Solitude

Daydreams and flying time are kissing cousins.... Mathew*, a twenty year old college student, Terri*, a thirty-three year old who works in finance, and Pete*, a fifty-nine year old granddad, might not have much to talk about. But they have at least one thing in common: they all feel that the days, weeks and months are speeding by too quickly. “I barely have time to breathe,” says Terri. Mathew echoes, “I can’t seem to find a minute just to think.” The theory that I have always heard (and one underscored by scientists like   neuroscientist David Eagleman of Baylor College of Medicine and Warren Meck, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University ) is that, for a number of reasons, time seems to go faster as we get older. But these days it’s not just the over-forties who are complaining. Speeding time seems to be afflicting us all, from small children to folks in their mid-nineties!  It seems that life is moving too quickly. There are pl...

Grief and loss can be debilitating but can be overcome.  Ms Howard stood rigid and unemotional by the grave in which her 20-year-old son Patrick was buried. Life as she knew it was over. Time was now referred to as, “Before Patrick's death” and “After Patrick's death.” It's been 10 years since her loss. As she sat on my sofa, she said with a smile, “You know, Patrick wanted to be a psychologist. He wanted to work with people who had lost someone dear and look at the irony... here I am, still grieving Patrick, even after 10 years.” It has taken Ms Howard years to reach out and ask for support. All this time has been spent trying to hold her family together, move on, live life and “get over it”. “After a point people merely feel sympathy, but no empathy. They said that I should try to forget and stop grieving. People keep telling me that 10 years is a long time. I feel very depressed that I am unable to move on.” Part of life Grief and loss can come disgui...

Here are a few health myths that need to be broken.   All nuts and oily seeds have cholesterol No plant food contains cholesterol because cholesterol is manufactured only by animals. So all nuts and oil seeds are cholesterol-free. Low-fat margarine is healthy because it has no cholesterol Several brands of margarine carry transfats that are much worse for the body. Transfats can raise cholesterol levels in the body and spoil liver functions. So it is better to eat natural butter – in small quantities. All oils contain cholesterol Any oil made from plants is always naturally cholesterol-free. If we eat cholesterol, it will raise our blood cholesterol Any rise in the body’s cholesterol level depends on how the liver is able to process it.   Milk is a complete food Mother’s milk is a complete food for a baby till it is six months old. After that, the child needs additional foods, though mother’s milk can be continued as long as the mother is comfortable. Milk from...

Common Belief:  Microwave ovens    cook food from the inside out. Truth:  Microwave do not cook food from the inside out. Microwave radiation penetrates food and causes direct heating only a short distance from the surface. This distance is called the   skin depth. As an example, lean muscle tissue (meat) has a skin depth of only about 1 centimetre (0.39 in) at microwave oven frequencies. *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *     ...