tells us her task is, “to monitor the Herald’s performance from the inside while being responsible to those on the outside.” This position is similar to the ombudsmen
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Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) was a humanistic psychologist, famous for his ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’. Simply put, his pyramid starts with the most basic human needs (“deficit needs”): physiological needs, followed by safety needs; social needs (love / belonging); esteem needs; and at the top of the pyramid, self-actualization (“being needs”).
The earliest version of this well-known saying was attributed to King James I, who wrote in 1616, ‘No newis is bettir than evill newis.’ [1616 James I in Loseley MSS (1836) 403]. And “I am of the Italians mind that said, ‘Nulla nuova, buona nuova’, (no news, good news). [1640 J. Howell Familiar Letters 3 June (1903) II. 144]” – source: answers.com “Now
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It’s been a happy morning so far… 6am gym-without-walls; hearty breakfast; mental fitness session with God; caught up on the news; watched an impromptu flash mob on-line (these always bring a smile!); read a recent report on a scientific breakthrough regarding the “happiness gene” 5-HTT; read the latest health survey finding “Australians are the happiest people in the world”. What
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Not for long if you check out what Aussie thinkers are saying. However, it is lagging behind somewhat. Can Australia catch up with places like North America, the UK and Europe? This fascinating observation caught my attention by Australian consultant psychiatrist, Tanveer Ahmed in The Sydney Morning Herald: “The increasing embrace of wellness ideologies to embellish personal medical credentials is a
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