Some time towards the end of July my husband, Jules and I will become parents for the second time. As I pass the half way mark of my pregnancy, friends and family can’t help but notice my emerging bump and enthusiastically congratulate us and ask whether I’m excited. The moment where I pause before I respond is always a little awkward.   Of course, I am utterly overjoyed to be having another baby. Along with marrying Jules, my son Theodore coming along is the best thing that ever happened in my life. My kind and adventurous little boy is going... Read full article »

I celebrated my 35th birthday yesterday. It had to be up there with one of the best days of my life. My two-year-old son woke me with a bright bunch of flowers and a birthday kiss. My husband made me a home cooked breakfast. I worked on my book all day and in the afternoon, I snuck away to our local beach for swim in 24-degree water (Sydney is currently in the midst a lovely long summer), after which I meditated at my favourite spot looking out over the ocean. Later that evening my parents-in-law brought around a cake they... Read full article »

When I wrote about how loneliness contributed to my chronic illness recently, it generated quite a response from readers who sent me emails to share their own experiences. I discovered that I’m not alone in being affected by loneliness. It made me realise that since I released my documentary and started this blog a wonderfully strong and supportive community has been building. It’s an incredible thing and the response prompted me to dive a little deeper into the opposite of loneliness – connection.   When you think about it from an evolutionary perspective, the health benefits of being connected to... Read full article »

When I first got sick and a doctor told me he thought I had Lupus, one of the first things I started asking was, why? Why me? Why now? What have I done to deserve this?  I’ve spent the last ten years searching for answers to those questions and as regular readers of this blog will know, I’ve found many of them in the latest science of mind body medicine where researchers are studying the way things like our thoughts and emotions, our choices and behaviours, and our life circumstances interact with our physiology to exacerbate or even cause illness.... Read full article »

It's not often that a researcher can stand up in front of an audience at a Harvard Medical School conference packed with psychologists and physicians and ask, “Didn’t anyone tell you there’ll be a movie where Jennifer Aniston will be playing me?”  That researcher is 69 year old Ellen Langer and her work on mindset and aging has captured the imagination of Hollywood with DreamWorks Studios reportedly commissioning the script for the movie in which Aniston will star.   In 1981, Langer became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard, but it is her famous Counter Clockwise... Read full article »

It’s three o’clock in the afternoon as I write this sentence. I’m feeling a little weary after spending my day delving into scientific papers. As I contemplate taking a short break away from my desk, I immediately feel an inner momentum pulling me towards the kitchen. I’m sure if a scientist had electrodes on my head right now they would see that the anticipation and reward centres of my brain light up like a Christmas tree because right now I’m thinking about chocolate.   The thing about being a journalist who writes about the latest science exploring how our mind... Read full article »