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Skyros: the island of wellness & wellbeing
My home country, Greece, has 6,000 islands of which 227 are inhabited. Having been to a dozen (including Mykonos, Santorini, Amorgos, and Koufonisia), I am often asked to provide tips and inside information. When people ask me which Greek island is my favorite, or which one to visit (a frequently asked but rather difficult question to answer), Skyros is always the first to come to mind. I have to admit that I am somewhat biased, as this is my late grandfather’s home island; not only I have precious memories of spending my early childhood summers there, I also have beloved relatives still living on the island. For this reason, I’ve…
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5 tips to achieve New Year’s resolutions
Happy New Year! At the end of each year, many of us make resolutions and set goals for the New Year. Health, fitness and wellbeing resolutions tend to be the most popular ones: we resolve to exercise more, eat healthier, drink less, quit smoking and so on. Come the 1st of January, we have the best intentions to achieve these goals. Yet, a year later few can share a success story. According to a recent Australian survey, 2 in 3 people failed their New Year’s resolutions. Instead of examining the reasons for failing, let’s focus on those for succeeding, and identify 5 tips to make it more likely to achieve…
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Counting my blessings: End-of-year reflection
In my post ‘10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)’, I wrote that positive thinking and gratitude can help improve our mental health and wellbeing. To help create a more positive mindset, I use a simple yet effective strategy: reflection and gratitude. At the end of each day, I spend some time noting the positive things that happened on that day. I often advise people to do the same by identifying and writing down three positive things about that day. This can enhance positive thinking and help us focus on the positive aspects of our everyday lives, rather than dwell on our shortcomings. As this year is…
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Better nutrition. Better health. Better wellbeing.
Hello! Today it is the World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the 1st of December is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic. However, I am not going to talk about AIDS today; I am going to focus on nutrition instead. From obesity to orthorexia to anorexia In 1997, the World Health Organization formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic. The same year, the term ‘orthorexia nervosa’ was also introduced. It was the American physician Steven Bratman who coined the term from the Greek words ορθο- (ortho, “right” or “correct”) and όρεξις (orexis, “appetite”). He described orthorexia as an unhealthy fixation with what the individual considers to be healthy…
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Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales along the road to happiness
‘Traveling, watching movies and reading books’ is my usual reply when I’m asked what my hobbies are. Most would agree that films and books have at least one thing in common: there’s a story to be told. But, do they have anything in common with traveling? I believe so. When I was younger, I used to enjoy watching movies to escape from my reality and its problems. Traveling and books had the same effect: they allowed me to escape my everyday life. The inner journey Nowadays, I think there’s much more to these three activities than a route to escape. As a screenwriting student, I learned the importance of the…
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Ikigai & Komorebi: Finding purpose & beautiful moments
I’ve always been fascinated by Japan and anything Japanese. Yet, I am still to visit the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, as Japan is often called in the West. Pronounced ‘Nihon’ or ‘Nippon’ in Japanese, the name of the country actually means ‘the origin of the sun’. Fairly recently, I’ve come across two Japanese words; since they do not have an equivalent in the English language, I have introduced them both to my vocabulary: komorebi and ikigai. Komorebi Komorebi is a noun, which translates to ‘sunlight filtered through the trees’. Such a beautiful and poetic word, isn’t it? Last week, I wrote about some of the activities that I…
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Beyond traveling: Collecting beautiful moments of pleasure
When I launched this blog a few months ago, I mentioned some of the things/activities I enjoy and that bring me pleasure. As a way to introduce myself, I wrote the following: ‘I love traveling the world, collecting beautiful moments and living life to the full. I am also a music lover (most genres, but especially jazz, country and indie), a film enthusiast and an avid reader (crime novels being my favorite).’ You can read the full post here. Last week I wrote about the benefits of having pleasurable activities in our daily lives. I believe this is one of the 10 key areas of our daily lives…
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10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)
In case you haven’t read my post ’10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 1)’ (published on 10 October), it may be better if you read it first. 2. 3. Tips for better mental health & wellbeing The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognizes World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. The objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. As a Psychiatrist, I have taken this opportunity and started talking about mental health and wellbeing. This is not only in the context of mental (psychiatric) illness, but in a wider context applicable to…
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10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 1)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. The objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. As a Psychiatrist, I would like to take this opportunity and talk about mental health and wellbeing not only in the context of mental (psychiatric) illness, but in a wider context applicable to most, if not all, of us. I have to admit here that the title of this post is perhaps a bit misleading and rather simplistic. Rather than provide 10 tips, as the title suggests, I am going to look into the…
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Counting sheep: 7 tips for better sleep
Sleep disturbance is one of the symptoms of jet lag, the infamous physiological condition that occurs after long-haul flights, usually when traveling east. Jet lag is caused by the de-synchronization of our body clock (or our circadian rhythm, to use the medical term). Symptoms may also include reduced concentration, irritability, headaches, problems with digestion, and fatigue. However, it is not always jet lag to blame when our sleep gets disrupted. In fact, a lot of people may find it difficult to fall asleep, have frequent awakenings and difficulty to get back to sleep, wake up early, have a restless sleep, or even sleep too much. There are many potential reasons…