The Balkan Chronicle

Every human emotion now classified as a mental disorder

The industry of modern psychiatry has officially gone insane. Virtually every emotion experienced by a human being -- sadness, grief, anxiety, frustration, impatience, excitement -- is now being classified as a "mental disorder" demanding chemical treatment (with prescription medications, of course).

Brain 'rejects negative thoughts'

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," says the brain Continue reading the main story

One reason optimists retain a positive outlook even in the face of evidence to the contrary has been discovered, say researchers.

A study, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests the brain is very good at processing good news about the future.

However, in some people, anything negative is practically ignored - with them retaining a positive world view.

Two deaths from brain-eating amoeba linked to sinus remedy for colds

A sinus-flushing device used to relieve colds and allergies has been linked to a deadly brain-eating amoeba.

Louisiana's state health department issued a warning about neti pots - which look like mini watering cans, that are used by pouring salty water through one nostril.

It follows two recent deaths - a 51-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man from the 'brain-eating amoeba' Naegleria fowleri.

It is thought the amoeba entered their brains when they used the devices.

'I can't breathe': Desperate final text of girl dying in her bedroom to her father downstairs

A teenager died after an asthma attack so severe that she could not call out and had to text her father for help – even though he was just downstairs.

Siobhan Ullah, 18, sent the message 'I can't breathe'. It was only half an hour after she had updated her status on Facebook to 'feels like death'.

Her father Yousuf ran upstairs and tried to calm her down to help her breathe. He also called an ambulance.

Tragic death: Siobhan Ullah died after a severe asthma attack triggered a heart attack

The final text: Siobahn sent her father this message because the attack meant she was unable to cry out for help.

Can't stand the rain? Moods really are tied to the weather

According to popular belief (not to mention popular music), there's long been a link between mood and weather. Some of us can't stand the rain. Others aren't happy unless we can feel the warm glow of sunshine on our shoulders.

But does rain really make us blue? And does the sun really cheer us up? A new study in the journal Emotion explored this popular belief by surveying nearly 500 adolescents and their mothers and found that for some of us, weather does indeed have a direct affect on our mood.

Why wives hate the mother-in-law who is 'controlling' and 'interfering'

The stereotype suggests that it's the husband who simply cannot bear their mother-in-law.

But wives feel exactly the same, according to the latest research.

One in four despises their mother-in-law and believes she is 'controlling, interfering and bitchy'.

Parental control: Carolyn Bourne behaved like a classic interfering mother-in-law when she sent her prospective daughter-in-law an abusive email

In a poll, women accused mothers-in-law of routinely 'knowing best' when it comes to parenting, judging their parenting skills and undermining them in front of their partner and children.

Almost a third said they were made to feel they were not good enough for their partner.

Many move house to escape the mother-in-law's clutches and for some the stress is so extreme it has led to marital breakdown.

The findings come from a poll of some 2,000 mothers by the website Netmums.

Almost a quarter, 24 per cent, described their relationship with their mother-in-law as bad or terrible.

Flu (influenza)

Causes of flu

Flu is a viral infection. It's passed on when people breathe in liquid droplets containing the influenza virus that have been sneezed or coughed into the air, or when people touch objects contaminated with the virus. The virus can cause infections all year round, but in the UK it's most common in the winter. There are many strains, some of which are worse than others, such as swine flu (H1N1 strain) which tends to have a more rapid onset, high fevers and gastrointestinal upset and has caused many fatalities, often in previously fit adults.

Male menopause affects 2million Brits but 'can be safely cured with testosterone treatment'

Male menopause sufferers can experience fatigue, depression, weight gain, clouded thought, loss of libido and memory and sleep disturbance caused by plunging levels of testosterone

It has long been dismissed as an excuse for men behaving badly in middle age.

But the male menopause is very real, affects more than two million British men and can be cured, doctors said last night.

An international conference heard yesterday (CORR) that the decades-long fear that upping testosterone levels raises the odds of prostate cancer is a myth.

How to use man’s mood swings in your favor

Trying to figure out the best time to broach a touchy topic, ask your guy a favor or convince him to do something you know he'll dread? It's easier than you think — if you learn how to tune in to his body clock, says Gabrielle Lichterman, founder of the Hormonology blog and coauthor of 28 Days. While we all know that women usually experience hormone-induced mood swings on a monthly basis, Lichterman attests that men, too, are affected by hormonal highs and lows — only their levels fluctuate daily. Want to get his hormones working for you? Follow this timing guide:

How mulberries have as much iron as a sirloin steak

A wet, warm autumn means a bumper crop of nuts and berries, packed with nutrients. ANNABEL VENNING speaks to Sarah Wilson, specialist dietician at London's Princess Grace Hospital, about their health benefits.