‘counseling: who needs such a thing?‘ This is about the view some veteran personalities express when the issue comes to psychotherapy or counseling. psychotherapy still has a dubious image – people who need it would have to be losers or people who don’t have control over their lives. But a look outside the box shows […]

Everyone knows about the harmfulness of smoking. Governments try to make smoking more uncomfortable and expensive, and entire industries live by the hope of wanna-be non-smokers, claiming to make the quitting easier and more bearable. And yet, most find it utmost difficult to stop smoking. But whenever pure self-discipline, the power of chemistry and pharmacology […]

‘You’re psychotic!‘ That’s supposed to be the ‘polite’ form of the phrase ‘You’re insane!’, used by some when they can’t explain the actions of a person. In deeply nature-bound cultures, people whose behavior strongly deviated from what was perceived as ‘normal’, were treated by magicians and shamans. In the West, however, they were locked up […]

If everything goes well for Paul, he enjoys his life. But then there are the times when anxiety robs his sleep and even during the day he suffers from the fear of being seriously ill. A headache could be an indication of a brain tumor; swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, or a birthmark could be a […]

Violence is an ‘unforgettable’ valve. Already as a toddler, each of us learned that violence can at least provide short-term benefits – an experience which was stored deeply in the brain. From then on, whenever we don’t feel understood or not heard in a conflict, and in any situation that feels threatening, there will be […]

Armed conflicts are hard to process. Subconsciously they remind us of our own mortality and trigger a strong impulse to sympathize with either the aggressor’s or the victim’s side. After that, the position taken will rarely be corrected. A headwind will often amplify this, sometimes by suppressing or distorting new perceptions and information. The Swiss […]

A large-scale impact study (n = 1046) of the Institute for Women’s Health Badem-Württemberg for frequency of sexual dysfunction in women (Female Sexual Dysfunction, FSD) and ways to treat them was recently published in the prestigious journal Journal of Sexual Medicine. The aim of this study was to find out about the a) frequency and […]

In history, the concept of sexual ‘normality’ almost continuously subjected to ethical considerations, and until today, the distinction between normality and perversion (paraphilia) is still difficult. As we can see comparing different countries in the world, cultural differences and legal systems are also influencing these artificial boundaries. Today’s diagnostic taxonomies define various fetishes, but as […]

Erectile dysfunction (ED, or the formerly called ‘Impotence’) is defined by the inability of a man to maintain an erection sufficient for intercourse in more than two-thirds of the attempts during half a year. So if it only ‘doesn’t work’ now and then, it isn’t a disorder requiring treatment. But with age, more men have […]

‘One for the road…’ – pretty much everyone of us has said that at certain occations, like with friends in a cozy round or during a party. If the ‘one’ is followed by another, however, maybe even on a regular basis, a problem exists. Living in a holiday destination, too, I know just as well […]