Two self-help groups on the topic of "borderline personality disorder" are founded in Kleve. One group is for people aged 18-35 and the other for people aged 35 and over. We are looking for those affected who are interested in an appreciative and supportive self-help group and would like to exchange ideas on a regular basis. The first meeting will take place on May 22nd and on May 25th, 2023. Interested parties can obtain further information after registering via the self-help office for the district of Kleve on 02821 78 00 12 or selbsthilfe-kleve@paritaet-nrw.org.org.

Borderline personality disorder is an often misunderstood mental illness that is accompanied by unstable relationships, impulsive behavior, and severe mood swings. The founding of this self-help group is an important step in supporting people who are confronted with this challenge and is aimed at people who are already being accompanied by professional staff. The exchange of experiences should contribute to reflecting on behavioral patterns together and changing them positively. The focus should be on the handling and application of skills (skills / abilities). Through mutual support, coping strategies for everyday life can be shared with each other.

"It should be a protected framework in which you can meet as equals in order to learn from each other, get new suggestions, give and receive help, and thus be a strengthening and encouraging group," says one of the two initiators.

Obese boys often have reduced testicular volume, which increases the risk of adult infertility, a research group reports in the European Journal of Endocrinology.

The reasons for male infertility are often unclear: according to a German study of more than 20,000 men who involuntarily had children, no cause could be found in around 70 percent. At the same time, a trend towards a decrease in sperm count and quality has been observed in recent decades. At the same time, severe overweight (obesity) among children has increased worldwide. This gave Italian researchers the idea of taking a closer look: in 268 children and adolescents, they found that normal-weight boys had a 1.5 times larger testicular volume than overweight or obese ones.

Children and adolescents with normal insulin levels also had 1.5 to 2 times greater testicular volume than those with elevated insulin levels. Conversely, boys who were overweight, obese, had hyperinsulinemia, or had insulin resistance had lower testicular volume than their healthy peers.

In another study of young men aged 18 to 19, almost a quarter had testicles that were too small. The researchers assume that weight reduction in overweight and obese boys can prevent infertility.

Quelle: DOI 10.1093/ejendo/lvad033

You are tired and still cannot fall asleep. Instead, you roll from side to side. You get up in the morning exhausted. There can be no talk of restful sleep. Why a sliced lemon by the bed now that changes everything!

Be ready for captivating conversations and inspiring discussions with people from all over the world. Sundays at 6.30pm, the brightest minds come together to share ideas and gain new perspectives. Don't miss this unique opportunity to network and learn.

It is important to emphasise that support groups can be a valuable complement to professional medical or psychological treatment, but should not be used as a substitute. You should also keep in mind that everyone has different needs, and what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

In order to build healthy relationships, people prone to emotional dependency need to strengthen their self-esteem and self-confidence and work through possible traumas, fears or difficult experiences.

We are social beings. Therefore, we depend on others. A healthy sense of belonging and constructive relationships are crucial for our well-being. But emotional dependence describes a relationship that can lead to giving up on oneself.

In our volatile and fast-paced society, emotional responsibility is a rare commodity. Many people also suffer from low self-esteem or the inability to build healthy relationships. Time and again, there is a great need for attention, care and affection, which can lead to over-dependence in relationships. We invite you to reflect on this topic with us today.

Cheese rolls with Nutella or apple pie with ketchup: while some pregnant women develop the strangest cravings, others eat no differently than before.

A nutritionist reveals why some pregnant women's eating habits change, what reveals ravenous hunger and why expectant mothers don't have to eat for two.

Pregnancy hormones can change the feeling of hunger
During pregnancy, the body changes. In the beginning, many pregnant women suffer from morning sickness or even have to vomit. Tiredness, a change in appetite and mood swings are also common symptoms of pregnancy. The cause is the new hormonal situation that sets in in the body. It is not uncommon for pregnant women to suddenly develop an aversion to the taste or smell of foods they actually like very much - and they suddenly feel ravenous for new and unusual combinations of foods.

A study in the journal Pediatrics describes four profiles that can help doctors better identify children at increased risk for self-harm. The profiles could complement other assessment methods.

Although you can sleep well, do you constantly feel tired, listless and powerless? Then it may be that an illness or other causes are behind it.

The most common cause of permanent fatigue is sleep: if you sleep too little, too briefly or too restlessly, you usually become untested during the day and feel tired and lacking in energy. Sometimes, however, you feel tired all the time despite a good night's sleep. In these cases, there are often other triggers behind the unpleasant condition. These can be various illnesses, for example. However, lifestyle and certain behaviors, for example in nutrition, also play a role.

Researchers have succeeded in identifying an active substance that effectively inhibits sperm formation in mice. This could be an important step towards the first non-hormonal contraceptive for men, write researchers in the "Journal of Medicinal Chemistry".

The team took a closer look at a protein involved in cell division, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2). It plays a role in the production of sperm: Mice without a CDK2 receptor are infertile. The team discovered a previously unknown binding site of CDK2 and a dye molecule that binds exactly there. Starting from this dye, the researchers examined tens of thousands of different substances to find others that fit as perfectly as possible to the binding site. This is because CDK2 belongs to a family of enzymes. To avoid side effects, it is important that a drug candidate really only inhibits CDK2.

The researchers investigated the three most promising candidates and then optimised them further. The best of them, EF-4-177, was detectable in the body for a long time and entered the testes of mice. After 28 days, the sperm count of the animals had decreased by about 45 percent.

Previously, the team had discovered a receptor for vitamin A that is suitable as a contraceptive method and showed no side effects in animal experiments. Several options increase the likelihood that a candidate will make it into clinical trials in humans and eventually onto the market as the first non-hormonal contraceptive for men.

Quelle: DOI 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01731

Learning to argue properly: misunderstandable communication as the most common cause

Arguing rarely triggers good feelings. However, an argument does not have to be negative. If you pay attention to a few things when arguing, you can even strengthen the relationship.

Arguing is no fun for anyone. Nevertheless, it is important to vent your thoughts and feelings from time to time. Not infrequently, this leads to a heated discussion or even ends in an argument if the other person doesn't like it or feels attacked. The good news is that you can learn to argue properly. A constructive approach is not only more goal-oriented, but also helpful in finding compromises. Here you can learn what to look for when arguing and why not only couples benefit from it.Even though many couples dream of a conflict-free relationship, this wish often remains unfulfilled. About every third marriage is divorced after 25 years. This was determined by the Federal Statistical Office. In 2021, there will be - on average after 15 years of marriage - about 150,000 couples who get divorced.

The family is an important support for patients with borderline personality disorder. However, they need coping strategies and should be directly involved in the therapy in order to provide a safe and stable environment.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an extremely complex illness that is not only challenging for the person affected, but also for their social environment. The family can strengthen the stability and well-being of borderline patients, so it is beneficial if they are involved in the therapy. In this article you will find several tips that are very helpful when a person in the family suffers from BPD.

Preserve your inner child, like Disney's Peter Pan? Here you can find out how.

“Don’t grow up – it’s a trap!” Ab heute gibt es die neue Disney Realverfilmung PETER PAN & WENDY auf Disney+. Es handelt sich dabei um eine zeitgemäße Neuauflage des Zeichentrickklassikers von 1953 und dem Stück/Roman von J.M.

Barrie. But how can we actually preserve our inner child?

What is the inner child?
The concept of the "inner child" refers to the part of our psyche that remembers our childhood experiences, emotions and needs. It can help us connect with our feelings and behaviours that were often shaped in childhood.

If parents drink alcohol in the weeks before conception, it can cause brain damage in the child. This also applies to fathers. At least, this is what experiments with mice indicate.

Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy can cause severe damage to their children: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is associated with brain damage, learning and behavioral disorders. Some children also show typical facial changes. It is not uncommon for them to be dependent on help for the rest of their lives.

But does alcohol-related damage to the child really come exclusively from the mother? Researchers at Texas A&M University have investigated this.
Changed face, smaller brain

Their experiments with mice cast doubt on this conviction: they show that alcohol consumption before conception significantly disturbs the development of offspring in both the father and the mother.

A research group describes in the "British Journal of Pharmacology" that alcohol-dependent mice are more sensitive to pain after alcohol withdrawal. This was also true for about half of the mice that were "occasional drinkers". Behind this, however, were different mechanisms.

During alcohol withdrawal, the alcohol-dependent mice felt pain in response to stimuli that do not normally trigger pain. If the mice were subsequently given alcohol again, their sensitivity to pain decreased significantly. About half of the mice that were given alcohol but were not dependent were also more sensitive to pain during alcohol withdrawal. In them, however, the alcohol did not reverse the pain.

Increased inflammatory substances were detectable in both the addicted and non-addicted animals, but they differed from each other. This suggests that different mechanisms are at work causing the pain. At the same time, the findings offer the possibility of targeting drugs to block the inflammatory substances in order to combat alcohol-related pain.

Says Dr. Vittoria Borgonetti of California's Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, "These two types of pain are very different. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between them and develop different treatments for each type. Research group leader Marisa Roberto, MD, added, "There is an urgent need to better understand the relationship between chronic pain and alcohol dependence. Pain is a common symptom in patients with alcohol dependence and a reason people continue to drink."

Alcohol damages nerves when consumed excessively and continuously, leading to chronic pain and other symptoms. Alcohol abuse can also alter how the brain processes pain signals and activate the immune system. This, in turn, can lead to increased alcohol consumption. When alcohol is abstained from, withdrawal often leads to allodynia, a hypersensitivity in which a harmless stimulus is perceived as painful.

Quelle: DOI 10.1111/bph.16091

Effects of benzodiazepines
 
Benzodiazepines, commonly known as benzos, have a calming and muscle-relaxing effect. They are also anxiolytics and antispasmodics (antiepileptics) and facilitate sleep. 

Benzodiazepines produce these effects by binding to the binding sites (receptors) of the body's neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA makes it difficult for neurons to get excited, thereby preventing the transmission of nerve signals. Benzodiazepines increase the effects of GABA. This makes neurons even harder to excite.

The corresponding effect depends on which region of brain neurons is suppressed:

• Anxiolytic: Benzodiazepines inhibit nerve cells in the limbic system, a part of the brain that processes emotions such as fear.
•      calming and sleep-promoting: these effects are caused by benzodiazepines by inhibiting nerve cells in the brainstem.
•      Muscle-relaxing (muscle-relaxing): This effect is mainly due to the inhibition of the nerve cells in the spinal cord.
•      Antispasmodic (anticonvulsant): During seizures, excited nerve cells predominate.
•     Benzodiazepines dampen the nerve cells and correct the imbalance in the brain.
•      hypnotic (amnestic): benzodiazepines trigger anterograde amnesia. The patient no longer remembers, for example, surgical interventions during the effect of the drug.

Sleep disorders are common. Sleep disorders are not all the same: for example, falling asleep and sleeping through the night (insomnia), different types of daytime sleep (hypersomnia), sleep-related movement disorders (e.g., restless legs' syndrome) and sleep-related breathing disorders. (e.g., sleep apnea). Read more about the causes and forms of insomnia and what you can do about it!

Click to read more. There's the video.

It sounds a bit like a scary story: the number of suicides increases around the full moon. This has now been proven by a serious American study.

Psychiatrists at Indiana University School of Medicine examined 776 suicides recorded by the Marion County Coroner's Office between January 1, 2012 and December 17, 2016.

The researchers evaluated the data according to the season and time of day, as well as the phase of the moon. This shows that the suicide rate increased significantly in the week after the full moon. Nearly 20 percent more suicides during the full moon.

Stress and pressure to perform have no place in raising children. What children really need to start life with confidence and joy.

Many parents do everything they can to give their children a good education. They encourage their offspring at every opportunity and want to make everything possible for them. A tightly scheduled everyday life is not uncommon for many kindergarten children. Children could learn significantly more about life at a slower pace. Strong support and demands can even lead to the opposite result. That is why parents give their children more space to play and should absolutely avoid pressure to perform.
What skills do children need in order to be successful and happy later? Many parents ask this question. Most of the time, however, the search for optimal support ends with small overloads. According to psychologist and educator Anke Elisabeth Ballman, the main reason for this is a misunderstanding of parenthood. In his book The Sloth Principle, he gives parents a guide to better understand child development. But what are the biggest problems parents face today?

Regular drinking can harm your body more than the occasional joint. However, cannabis is not harmless. 
The planned legalization of cannabis is constantly in the news. Some experts fully support the plans outlined in the coalition agreement, while others are more critical. Many are afraid of being in drunken company – as long as cannabis is freely available. Expert Kirsten Müller-Vahl, on the other hand, believes that the drug could definitely be legalized. In fact, there are significantly greater risks associated with alcohol consumption than with cannabis. But what are the real risks of using marijuana? And how do they relate to legal drugs like alcohol?