Feeling nervous about sexual performance, known as Sexual Performance Anxiety (SPA), is pretty common. But interestingly, SPA is a bit different or unusual compared to other sexual concerns. What is Sexual Performance Anxiety? Sexual performance anxiety is a specific kind of performance anxiety that specifically impacts sexual activities. Individuals experiencing this may worry about their ability to perform before or during sexual activities. This concern is more common in men and can even contribute to the development of sexual issues like erectile dysfunction. Effect of SPA SPA shows up differently depending on whether it happens before or during sex.  If…

Your body’s natural cue for needing more food is hunger. When you feel hungry, your stomach may “growl” and feel empty, or you may experience symptoms such as a headache, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. Most individuals can go several hours between meals before experiencing hunger again, though this varies among people. Several factors, including a diet deficient in protein, fat, or fiber, as well as excessive stress or dehydration, may explain this. Reasons For Feeling Hungry All The Time Here are some reasons for excessive hunger. Diet Lacking In Proteins Protein possesses hunger-reducing properties that can lead to consuming fewer…

Disorganized attachment, also called fearful-avoidant, describes an insecure attachment style where individuals fear close relationships. People with this style often struggle with how to act in relationships, employing both anxious (emotional hyper-activation) and avoidant (emotional deactivation) strategies to ease their fears. This contradictory behavior, along with unstable identity and unpredictable mental states, can harm their ability to sustain healthy relationships. How Does Attachment Form In Early Childhood From birth, babies begin bonding with their caregivers, typically their parents, relying entirely on them for the first few years. Caregivers carry the responsibility of meeting the child’s basic physiological needs like food…

Consuming a daily prebiotic or probiotic to maintain gut balance and health has gained immense popularity. Probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria, thrive on prebiotics, which serve as their food. Eating foods or supplements containing both can effectively balance your gut bacteria. Difference Between Prebiotic And Probiotic Both probiotics and prebiotics play vital roles in human health, but they serve different functions: Probiotics These live bacteria are present in certain foods or supplements and offer numerous health benefits. Prebiotics These substances derive from certain carbohydrates, predominantly fiber, which humans cannot digest. The beneficial bacteria in the gut consume this fiber. The…

Procrastinating involves making a decision, without a valid reason, to delay or not complete a task or goal you’ve committed to, opting instead for something of lesser importance, despite the negative consequences of not following through on the original task or goal. The Vicious Cycle of Procrastinating Our unhelpful rules and assumptions about ourselves and the world trigger procrastination by causing discomfort when faced with tasks or goals. If we cannot tolerate this discomfort, we are likely to resort to procrastinating as a way of avoiding it. Furthermore, if we can justify our procrastination with convincing excuses, we are even…

Overcoming procrastination practically entails understanding what tasks need to be done, how to approach them, and when to tackle them. Clarity, task strategy, and managing time effectively are essential components of this process. What Do You Need To Do? To gain clarity on what tasks or goals need to be accomplished, follow these steps: Create a ‘To Do’ list outlining the tasks and goals you need to work on. This list can be organized for the day, week, month, or longer, depending on your circumstances. Prioritize the tasks on your list, ranking them from most important to least important. Break…

Persistent depressive disorder (PDD), once called dysthymia, involves a long-lasting, mild yet chronic form of depression. It ranges in severity from mild to severe but even in its severe form, it falls short of meeting the criteria for major depression. Essentially, it entails prolonged depression with fewer symptoms compared to major depressive disorder (MDD). Persistent Depressive Disorder vs Dysthymia In 2013, the 5th edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5) merged dysthymia and chronic major depressive disorder into a single diagnosis called “persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia),” with dysthymia in parentheses. This change aimed to acknowledge that…

The Autoimmune Protocol or the AIP diet plan resembles the paleo diet but typically imposes stricter guidelines. It focuses on removing specific inflammatory foods and reintroducing them gradually as symptoms improve. Numerous individuals who have adhered to the AIP diet have reported feeling better and experiencing decreases in common symptoms of autoimmune disorders like fatigue, and gut, or joint pain. However, although research on this diet shows promise, it remains limited. What Is Autoimmune Disease? Autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own cells and tissues. This self-attack is currently understood as an error in the…

The average person often grins sheepishly and reluctantly admits to procrastinating on certain tasks at certain times in their life when asked, “Are you a procrastinator?” Studies conducted across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have found that around 20% of adults in the general population are chronic procrastinators, with even higher rates in school or university settings (75%-95%). Thus, many people exhibit procrastination as a fairly typical behavior. However, it’s important to note the distinction between general procrastination, which is common, and more problematic procrastination. If procrastination has taken over and hindered you from leading a fulfilling life,…

When someone has alexithymia, they struggle to distinguish between emotions and bodily sensations. Certain conditions, such as depression, neurological conditions, and brain injury, can also cause this condition. What is Alexithymia?  Alexithymia, a term coined by psychoanalytic psychiatrist Peter Sifneos in 1972, refers to difficulty identifying and describing emotions. Sifneos observed this phenomenon in his patients, who struggled to perceive and articulate their emotions. Born on the Greek island of Lesbos, Sifneos borrowed from his native language to create the term; in Greek, it means “without words for emotion.” When someone has alexithymia, they find it challenging to distinguish between…