I’d like to do an experiment. I’m about to write a couple of sentences and I want you to read them. But after you’ve read them, I don’t want you to think about what I’ve written. Ready? The pink elephant is coming, but don’t worry.Actually, there are a lot of pink elephants coming and they might be harmful!Whatever you do, don’t think about and don’t panic about the deadly pink elephants which are coming RIGHT NOW (and hoarding all the toilet paper!!!) Isn’t it interesting that once I’ve planted thoughts in your head, you can’t actually un-plant them? How thoughts... Read full article »

As a health journalist who shares my story of recovery from a chronic disease in hope of encouraging others, it can be tempting to only share the highlights of my whole-health life, and to engage in the hashtag-driven, insta-world where wellness icons and lifestyle gurus post moment-by-moment mythology about their unblemished lives. And although I’d probably sell more books if I did, as anyone who’s been following my blog will tell you, that’s not what I’m about.While my message to those looking for ways to get healthy or stay healthy is that there is a solid foundation of evidence from... Read full article »

In 2007, a 27-year old man known as ‘Mr A’ collapsed on the floor of a hospital emergency department after taking a drug overdose. His blood pressure was crashing, he was hyperventilating and shaking, and nurses sprang into action to insert an intravenous line into his arm to try and flush his system and save his life. The man had been taking part in an antidepressant drug trail. Although he said his mood had improved significantly in the first month, in the second month he had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and became suicidal. He took his remaining 29 pills... Read full article »

I’ve spent the last 15 minutes trying to find the right word to describe a feeling that came over me this morning. It happened when I was cuddling my eight-month-old son. He nestled his head into my neck, snuggled his arms into my chest, and let out a soft, contented sigh. What happened next was the very definition of a heartfelt feeling. It started in my chest, like a warm glow, and then spread throughout my body. I’m still searching for the right word. “Joy” isn’t quite right. Perhaps it’s something like “comfortable” or “safe” that I’m looking for. Maybe... Read full article »

There is something monumentally heartbreaking about having to sit by and watch someone you love suffer with health problems that they can do nothing about. It’s a palpable kind of helpless hurt that squeezes your heart when you watch them in pain, or when medicine has no solution, or when the pronouncement is that “it’s just bad luck.” Then, there’s another kind of heartache. The kind that comes when you have to sit by and watch a loved one who is plagued with health problems that they can do something about… but won’t.I’ve written a lot on this blog about... Read full article »

I recently read a piece on the Guardian website by journalist Decca Aitkenhead who wrote about her endeavours to eat a plant-based diet. She wrote that her problem with being a vegan wasn’t the diet. It was the identity. “I worry about becoming that person who thinks what they put in their mouth is important enough to merit a significant share of their time and energy every day,” she wrote, adding that she felt that it's borderline narcissistic “to care that much about the purity of one’s digestive system,” and that she felt forced to adopt a new healthy diet... Read full article »