As in the Streets, So in the Mind: Flânerie as a Way of Thinking and Living

Flânerie refers to the lifestyle practice of walking aimlessly (typically around a city, with Paris being the epitomical city of the flâneur – the street wanderer). I analysed this concept in a previous post, touching on its historical, philosophical, literary, and cultural dimensions. However, flânerie extends well beyond the limits of the city, or I…

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Twitter and the Rebirth of the Aphorism

The aphoristic style of writing – which involves terse observations, opinions, and statements of wisdom – has existed for millennia. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates coined the term in his aptly named work Aphorisms; the word is derived from ancient Greek and denotes ‘delimitation’, ‘definition’, and ‘distinction’. An aphorism refers to any pithy statement that…

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What’s Behind the Rise in Benzodiazepine Abuse, Dependence, and Addiction?

Benzodiazepine medications are traditionally prescribed for the treatment of anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD), but people may also find them useful for the treatment of other mental health conditions, as well as insomnia. These medications include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and…

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The Social Roots of Mental Illness

With all the new tech, we have evolved into a world with many modern conveniences that help us do everything from work to think. In many cases, this can be a positive thing but there are some things that end up having adverse effects on our mental health. For example, social media hype and smartphone…

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Does Constant Digital Connectivity Have a Negative Effect on Our Lives?

The way that we communicate has changed drastically over the last twenty years, and with it, so has our pace of life. We have gone from an age where you’d phone and see if someone was at home if we wanted to speak with them. If they were out, the conversation would keep for another…

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