Men are always complaining about women and PMS and all that jazz. To which I respond by hitting them…and then eating a candy bar. They just don’t understand; it’s not our fault that our hormones go completely nuts every month and make us want to scream/laugh/cry/murder someone/eat a cake in the span of about 4 minutes.

But maybe now they do?

According to Jed Diamond, there is a new syndrome being seen in men with symptoms similar to those of a PMS-y woman: Irritable Man Syndrome. Diamond claims this disorder sets in at about the same age as women go through menopause (40-55), but I am convinced it is affecting our college boys too…and not just on those days when their favorite football team just lost a big game.

While you may be tempted to dump this dude’s ass for his strange (and pathetic) behavior, you should be patient: it’s clinical and he, like you, just can’t help it.

Below are 5 signs your man is in the throes of Irritable Man Syndrome.

1. You find him next to his mini fridge eating frosting out of the tub with a spoon. He may or may not be crying.

2. He weeps silently at Jiff commercials.

3. He snaps at you when you offer to help him with his Stats homework. “WHAT?! You think I can’t handle it on my own!?”

4. He’s never in the mood for sex anymore. Not even on the dryer. Not even when you are wearing that sexy low-cut top he used to love so much. Not even when you invite another girl into the mix.

5. He would rather watch The Notebook alone than go to a football game with you.

If you find your man in any or all of the above situations, just sit tight. It will all be over soon….at least for this month.

To lose a few lb’s.

Family therapist Virginia Satir theorized we need 4 hugs a day to survive and 8 to 12 to thrive. Chances are most of our hug quotas aren’t up to par (let alone thriving). So how are we dealing with this lack of affection? Theories suggest being touch-deprived can translate into self-nurture – one being overeating.

According to WebMD, 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. We try to control our feelings by filling the void with indulgent goodies. So, if the theory is true, more hugs could possibly mean a slimmer waistline.

Besides, a possible factor to melt away some body fat, hugging has other benefits too. Increasing your daily hug intake can dramatically lower blood pressure and each hug boosts blood levels of oxytocin (a relaxing hormone).

Before you become a serial hugger, take a look at our hug tips to get the most out of your public displays of affections.

• Generally hug friends and people you know – After all, we’re not looking for stalkers.

• Don’t make hugs sexual – Make them say, “I care” instead.

• A nurturing hug lasts at least 5 to 10 seconds – That’s 5 times the length of the usual hug.

• And lastly, you can’t take a hug, only give them.

I realized just how gross when I saw a not so charming boy taking part in the same not so charming habit during a lecture and my friends pointed out that:

a) Yes, I look like that too when I pick/bite

b) We are destined to be together because we share the same nasty habit.

Whether it is nail biting, throat clearing, being chronically late, talking too loud on your cell phone etc- we all have that one (or eight) habits we just wish we could break. But sometimes we really can’t help but take part in our bad habits. Kind of like when we couldn’t help but text that guy last Saturday night at 2am, even though we said we were sooo done with that.

Sometimes bad habits are just really hard to break.

So before you make that New Years Resolution to not oversleep or stop cracking your knuckles, here are three steps to actually help you achieve that goal.

3 Easy Steps to Breaking Bad Habits (From WebMD)

1) Make It Conscious. Many times, we do these things without thinking about it. Like when we are bored in class or stressed in the library etc. So figure out when and why you take part in your habit(s) of choice. If you realize when/why you are doing it and can attribute what you are feeling that is driving you to do it, you will have an easier time finding a way to stop.

2) Put It in Writing. Just like most dieticians will suggest you write down what you eat so that you are aware that you “accidentally” ate the large chocolate cheesecake because you were feeling lonely, same goes here. Put down the situation you are in along with the emotions surrounding the nail biting (or other habit). Take notice to what is going through your head when you do it. This will help make you more conscious of it and help you curb how often you do it.

Also, write out a pros/cons list of this behavior to make you more aware of why it’s such a bad habit in the first place!

3) Bait and Switch. After you figure out the root cause of why you are biting your nails/chronically coughing etc try to find a not-so- annoying temporary replacement for it. (Nail biter? Try gum! Knuckle cracker? Try sitting on your hands or doodling in class). Other experts suggest meditation. And if that doesn’t work?

Put a large rubber band around your wrist. Every time you are aware that you are taking part in your bad habit… snap that bad boy against your wrist.

Have any of your own tried and true tips for breaking a bad habit?

Leave them here!

In case you needed another reason to use a condom, recent polls show that people across the nation are still completely skeeved out by the idea of herpes.

In a report released by CBS news and WebMD, “503 U.S. adults with genital herpes and about 1,400 other adults who said they didn’t have genital herpes” were asked questions regarding the icky yet easily transmittable disease.

In addition to ranking herpes second to HIV as a social stigma, most of the non-infected participants said they’d steer clear of sleeping with someone who had the disease.

Only 36% of the Valtrex using pollers said they’d tell a partner about their condition before having sex, which means 64% are jumping in the sack with someone who has no idea what they’re getting into.

These numbers clearly illustrate that having herpes isn’t fun. It’s so un-fun, in fact, most people would rather infect someone else than admit to having it.

So do yourself a favor this fall and be cautious about who you invite into your bed…especially if you happen to be inviting Derek Jeter.