Tips to deal with anxiety at Christmas: how to get through the holidays
The intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, rejected or dismissed in a social scenario is at its worst during this festive time of year. People with this disorder – social anxiety, or social phobia, as it is sometimes called – may worry about acting or appearing visibly anxious (blushing, stumbling over words, becoming tongue tied), or being cast as stupid, awkward, or boring. Anxiety disorder sufferer launches podcast to find cure for his attacks...
Friday December 14, 2018Why eating raw cookie dough is a no-no, at Christmas or any other time, experts say
The Christmas cookies are in the oven; the mixing bowl, which is still coated with the sugary sweet dough, is calling your name. Do not listen to it, health experts warn. With holiday baking season under way, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is once again urging people not to eat unbaked cookie dough – not even a tiny taste – because “unbaked products that are intended to be cooked, such as dough or batter, can make you sick.” Four pre-Christmas...
Friday December 14, 2018The birth of Hong Kong’s first test tube baby outraged the Catholic Church, calling it ‘artificial manoeuvre to create life’
“Boy, oh boy! He’s a very special delivery,” ran a headline in the South China Morning Post on December 14, 1986, reporting that Hong Kong’s first test-tube baby had made his public debut under the glare of television lights and camera flashes. “The chubby-cheeked boy, less than a week old, seemed undisturbed by the fuss as he lay in the arms of a nurse at the Hongkong Sanatorium and Hospital in Happy Valley,” the story continued. “Doctors said the 37-...
Thursday December 13, 2018Road accidents leading killer of children and young people, WHO report finds
Road accidents kill someone every 24 seconds, with a total of 1.35 million traffic deaths around the world each year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found, demanding global action. The number of fatalities annually has risen by around 100,000 in just three years, with road accidents now the leading killer of children and young people between the ages of five and 29, the UN health agency revealed in a new report. Witnesses recall horror of runaway school bus’ deadly descent...
Thursday December 13, 2018Why giving the right Christmas present can make you feel good – there’s a science behind it
You know that deep, warm feeling that strikes you when you realise you’ve bought precisely the right gift for a person? When they open it with delight, and you get that real good, gift-giving feeling? That isn’t just born of the smug glow of getting it right. There’s a science behind it. Experiments show evidence that the “joy of giving” has a biological basis in the brain, according to Jenny Santi, founder of Saint Partners Philanthropy Services and author of The...
Wednesday December 12, 2018New fertility trackers and femcare products help smash menstruation taboos and misconceptions
Innovations in women’s health are teaching women about their bodies, changing attitudes and breaking taboos around menstruation. Lea von Bidder, the millennial co-founder of ovulation tracker Ava, recalls tampon commercials she watched during her youth. “They were about how even if you had your period, it didn’t matter, because with tampons you could wear the whitest of pants”, she recalls. The ads message was that a women’s ultimate goal was to forget, or...
Tuesday December 11, 2018Marathon running puts heart under strain, say researchers, who urge sufficient training
A new “Research Letter” published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation raises the old fear that running long distances – particularly the 42.19km marathon – could be bad for amateur runners. But according to several experts, including the paper’s author, would-be marathoners should not worry that they are on the road to a heart attack or heart disease, though it is smart not to attempt the marathon distance until you have trained...
Monday December 10, 2018Depression, the invisible illness: stigma that makes people hide the condition, and why it needs removing
Depression is a growing problem. Experts believe we can stop it getting bigger – and help sufferers manage their depression – by removing the stigma that surrounds the condition. Maria England was diagnosed with dysthymia (persistent mild depression), when she was a teenager. Today, at the age of 35, the job recruiter, who works in the Asia-Pacific region, still experiences depressive episodes, but says that because it is an invisible illness, people expect her to act “...
Sunday December 09, 2018How Darkie, now Darlie, became East Asia’s favourite toothpaste despite its blackface branding
When US television host Megyn Kelly defended blackface Halloween costumes on her new daytime NBC show, the backlash was swift and strong. She was fired within a week. For many, blackface is a reminder of how black people around the world have been oppressed and marginalised for centuries. You don’t need to look far to find examples. Walk into any supermarket in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Shanghai – although it may not be obvious at first, one of the Asia’s bestselling brands of...
Sunday December 09, 2018School for the blind offers beacon of hope for disabled in rural China
At 6am, a short drive from the steel-producing city of Xingtai, deep in the rural flatlands of northern China’s Hebei province, acrid pollution hangs heavy in the air and the monotonous landscape is desaturated of colour. At the Mu Mengjie School for the Blind, home to 100 or so visually impaired students, a caretaker sweeps away leaves that fell in the night. The children, in dormitories lining a courtyard, stretch and rise for their morning exercises. They gather in rows under...
Sunday December 09, 2018