Picking one color - and then sticking with it - relieves anxiety

The city of Aleppo, Syria, is not the first place you'd think of as the source of a special story. Between August 2011 and December 2016, the city was a key battleground in the country's civil war, with countless casualties and tales of horror. And there has been sporadic violence since its recapture by government forces.

But leafing through my China Daily last week I spotted a piece about a 68-year-old man named Abu Zakkour, who has worn only yellow clothes since 1983. His obsession with the color extends to his home too. Any item he cannot get in yellow he paints.

It appears the widower adopted this aesthetic not just as a statement but as a challenge. "For me the yellow color represents love and something no one has ever done and no one even endures. I believe no one in the world has worn yellow for 35 years, day and night, indoors and outdoors," Zakkour told Xinhua News Agency.