August 2013
How to Do Kindness in school
Following last week’s column regarding Random Acts of Kindness, I received a lot of correspondence asking me how we implemented the activity. So I thought I would share exactly how we did the RAK activity at our school. We did the activity with fifty Year 10 students. We secretly assigned each member [...]
Five lies the weight loss industry wants you to believe
1. Weight loss is a simple matter of willpower We’ve all heard that weight loss is easy. People just need some good old-fashioned will power. This myth is so ingrained in our culture that it’s assumed that a person with a fat body is lazy and undisciplined which can lead to discrimination in employment opportunities and by health care professionals. "Most people [...]
Mackenzie Rosman strips for Maxim magazine
The problem is that this is an accepted rite of passage for former female child stars, which means that there’s a culture of managers, agents and PR people who keep the cogs of the objectification industry well oiled. via Mackenzie Rosman strips for Maxim magazine.
Parenting, american style
If we keep parenting like this, civilization as we know it is doomed. There is a new breed of toddler on the loose; he has discriminating tastes, he makes decisions, and he weighs in on conversations that no toddler has previously been asked to participate in. Do you know this toddler? My guess is we [...]
That gut feeling
The days of analyzing a patient's gut bacteria to treat her depression or anxiety are probably far away. Still, scientists following this line of research have become increasingly convinced that to fully understand our emotions and behaviors, we need to study the gut as much as the brain. via That gut feeling.
The Computer Game That Helps Therapists Chat to Adolescents With Mental Health Problems
Adolescents with mental health problems are particularly hard for therapists to engage. But a new computer game is providing a healthy conduit for effective communication between them. via The Computer Game That Helps Therapists Chat to Adolescents With Mental Health Problems | MIT Technology Review.
Drunks should pay for damage: NSW report
DRUNKS should pay for the damage they cause and the resources they use, the NSW auditor-general says. Alcohol abuse is "like a parasite drawing the lifeblood out of government services", Peter Achterstraat said in a report handed down on Tuesday. He called on the state government to consider charging alcohol abusers for the $1 billion [...]
Random Acts of Kindness
“Why should I be nice to people? They aren’t nice to me...” This is a common response from adolescents when I try and engage them in the notion of being “kind.” Researchers will tell us that because of the adolescent brain, the teaching of such concepts need to demonstrate: “What’s in it for me?” [...]
‘Retail Therapy’ Might Not Be So Bad After All
Those who love to shop are often painted as lonely souls, trying to fill a void by buying -- and becoming even more isolated in the process. Not always so, according to new Dutch research. The relationship of shopping and loneliness can go both ways -- and the direction seems to have a lot to [...]