As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, Joe Kraynak, co-author of ‘Bipolar Disorder for Dummies’, posted his review of my book Balancing the Beast on PsychCentral. Having been reminded again that the expression ‘mental patient’ is offensive I finally took care of my mistake. I must apologize for the content of the book that still awaits a revised edition, but a new cover has been uploaded with the printer and I have also corrected the expression in all web texts. Please let me know, if you should come across any more ‘mental patients’ that I could have left out. I would...

Do you remember photosynthesis from school? I did not exactly understand it at the age of 12, so I dug deeper into text books and finally got it: »Plants must be the selfless creatures ever.« All they do all their life is work for us. Photosynthesis is a process in which carbon is taken out of the carbon dioxide, that is the gas that we breathe out. This carbon is then built into all sorts of sugars and other carbohydrates that feed us. Oxygen is the byproduct of this process called photosynthesis. Ironically this byproduct made life on earth as we know it possible. To put it in chemical terms: CO2...

In my previous blog I compared falling in love to getting a scholarship. It surely is beautiful and nice, if a love relationship begins with being in love. On the contrary, a love relationship arising from friendship might be easier to handle. Why? Firstly, if your judgment is not blurred by butterflies in your stomach, you are more likely to choose a life partner that goes well with your personality traits. Consequently the necessity to get a divorce later is diminished. Secondly, there will be no shock at the end of the infatuation phase, when one is faced with the real person instead the...

Western culture in my opinion is an instant culture. Look through ads for example. ‘Lose weight in a week … Lose weight without any diet or exercise … Build your muscles in a month … Lose your cellulite in a fortnight etc.’ How often do you come across and ad like this: ‘Train daily for 5 years and you will improve your self-image.’ It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Yes, definitely, but only to a Westerner. Traditional cultures have known for millenniums that the only true satisfaction comes from hard work and patience over years. To oppose my argument I...

These are the words of Joe Kraynak, who reviewed my book ‘Balancing the Beast’. Read the whole book review on PsychCentral. Joe Kraynak is a co-author of ‘Bipolar Disorder for Dummies’.