| The Happiest Place | Psychology, Education and Writing

From the earliest stages of our lives to the latest ones, human touch is vitally important. picture by Elisa Susmel The sense of touch develops before we are even born and at as early at 26 weeks the foetus responds to vibrations within the womb. This is actually the first sense to develop inside the womb. This sense doesn’t involve just the skin, it also allows us to feel pain and pressure inside the body. Touch helps newborns to regulate their temperature and contributes to their socio-emotional development. On the other side touch is one of the last experiences we can have with a loved one when they are dying,and it's extremely important as it provides comfort to both parties. We could mention many examples to underline the importance of touch in our daily life: a hug when we are upset, holding our partner's hand, a pat on a student's shoulder to show that we appreciate their hard work. When it comes to schools and their policies these experiences may be different. As pa...

January - it's that time of the year again: the days are dark and cold, bank accounts cry for help, Christmas is over, Coronavirus is still around and (if you live in the UK, sorry) we just left the EU and we are in the middle of a third national lockdown! How not to feel down, with all these things going on at the same time? It sounds like a challenge, and it certainly is.  What is SAD and why is it revelant? SAD means Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression. It's very important to keep this in mind: SAD is not just feeling a bit down, it's a disorder with very specific symptoms that can have a huge impact on daily life: a persistent low mood a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities irritability feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning craving carbohydrates and gaining ...

Hormones? Yep. The fascinating thing about the human body is that there are lots of chemical messengers in it that control your life and you are not even aware of this! In fact hormones are not just responsible for your sexual appetite (of your lack of it), they regulate your mood as well. Some of them are called the “happy hormones”: Dopamine : this hormone is associated with pleasant sensations; Serotonine : helps regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory; Oxytocin : this is also called the “love hormone” as its levels increase with physical affection like kissing, cuddling and sex, but it's also involved in bonding in relationships, childbirth and breastfeeding; Endorphins : these are produced as the body's response to distress or discomfort, activities like eating, working out and having sex usually increase the levels of endorphins. So, to cut to the chase: you may be able to use this information to your advantage and incre...