CHINESE CULTURE
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Brian Hennessy. Cairns, Australia. January, 2025 Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it is known locally, is China’s longest and most important festival. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon, 15 days later. In 2025, Spring festival will last from January 28th to […]
Managing Depression: via neuroscience
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. January, 2019. Self-help information for expats in China who may have difficulty managing depression [sometimes associated with culture shock – see, https://ozinchina.com/2015/03/26/culture-shock-in-china/]. Derived from Alex Korb’s (2015) book titled, The Upward Spiral: using neuroscience to reverse the course of depression, one small change at a time. New Harbinger Publications Inc. […]
Culture shock – in brief
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. January, 2016. Psychologist. All change is stressful, and although we may not think so at the time, culture shock is a normal reaction to change. With a little self-knowledge it can be managed successfully. This article looks at the nature, stages, and causes of culture shock; and provides guidelines for managing […]
China’s three wise men
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. February, 2016 Three ancient sages who lived 2500 years ago continue to influence modern Chinese society. The are Laozi, Buddha, and Confucius. These three wise men laid the foundation for a practical Chinese philosophy – a blend of the three – which has quasi-religious overtones. If you want to […]
Culture shock in China
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist All change is stressful, and although we may not think so at the time, culture shock is a normal reaction to change. It is not a mental illness, and with a little self-knowledge it can be managed successfully. If we hope to adapt to […]
Stress
Stress Brian Hennessy. DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist Content Stress is a normal part of life. What is stress? Warning signs of too much stress. What happens if we do not manage stress? How can we manage stress? Thinking and stress. What is an optimum level of stress? Stress test. Stress. […]
Depression
Depression Brian Hennessy. DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist Content What is depression? Types of depression Signs of depression Causes Treatment Types of treatment What is depression? Depression is a word that people often use to describe feelings of sadness which all of us experience from time to time. It is also […]
Anxiety
Anxiety Brian Hennessy DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist Content: What is anxiety? Good anxiety and bad anxiety Symptoms of anxiety Types of anxiety disorders Causes Anxiety test Treatment What is anxiety? Anxiety is a term which describes a normal feeling that people can have when faced with threat, danger, or […]
Cultural diversity & common language
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. It would be fair to say that most Australians assume that Cantonese is the language spoken in mainland China.This is not surprising because their exposure to things Chinese has been limited to, for example, Chinese restaurants which in the main employ Cantonese speaking staff and serve Cantonese style cuisine. […]
In Cairns: Mandarin or Cantonese?
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. Any effort we make to understand and appreciate mainland Chinese language and culture will be rewarded by word of mouth recommendations to visit Cairns. China has the largest internet grapevine in the world: satisfied customers will provide more free advertising than we could ever dream of or afford. Most visitors […]