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Health Check: New Year, New You?

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2018/01/10 GMT

New Year, New You?

BBC World Service - Health Check, New Year, New You?

Will a self-help book make you happier? Plus, what impact does living in prison with their mother have on babies? And, how best to treat children affected by war?

A New Year can herald ambitious goals for self-improvement – including physical fitness and even happiness. The self-help sections in bookshops are well-stocked – but does reading them do any good?  We hear from a Danish philosopher and an American psychologist about the role of both positive and negative emotions in our lives. 

When a woman is given a prison sentence should her child be locked up with her? In some countries babies born in prison can stay for a few months. But in the women’s prison in Chihuahua, Mexico, children can stay for up to four years with their incarcerated mothers. But how healthy is it for a child to be in prison? Some believe that the positive effects for mothers are outweighed by the negative impact on the children.

For children who are exposed to the violence of war it is estimated between 25-75% of them experience post traumatic stress disorder – with symptoms like flashbacks and anxiety. Experts at a World Psychiatric Association meeting in London this week have been discussing whether it’s possible to train non-therapists to teach children some simple techniques that they can use to relieve their anxiety. 

(Photo: A man looking through books on a shelf. Credit: Getty images)

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