The power of spring: how natural rhythms influence our well-being



January has flown by - the day after tomorrow, on the second of February, is Candlemas. One of my favourite dates in the calendar! In my childhood, this day was interwoven with all kinds of country proverbs that were often quoted in our family. "Candlemas in clover - Easter in snow", to name just one of them. The reliability of such weather forecasts was always a matter for debate! Continue reading ...

40 Tips for a Happier Life



Since the end of the 90s a new branch of the science, also known as Positive Psychology has been dealing with the essentials for happiness. In order to help you find out which happiness potentials are maybe lying idle with you, I have summarized the 40 most important insights on the subject “happiness” in an abbreviated format in the following “checklist”. Continue reading ...

Salutogenesis: Why it is healthy to give your life meaning



The word salutogenesis is composed of the Latin word salus (= inviolacy, happiness) and the Greek word genesis (= origin). Thus it stands for the origin of health and was coined in the 70s by the Israeli-American medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky. Antonovsky was looking for an explanation for his observation that, while many Holocaust survivors were suffering from severe after effects (physical and emotional illnesses), others did not show any such symptoms, at all. He intended to find out, which factors determined whether a person would cope with the same traumatic experiences more easily or with more difficulty than another. Therefore he was interested in the origin (or retention) of health – even under difficult and stressful conditions. Continue reading ...