Why are we so endlessly fascinated by dreams? The first evidence of dream interpretation dates back to the ancient Sumerian civilisation of the 31st century BC, and, some 5,000 years later, we still rush to tell each other our dreams as soon as we wake up. Surely it’s because, though we laugh at their bizarre plots and apparently random characters, most of us are convinced there is meaning in there somewhere. We dream in symbols that reflect our waking lives. And, since we now spend a lot of time online, it’s not surprising that our dream imagery has changed in recent years to reflect that. Leading expert Theresa Cheung who is a bestselling author, revealed interpretations for unsettling tech-savvy dreams (file image) In the new reprint of my bestselling Dream Dictionary, I’ve updated my dream interpretations for a tech-savvy audience — the Sumerians did not dream of texting, but we very much do. For example, what does it mean when we dream of taking a … [Read more...] about Is your sleep unsettled by fears about selfies, broken mobiles and unsent texts? If so, a leading expert can help with this guide on: How to interpret your e-dreams
Cant sleep back pain
Leah Bracknell reveals her fear of dying from cancer – and says it is now “too painful to look forward”
Terminally-ill actress Leah Bracknell has revealed her fear of dying – and says it is now “too painful to look forward”. Ex-Emmerdale star Leah adds she feels “hopelessness and despair” over her cancer, plus devastation she will no longer be there for her two daughters. Leah, 54, married author boyfriend Jez Hughes, 44, last March after discovering treatment to prolong her life had stopped working. She was diagnosed with incurable stage four lung cancer in September 2016. Posts on her cancer journey blog had been overwhelmingly upbeat – so her latest update will break her readers’ hearts. “It’s hard to keep on keepin’ on,” she writes. “It’s hard not to see the glass half-empty when you have been issued a sell-by date and options are running out.” She describes an “unwelcome bedfellow who whispers unsweet nothings of nothing into my ear, fuelling the terrors and She adds: “I chose surrender … [Read more...] about Leah Bracknell reveals her fear of dying from cancer – and says it is now “too painful to look forward”
Five ways to stop feeling tired all the time
Figure out if you’re tired or sleepy “It’s important to recognise that there’s a difference between tiredness and sleepiness,” says Hugh Selsick, chair of the Sleep Working Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Tiredness is: “I’m lacking energy and concentration, I’m irritable. I’m not motivated.” Sleepiness, however, is: “I am battling to stay awake. When I sit on the bus I’m nodding off.” Sleepiness is usually a sign of a sleep disorder or not getting enough sleep, whereas tiredness could be caused by many things – stress, pain, anaemia or hormone problems most commonly. If you have concerns about your sleep, Selsick recommends getting specialist help via your GP. Resist box-set temptation The way Selsick sees it: “Staying up for an extra half hour just to watch one more episode of a TV show can leave you feeling tired and rotten for 16 hours of the next day. Whereas that extra 30 minutes … [Read more...] about Five ways to stop feeling tired all the time
The Observer view on who to vote for in the general election
This is a historic election, the most important choice voters have faced in decades. The result will determine whether Britain as we know it exists in a generation or whether the union will have splintered beyond repair. It will shape the nation’s economic wellbeing: whether we make countless lives harder by cutting ourselves off from our biggest trading partner or maintain our close relationship with the EU. It will influence the type of society we are: whether the number of children who grow up in abject poverty and the number of people sleeping rough – stains on our collective conscience– will continue to rise. It will decide the sustainability of the world we bequeath to our children and grandchildren. Yet there is no disguising that this is an election of last resort, the product of an unedifying journey through months of parliamentary gridlock. None of the options inspires enthusiasm; the campaign has been underwhelming and uninspiring. But the gloomy sense it … [Read more...] about The Observer view on who to vote for in the general election
Back to the border of misery: Amexica revisited 10 years on
If you drink the water in Ciudad Juárez, there you’ll stay, goes the saying – Se toma agua de Juárez, allí se queda. It’s not a reference to the quality of drinking water (about which polemic abounds because it is so dirty) but to the beguiling lure of this dusty and dangerous yet strong and charismatic city. It’s a dictum that might be applied to the whole 2,000-mile Mexico-US borderland of which Juárez and its sister city on the US side, El Paso, form the fulcrum. Ten years ago, I returned from several months’ immersion along that frontier, reporting on a narco-cartel war for this newspaper and eventually writing a book, Amexica, about the terrain astride the border, land that has a single identity – that belongs to both countries and yet to neither. A frontier at once porous and harsh: across which communities live and a million people traverse every day, legally, as do hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of goods … [Read more...] about Back to the border of misery: Amexica revisited 10 years on
