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This section features articles on a range of topics, including setting goals, stress and psychiatric conditions.

Can sex become compulsive?

Like most behaviours, sex can be taken to its obsessive and compulsive extremes. Sexual obsessions and compulsions are recurrent, distressing and interfere with daily functioning

The greater numbers of casino licenses being granted which has lead to casinos popping up all over South Africa, as well as the introduction of a National Lottery, have brought the spotlight onto a spectrum of disorders, classified as impulse control disorders.

Merry Christmas?

Last-minute Christmas shopping in busy shopping centres and expensive family get-togethers can make Christmas time seem less than merry.

Those New Year resolutions

What is it about the start of a New Year that causes people to make mental lists of how they are going to change radically? Is it the hope that change is possible?

Never big enough

Some bodybuilders, obsessed with size, may suffer from a disorder called muscle dysmorphia. Basically, they develop a quite distorted idea about what they look like

What is adjustment disorder?

We all know that stress can be bad for you. Apart from increasing your risk of developing heart disease and several stress-related physical conditions, stress can also cause the psychiatric condition Adjustment disorder.

Physical and mental health linked

Today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Month. This year we focus on the relationship between physical and mental health. See how the one impacts on the other.

What is financial psychology?

If you live beyond your means, carry excessive debt or have frequent battles over money with your spouse, your problem may not be in your bank account - it may be in your head.

My other country

South Africa has millions of immigrants from African countries. But what is it like to leave home for ever? This is the story of Edgar do Nascimento from Angola.

Breast ops: Psychological dangers

Is breast surgery the answer to emotional- or relationship problems? Health24 gives an overview of research findings.

A hypochondriac's worst enemy

The internet can do hypochondriacs more harm than good.

Van Gogh's struggles

The searing, vibrant beauty of Vincent van Gogh’s beloved paintings may have been partly the result of his medication for epilepsy and his eating habits.

Karma and conscience

What is karma? Who has it and who doesn't? We look at the psyche of sociopaths vs. those who have a conscience.

How did you wake up?

How do you wake up in the mornings? Have a look at what happens to your body before you open your eyes in the morning.

The truth about frightening facts

Do scary statistics frighten you enough to change your behaviour? Apparently, not, according to the experts.

Healed by faith

Do faith healers really heal people, or are they contributing to their misery?

Getting your wires crossed

Imagine not recognising your mother, or feeling missing limbs or tasting music. When brain wires get crossed, these things can happen. Even to you.

No regrets

Are you consumed with regrets over things you’ve done (or not) in the past? You can’t turn back the clock, but there’s much you can do to let go of the past.

Lay counsellors and the law

Do new health regulations mean that lay counsellors will be breaking the law if they do their jobs?

Deadly obsessions

You're being followed and you're receiving anonymous letters and gifts. You're confused – this only happens to celebrities, right?

The science of intelligence

Brain fitness programmes are part of an up-and-coming industry. People are using them - to great effect - to improve short-term memory.

Cheating partners

The number one question posted on talk forums is about cheating, and how to rebuild trust if your partner has been cheating on you.

Law courts and sick notes

There has recently been a spate of high-profile people who have avoided going to court by claiming to be mentally or physically ill. Truth or convenience?

Hollywood’s brainy bunch

Celebrities don’t need to be smart. But some stars have more going on upstairs than they get credit for. A few of them are certified geniuses!

How is trichotillomania diagnosed?

A diagnosis of trichotillomania is made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Money worries flood LifeLine

Financial stress is overwhelming an increasing number of people trapped in debt, as well as business owners whose enterprises cannot make the grade in the economic crisis.

Death: a taboo subject

Our society doesn't deal well with death and bereavement. Read what our health bloggers have to say on this difficult topic.

Recipe for success

We all have strengths and weaknesses - success often depends on your focus

Campus killings

Last year’s ‘samurai’ murder in a Krugersdorp school was reminiscent of the campus murders Americans are all too familiar with.

Campus killings: a timeline

Hardly a year goes by in the United States without such a tragedy, but still experts battle to identify potential campus killers in time.

Why pets are good for you

The companionship of animals is comforting. And studies are now finding that pets can have real therapeutic benefits.

Facebook definitions

Definitions that will help you navagate facebook.

Inside the Dewani case

As the Dewani case continues to lead the news, the speculation continues. It is unthinkable that someone could organise a hit on his bride - or is it?

PTSD a real illness

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is under the spotlight on Carte Blanche this Sunday - how real is PTSD, and who suffers from this condition?

Tourette's syndrome

Tourette's syndrome (TS), also known as Tourette syndrome or Tourette's disorder, is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. The symptoms are involuntary and cannot be controlled by the individual.

Too terrified to drive

She has a driver's license, but she is too terrified to drive. What do you think?

Are you a shopaholic?

The difference between celebrity shoppers and the rest of us? They can usually afford their shopping sprees.

Days of wine and neuroses

Psychiatrist Prof M.A. Simpson writes about reporters, misconceptions about therapists, wine and dining with Freud.

Is alcohol a license to kill?

What are the effects of alcohol on memory and can intoxication serve as a mitigating factor in a criminal trial? Health24 investigates.

Sex workers - who and why?

We look at the nature of sex work in South Africa and why people enter the sex industry.

Survive the Christmas season

Christmas is a time for relaxation and celebration. But having to spend time with your dreaded granny or siblings' children can make it quite stressful. Here are tips to cope.

Torturing on order

The images were greeted with revulsion around the world a few years ago. Torture is as old as man himself, but it still shocks and angers. Could you do that to someone else?

Do you have a money personality?

People do not only have a physical self, an emotional self or social self, but also a financial or money self. A financial psychologist explains what it is.

Mind/body split misses the point

Health is a complete state of mind and as a result, there is no health without mental health. Why then, do people still view the mind as separable from the body?

New Year's resolutions

Here are a few tips to ensure that you won't end up with a feeling of déjà vu this time next year.

The demon doctors

Doctors are the good guys. We know this to be true. But still, there have been some very, very bad apples…

Most stalkers are known

Hollywood stars are not the only ones that get stalked. The majority of stalking cases involve ordinary people, most of whom know their stalkers.

Would you witness an execution?

Today a South African woman was executed in China for commiting a felony. the question is would you consider watching your loved one be executed to pay their crimes?

Only aiming to please

In the court case involving Adv Barbie, she claims that her ex-partner forced her to partake in criminal activities. Why do people go to such great lengths to please a partner?

Mentally ill a danger to society?

The recent case of a psychiatric patient who attacked two people at a hospital in Pretoria once again raises the question: are people with mental illness a danger to society?

Goldin: Murdered on order?

Murder and torture are as old as man himself, but it still shocks and angers, and makes people ask themselves, could I do that? Well, could you?

Najwa on the edge?

The lawyer of slain entertainer Taliep Petersen's wife Najwa requested that she be released on bail on the grounds that she has a psychiatric disorder. Is this a valid reason?

No bail for Najwa

Najwa Petersen is off to Valkenberg for observation. CyberShrink comments on courts, trials and mental health.

Extreme hoarding

Some people have so much stuff in their homes they can hardly move around. And they keep on bringing in more and more junk. Why do people do this?

Face to face with your attacker

As a victim of crime, would you be willing to meet the person responsible? What would you say? Would you forgive them?

Blackout rage

We've had road rage, desk rage and trolley rage. Now make way for blackout rage

Bereavement

Bereavement – the period of grief and mourning after, for instance, the death of a loved one – is part of a normal and probably inevitable process of dealing with loss.

A trouble shared

Heartbreak, kindness, despair and support. It's right here on our forums every day. Read about these two young women's anguish. What advice would you have given them?

What would you do?

You have no idea what goes down on CyberShrink's forum - what advice would you give?

The warning signs of suicide

More than 150 000 South Africans attempt suicide each year, according to the South African Society of Psychiatrists. Of them, one in ten women and one in three men succeed.

Inside Landmark Forum

The Landmark Forum is a penetrating, challenging inquiry into issues that determine our personal effectiveness, says the brochure. Health24 went through the intensive three days.

Impulse-control disorders defined

The essential feature of impulse-control disorders is the failure to resist an impulse, drive, or temptation to perform an act that is harmful to the person or to others.

The stigma of mental illness

When you think of mental illness, do the words "whacko", "crazy" or "van lotjie getik" come to mind? It is World Mental Health Day and we look at the greatest stigma of all.

Forgive yourself

Feelings of guilt aren’t always the result of a great injustice – sometimes it’s small but hurtful memories that cause the most pain.

A gift for Father's Day

It’s the one Sunday of every year you can’t afford to forget. It’s a day where you honour your genetic half-contributor for doing so much for you. It’s the Day of the Dad.

Cho Seung-Hui: a tragic case

Cho Seung-Hui had a history of mental illness. How did Cho fall through the cracks?

Can SA prevent campus killings?

What would become of a student like Cho in South Africa? We follow so much of American psychiatry, if they couldn’t get it right what chance would we have?

Cool it, hothead!

Exploding over everyday irritations can harm your health, relationships and career. Here are 10 steps to disarming the bomb.

Tips for Facebook safety

A social media consultant offers advice about safe social media use.

PTSD: Carte Blanche cops

Psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders, also called psychological disorders, are illnesses of the brain that cause disruptions in a patient's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others. Psychiatric disorders are classified into different groups, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, adjustment disorders, developmental disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders.