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Beyond hygge: The Atlas of Happiness
Stumbling across The Atlas of Happiness: the global secrets of how to be happy Helen Russell’s latest book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. On the one hand, I have always been fascinated by maps, geography and traveling. On the other, as a Psychiatrist, I help people in their pursuit of their happiness, and guide them through the long and winding road of life, usually at times when they’re the least happy. I first came across Russell a couple of years ago during one of my trips to Copenhagen. At that time, according to the United Nations World Happiness Report, Denmark was the happiest country in the…
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My Happy Place(s): London, Greece, Norway
I recently visited the ‘Edvard Munch: Love and Angst’ exhibition at the British Museum in London. Already a fan of Munch, I wanted to learn more about the renowned Norwegian painter – his life as well as his art. The British Museum is only a few minute walk from Russell Square, which is where I got off the Tube. Stepping onto the platform, I noticed a larger than life advertisement of Emma Bunton’s new album ‘My Happy Place’ (released on the 12th of April 2019). Baby Spice’s fourth studio album consists of ten tracks; two are original, whilst the rest are cover versions of older songs. My favorite is ‘Come…
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9 Secrets to Happiness from the Cultures of the World
In the foreword of Happy: Secrets to Happiness from the Cultures of the World first published in 2011, Maureen Wheeler, Lonely Planet co-founder, writes that ‘happiness in travel comes from the moments you are aware how lucky you are to be in that place, at that time, and how wonderful the world is’. As I’m reading this book, I’m reflecting on my own travels and what traveling means to me. I first traveled abroad at the age of eight; visiting Thailand and then Singapore was such an eye-opening and character-shaping experience, for which I’m always going to be grateful to my family. As I’ve recently written, for me, traveling is…
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The Traveling Psychiatrist: Wanderlust & Wellbeing
Wanderlust Being a non-native English speaker, I was well into my twenties when I first came across the word wanderlust: the wish to travel far away and to many different places. Yet, now that I know this word, I realise that I have been familiar with its true meaning since I was eight, when I first stepped into a plane, and then into a foreign country (Thailand, and then Singapore). The following year, I traveled back to Far East Asia (Thailand and Indonesia), and that is how I became addicted to traveling. At the age of nine, I had already experienced my wanderlust, and from then on, I would travel…
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CultureTrip: Travel Inspiration from Argentina to Israel
Last week I wrote about Jorge Bucay, an Argentinian writer, psychotherapist, and psychodramatist. In his books, Bucay uses his clinical experience to help the readers reflect on their inner world. Even though he lives and practices in Buenos Aires, his writings transcend frontiers and are of relevance to readers across the world, which explains his popularity in different countries. Coincidentally, once I wrote that post, I came across another Argentinian writer, Ariana Harwicz, who featured in the article ‘A Life In Stories’ in the inaugural issue of the CultureTrip print magazine. I have been using CultureTrip for several years now and it is one of my favorite online resources when…