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Europa Melancholia
Depression, fears, insecurity – they are increasingly creeping into all areas of life, yet stay some of the biggest taboos of our generation. They can be our entertainment and part of our entourage – we’ll often pay to watch these themes being depicted on the big screen or discuss how it might have affected someone in our circle of friends or colleagues. But we can also suffer from a real burnout syndrome at work or after leaving our erasmus experiences abroad behind. So when does sadness or melancholy transform into real depression? Nearly 40% of Europeans suffer from psychological disorders, says one of the newest pan-European studies on the issue, which we have taken as inspiration for this week’s special edition. Are our hectic ‘lives on the edge’ or too individualistic lifestyles the reason? Failing to take the psyche seriously in Europe is also the question we’ll ask next week during our collaborative broadcast ‘Europa plus’, which we run weekly together with the German TV channel ZDF - if you have something to say, visit our theme page www.cafebabel.co.uk/europaplus
- Read the special edition Europa Melancholia
- ‘Nos plusieurs’: autistic theatre stars meet Indian epic in French documentary
- Brussels: Spanish expat on depression taboo
- Cinema psyche: the enemy is within us
- One third of Europeans suffer from mental illness: really?
- Depression: ‘alcohol abuse is far more common in eastern and northern Europe’
- Post-Erasmus syndrome: SOS distress
Hungary introduces tax on crisps
Prime minister Viktor Orban’s government has set itself the task of driving unhealthy eating habits out of Hungary. They are now trying to do this with the help of the so-called crisps tax which came into effect on 1 September
public health, yum nyam, food, hungary, childhood obesity, viktor orbán, health
Europe's suicide tourism
Al Pacino put a damper on the atmosphere at the 50th Monte-Carlo television festival. In 'You don't know Jack' he interprets a doctor who is convicted several times for his practice of euthanasia. Soon to be released in France, Barry Levinson's film threatens to revive a debate which divides Europe, beginning wih the Netherlands, where the supporters of the 'Out of Free Will' initiative are campaigning for a 'right to die' for everyone over 70
public health, netherlands, euthanasia, eugenics, science, suicide, accident
Chomutov, Czech Republic: fighting prostitution with posters
Women wave in short dresses on posters at the main roads, created by Simona Kmonickova, who lives near the red-light district. Cross bones represent sexually transmitted diseases. The border to Sachsen isn’t far; most sex clients come from there, but despite the warning publicity, the problem has localised
public health, civil society, europe, czech republic, security, eu frontiers, prostitution
Patient patients in Europe: kid gloves come off
4% of Europeans received medical treatment in another member state in 2006-2007, according to Eurobarometer, and 1% of public healthcare budgets (10 billion euros) a year is spent on cross-border healthcare. There are no EU laws on European patients rights in general though. From dying in Slovenia to migrating doctors via France and Romania, to the HIV virus which has pinned an era in health, a look at some of the medical topics affecting young Europeans today, featuring three finalists of the second EU health prize for journalists
- Read the special edition Patient patients in Europe: kid gloves come off
- Sweden and Norway are anti-junk food leaders
- Medicine’s new dot-com revolution
- Where did all the Romanian doctors and French med students go?
- Preparing to die in Slovenia’s first hospice institution
- Aids: the HIV carrier criminals in Europe
World Aids day 2010: the 'plastic' pope has spoken
Condoms aren't bad for your health! Clear the ship for action, because we've still a long way to go. More than 41 million people have the HIV virus or Aids, which counts around 800, 000 people in Europe. To mark world aids day on 1 December in the UK, crooner Elton John has become editor for the day for The Independent. But whilst he's been known for his brash concerts in the Ukraine in the past, that country is seeing its own clinics being closed down. Prudence, because younger generations are less interested in plastic than news of when a virus kills en masse. Is the fashionable lack of protection the problem? One thing is sure; despite all the treatments, being HIV positive in 2010 is still no sinecure. Read the cafebabel.com archives before you feel the love tonight (Pictured, life through a condom lens, Image 'Mary Soaking' by (cc) Lomo-Cam/ Flickr)
Polish your smile in Poland: medical tourism in Warsaw
Frenchman Fabrice lives and works in Dublin but gets his teeth checked in his partner's home country, Poland. The idea is practical what with the ease of mobility within Europe - but would you be prepared to fly to your dental surgery instead of taking the bus?
public health, eucrisis on the ground, economical crisis, poland, warsaw, european union, society
'Eco hippies' on carbon-neutral weekend in the Vosges, France
Four months on from the Copenhagen summit, the failure of a global climate change policy hasn't crushed or reinvigorated the motivation of environmental activists. In the Vosges region of France, Elise's carbon-neutral weekends indicate that changing our way of life may be key to saving the planet
public health, activism, economical crisis, lifestyle, green cities, france, civil society
Happy tax day, Americans: though Europeans get more for their money
There is a perception that the poor Europeans are overtaxed serfs. But a closer look reveals that this is a myth that prevents Americans from understanding the vast shortcomings of our own system; 15 April is the day that income tax returns are due in the States
public health, money, europe, politics, economy, barack obama, united states
Truth? There's no-one to vote for in 6 May UK elections
For the first time in decades, the very real possibility of a hung parliament allows the political landscape to be shaken up in the UK's general election on 6 May. But the opposition leader David Cameron, who launches his election campaign on 13 April, appears windswept, PM Gordon Brown imperious and Nick Clegg just wants to be recognised
public health, liberls, university, gay rights, vote, education system, london
Europe vs the US: seven reflections
It’s been a year since Barack Obama was inaugurated president of the United States on 20 January. But despite his inspiring speeches, he is no Franklin Roosevelt, and even if he were, he needs 60 out of 100 votes in the US Senate to pass anything. Since the end of world war two, a power has emerged with the real potential to carry the world forward
public health, welfare state, economical crisis, flexicurity, europe, comparison, book review
Why Scandinavians do life better
Public spirit, political life, way of life, welfare state...short analysis on why people from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland might be happier with life than the rest of us Europeans
public health, work, norway, northern eu, sweden, denmark, job seekers
NHS, EHIC, mutuel: young expats get to grips with healthcare abroad
Three expats discuss their healthcare adventures, with or without travel insurance, in Spain, England and the Czech Republic. It makes for useful reading in the times of a swine flu pandemic
public health, testimony, expatriates, medicine, social security, hospital, travel
Fighting swine flu with garlic in Latvia
Worry about swine flu is gripping Latvia. As the public health service suffers in the wake of the financial crisis, folk medicine is booming. A look at what the quacks are offering
public health, riga, latvia, medicine, traditional medicine, swine flu, sars, tuberculosis, malaria, spanish flu, healthcare
GBL: party drug gets you high in your garage
On the weekends, this industrial solvent goes by the name 'liquid ecstasy'. From internet forums to TV chatshows, France is in uproar about the cheap stimulant you can buy in your local grocery
Immunologist Norbert Gualde: don't throw a swine flu party just yet
Rumours of a new way to deal with 2009's global epidemic broke out in the UK in July. The idea is crazy; catch the Influenza A (H1N1) virus and make antibodies before it becomes more virulent. A note of warning
public health, aids, interview, science, swine flu, sars, tuberculosis, malaria, spanish flu, society, health
Swine flu: 'I stopped using the metro in Mexico'
Thousands of people travel every day using the subway in Mexico City. I stopped using it a week ago for the first time since I started living here two and half years ago. You can’t be too careful…Testimony from a Spaniard living in Mexico - Spain has 57 confirmed cases after Canada and before Britain, which has 27. 30 have died since the outbreak in late April
34 swine flu cases in UK: is Europe prepared?
The highly contagious respiratory disease has infected hundreds of people and led to 29 deaths in Mexico alone. Cases have also been confirmed in a number of European countries, including France, Germany and Spain. Is Europe properly prepared to face a pandemic?
public health, eudebate2009, euweek, health, bird flu, news, european union
Only an Austrian man could have helped invent the pill
A new generation of young women who are fed up with ingesting a concoction of hormones every day are in search of an alternative to the oral contraceptive as a contraceptive method. Reflections on the occasion of international women’s day on 9 March. Testimony from a young female
public health, the pill, germany, sexuality, contraception, society, health
Climate change, health, economy: three European tips for Obama
The inauguration of the 44th president of the US on 20 January is starting to look like the most spectacularly dramatic debut since the Beatles arrived in New York. But soon the buildup and the hype will be over, and it will be time for Team Obama to produce
public health, european union, energy-climate package, economy, barack obama, united states, world affairs
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