Stress is the modern epidemic and scarcely a day goes by without it appearing in the papers or on the news. With it being such an ingrained part of our culture, it’s surprising that so many people struggle to explain exactly what it is. 

 

In part this is because there are so many possible causes but, more importantly, what is considered “stressful” varies from person to person. What is one person’s “enjoyable challenge” is another’s “last straw”. 

Nowhere is the advertising hype greater than in the beauty industry, with “natural” or “organic” being some of the favourite claims. But what do these words actually mean – and are they worth paying extra for? 

 

Thanks to “our friends” in Europe, you’d have thought it would have been a simple job to find some regulations setting out the criteria to be met before any of these words could be used. So did we. 

It’s amazing the number of conversations we’ve had with people about our blog post a couple of weeks ago about mindset – What do you see, the rain or the rainbow? If you missed it, just scroll down to the picture of the rainbow. 

 

This has led on to a more general discussion about happiness and what makes each of us happy. While we instantly know whether we’re feeling happy or not, it’s much harder to describe in words. Why is this? 

Here in the UK, August is traditionally known as the “silly season”. With many people away on their summer holidays, the media are busy looking for stories to fill their newspapers and news bulletins. 

 

This year the silly season has started early, with stories about Ebola sweeping across the media. From the coverage you could be forgiven for thinking that it had already reached epidemic levels and was sweeping out of control across the globe. 

 

If you’re thinking you’ve seen this all before, you’d be right. Just think about Bird Flu, Swine Flu or SARS. Go back to the 1980’s and it was HIV and AIDS. 

 

So are we saying that you should ignore Ebola and hope it’ll go away? No, of course not. 

Soaring rates of Type II Diabetes, particularly among teenagers and young adults, continue to make the news. While it’s often linked to obesity, few reports go into specifics – or mention that it can be reversed with a few simple dietary changes. 

 

So what is Type II Diabetes and why are rates soaring? 

With the World Cup, Tour de France and Wimbledon having featured in the news recently, the pundits have been busy analysing what went wrong. And, very occasionally, what went right… 

 

Ok, if you’re an England football supporter, there may not have been much to celebrate; but why do people always seem to focus on the negative rather than the positive? 

 

Often thought of as a very English affliction, the “glass half empty” mindset seems to be deeply entrenched in the modern world. Just look at the TV or newspapers if you’re in any doubt. So why do so many people focus on the negative side of life? 

July is here, the summer holidays are on us and the papers are full of the latest wonder diets. Whether it’s the 5:2, 4:3, Paleo, Honey or Reboot diet – to name but a few – every year brings yet more weight loss programmes to choose from. And each one comes complete with its own success stories, celebrity followers and endorsements. 

 

Have you ever stopped to wonder why one diet can work like a dream, while another turns into a complete nightmare? 

Let’s talk about something we completely take for granted. That is until we have a problem. The magnificent creation that is the human body. And we’re not talking about the super fit or beautiful. Your body. All 100,000 billion cells of her (or him, with apologies to male readers!). 

 

Take a straw poll of your friends and family and we guarantee that most of them will say the same thing. They never gave any thought to their body until they had a problem. Or decided she needed changing in some way. Whether it be cancer, excess weight or acne; the reaction is usually the same. And it goes along these lines: “why did this happen, I had no idea anything was wrong.” 

It’s something we’ve been meaning to do for ages and here it finally is!  

 

There will be a weekly post, usually on a Wednesday, so if you have any suggestions for a topic please let us know. 

 

It seems like everyone has a blog these days – some good, others not so good – so how is ours going to be different you may ask? Well by offering you a different perspective on everything health related, as well as life in general.