A highly sensitive person herself, therapist Heidi Gaspar feels that the trait is a delight. Being highly sensitive certainly has its challenges but a glass-half-full approach lets me respond to opportunities. An Orchid-Dandelion metaphor by two psychologists in 2011 suggests two distinct sensitivity patterns, the more...
Mandy Collins finds the judgements of other women in relation to birth and breastfeeding to be difficult to accept. I clearly remember the morning I decided to stop breastfeeding my daughter. I lay in my hospital bed, tears running down my face, terrified to tell the...
Part Two in Dr Sam Tormey's look at the nature of allergies and our growing propensity to suffer from them. "Childhood food allergy has become a major public health problem. Concern over the rapidly rising incidence of food allergy is magnified by the extremely rare but...
Being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has its minuses – and pluses, reports Natalie Ritchie From the time she was little, Lily* could not be apart from either one of her parents, explains her mother, Astrid Friedman*. She didn’t like the outdoors, or anything bright, out...
Parenthood brought about an elevated awareness of hygiene in Caroline Illingworth. As for non-essential germ-sharing environments, one of the biggies for me is play centres. I generally avoid these places, but have been a few times to meet friends on a rainy day, and have even...
Dr Sam Tormey discusses the medical and ethical issues surrounding infant circumcision. For the majority of males, the presence or absence of the foreskin will make little appreciable difference to health, self-image or sexual function. On a steaming hot day in the middle of the wet season...
Research in a new study by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found that it’s very common to experience difficulties with infant sleep at some point in the first year, with about 60 per cent of mothers reporting mild or fluctuating problems. But for 20 per...
Penni Drysdale feels the heat of rejection as her four-year-old son adjusts to the arrival of his brother. He is jumping around like a crazed monkey amid myriad plastic toys that he’s pulled from a box that was out the back of the house. As is...
The best vegie burgers Vegetables can be at the forefront of nearly every recipe, with a few meat options thrown in if you like! Ingredients 1 x 400g (14 oz) can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup (150g/5¼ oz) firmly packed grated...
Choc-fudge popsicles - simple to make and perfect for the holidays! Ingredients 1¾ cups (430ml/14½ fl oz) coconut cream, at room temperature 75g (2½ oz) dark (70% cocoa) chocolate, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 soft fresh dates (120g/4¼ oz), pitted Method Place the coconut cream, chocolate, vanilla...
