Antidepressants are supposed to make us happier—but are they actually doing the opposite? According to researcher Helen Fisher, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other antidepressants may alter brain chemistry in a way that zaps desire to find a mate and dulls the euphoria felt when people fall in love—a process that Fisher calls “temporary insanity.”

I’m sure anyone who’s been in love would not hesitate to agree with that description. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if many people on antidepressants began them after the breakup. I can’t help but wonder…since the prescription of anti-depressants has more than doubled in the past 30 years, perhaps we should be asking what came first—the chicken or the egg? Read More »

Why do people have sex? Seems about as obvious as Ms. Star Jones having weight loss surgery, but apparently it is not.

In a recent study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior (I don’t read it; I swear. I actually saw this study on the Today Show), 2,000 people were asked why they had sex.

The answer? Well, surprisingly, there were more than one. 237 reasons, to be exact.

The top three most popular responses for both men and women seemed the most obvious:

1. They were attracted to the person

2. They wanted to experience physical pleasure

3. “It feels good”

The other 234 reasons were random, interesting and – sometimes – scary.

Some included: to burn calories, for revenge, to make babies, to get closer to the person, to get closer to God and to pass STDs onto someone else (yikes!). Read More »

Being that I tend to hang out with boys more often than girls lately (and not “sexy time” boys… more like “fart and make her laugh” boys), I am often looked to for the female perspective. Whether it be giving my approval of the women they hit on in bars or giving advice on a super romantic anniversary date, my role in life has become “Speaker of All Women.”

Yesterday, as I sat chatting with said boys, one began telling me a story and asking for advice. He has been dating a girl for 2 years now. He loves everything about her – her intelligence, her sense of humor, her body. That is, until recently, as she has packed on a few pounds since graduation. Read More »

The other night, one of my friends asked me a startling question: “Can I kiss you?”

Caught way, way off – guard, I stammered and sputtered and eventually mustered out a meek “no,” and offered to let him walk me home as a consolation prize.

Truthfully, I was intrigued. And tempted. Very tempted. But it’s complicated, because I like someone else. And I am “dating” him. But he lives in another country. At first it was romantic, but now it just kinda blows. I’m finding it hard to maintain my loyalty. The truth is, although I like the guy, I’m easily distracted by what’s going on right in front of me. Which includes cute guys asking permission to make out.

So, um, if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it actually happen? Where is the loyalty clause in the relationship contract? How do you cope with these moral quandaries?

My friend Damien has been with his boyfriend for about nine months now, and they are in l – o – v – e. But today he told me that in a few weeks he’ll be going to Seattle for an internship, and during his stay he wants to be “a total slut.” For the second time in a week, I was rendered speechless. “What about your boyfriend??” I asked. Read More »

The internet is the easiest go-to tool for any question or topic you may need to find information on. I often find myself googling random questions related to beauty, diet, or relationships depending on what I am dealing with in my own life and how much time I have to kill in between classes.

But, I had yet to find one overall comprehensive website that pertained to everything female and included useful advice. The best advice always seems to be word of mouth from those who have been there before, and now one website includes all of these factors.

toptipsforgirls.com is one of my new favorite websites. It is described as a wikipedia-like online manual, and according to Vanity Fair, “the site allows visitors to rate tips and to share their own, so the collected wisdom of a world of women is available at the click of a mouse.” Read More »

At least, that’s what a new study reveals which was conducted between 2002 and 2006 on college campuses across the country.

According to the study, men who are “well-muscled” are way more likely to have more sexual partners and more flings than their compatriots who are less brawny (but perhaps more brainy?) The article also points out that these muscle men are twice as likely to have affairs with women who are married or in serious relationships.

All of to which I respond, “no shit!”

Of course women are more likely to be physically attracted to well-built, machine-like guys! The act of sex, while encompassing any number of emotions, is an inherently physical act. If a girl is choosing a guy for a hot night of passion, what girl wouldn’t choose the beautiful sculpture of a man with abs of steel, rippling pecs and bulging biceps over the beer-bellied guy who looked like he could have posed for Picasso, with jiggling love handles and hair growing out of places never before thought possible? Your average girl is gonna take the Adonis every day the week and twice on Thursdays. And you know what? Despite not falling into the muscle-man category, I don’t blame you girls in the slightest. Read More »

I always considered myself a pretty independent woman. I love hanging out alone reading books or doing my nails, have no problem eating alone in a restaurant and tend to do my own thing whenever given the opportunity. And when it comes to my relationships with people…well, I tend not to cling.

So you can imagine my level of frustration (I’d say I am at “High” right now) at my inability to deal ever since the end of my two month relationship.

First of all, it was only two months. And it wasn’t even a good two months. Yes, I had a great time hanging out with the boy, but he just couldn’t make me laugh. And even worse, I couldn’t get him to laugh. He also loved talking about himself and couldn’t seem to understand why I would ever want to share things about myself with him. And in the last 3 weeks of our relationship (where I refused to call him my boyfriend…probably because he would want to immediately change his Facebook status) I really never had much fun when I was with him. If you don’t count time in the bed (or on the kitchen table…) I was probably annoyed about 100% of the time. Read More »

In college, my friends and I would constantly try to one-up each other with our sexcapades. If it wasn’t the quantity (“Three times last night, bitches!”) it was the creative positions (“Flying fish sandwich, anyone?”) or exciting locations (“50 Yard line at the Big House”). And while I loved to play along and try to keep up with my girls, I found myself enjoying some good old fashioned bedroom sex more than all the others.

Don’t get me wrong; it isn’t like I didn’t try. Just like my lovely roommates I would spend my evenings getting freaky all over town. On top of the dryer? Check. In the bathroom of our favorite bar? Got it. I even hit three of my seven roommates’ beds.

It’s not like the sex was bad in my shower/other locations, it was just that it didn’t always have that KAPOW that I was expecting. There were, however, three locations that were particularly bad. Like bad, bad. Read More »

We all know that breakups totally suck, no matter how you cut it. Whether you are the one doing the dumping or the one who gets their heart ripped out and stomped on, no one comes out of a breakup unscathed.

Something that may help lift your spirits? Throw a party! I know it sounds cheesy at first. But after watching a clip on The Today Show about a gorgeous girl who moved across the country for a dude only to find out it wasn’t going to work, and then had the time of her life at a breakup party thrown by her friends, I think it can be done. Yes, some people take these parties too far, aka Shanna Moakler who threw a “Divorce Party.”

Seriously though, what’s the harm in celebrating one more girl joining the single and looking to mingle club (when there are no kids or family involved)? Everything is better with a few cocktails. And what girl doesn’t love a chance to get together with girlfriends and have some real fun?

Well, luckily, now, there is an actual market for break up party supplies. How perfect!

Read More »

Sometimes a guy comes along that makes your chest fill with butterflies and causes the words in your mouth to become tangled and incomprehensible. Sometimes all of the stars align and you are actually able to DATE this amazing guy. You want to be together every waking second of every day. Most of us have been there. While this inseparable state is first exhilarating and then comfortable, there are a variety of risks you run by super-gluing yourself to your significant other.

My friends Anna and Jesse have served as real-life examples of the detrimental effects of this practice. Anna and Jesse have been dating slightly over a year and the hours they have spent apart during this period could be combined to form, at most, a full day (maybe).

Anna and Jesse take the same classes in school, eat every meal together, spend all of their free time side by side, and finally every night, go to sleep in the very same bed. If it were up to Anna, Jesse would probably escort her to the bathroom, but the boy stands up for himself once in a while. Read More »