A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
It happens to the best of us: an inability to concentrate at work, panic in traffic, or thoughts that are too scattered or busy to let us fall asleep. But for others, constant racing thoughts can become an uncomfortable, but consistent, part of everyday life. And mental health professionals want people to know the difference. [...]
Research has long associated poor sleep with an increased risk of depression, but scientists have just identified the neural mechanism responsible for this link – a discovery that could lead to better treatments in the future. Researchers found a strong connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (responsible for short-term memory), the precuneus (linked with ideas [...]
The number of antidepressants prescribed to children in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland has risen over the past three years, figures obtained by BBC's File on 4 reveal. In England, there was a 15% rise. Scotland saw a 10% increase. And in Northern Ireland the number rose by 6%. In total, there were 950,000 prescriptions [...]
Four out of five teenage girls who have been sexually assaulted are suffering from crippling mental health problems months after their attack, new research has found. Victims were found to have anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious conditions four to five months after being assaulted. Experts said the findings confirmed that becoming a [...]
When her daughter Abbey began suffering severe mental health issues at the age of 14, Pippa Beveridge desperately sought help from Western Australia's mental health system. As she found out over the next two years, that support was not easy to come by. "We would go to [Princess Margaret Hospital] and wait for hours," Ms [...]
As a family member, encouraging a loved one to seek mental health treatment is one of the thinnest tightropes we can walk. “I’m fine!” “I’m not the crazy one - you are!” “I don’t need help!” Too often, encouraging a loved one to seek mental health treatment turns into a stalemate with long-lasting hard feelings, [...]
Childline has seen a 14% rise in the number of children contacting the charity about loneliness. In 2017/18, the charity delivered 4,636 counselling sessions on loneliness, compared to 4,063 the year before. Nearly 80% of sessions went to girls. Some said watching their friends socialise without them on social media made them feel increasingly isolated. This [...]
In young adults, negative social media experiences may be strongly and consistently associated with higher depressive symptoms. But, positive experiences seem to have a weak link to lower depressive symptoms, according to research led by the University of Pittsburgh. The study titled "The association between valence of social media experiences and depressive symptoms" was published in the journal Depression and [...]
Growing up, I was a gymnast. The serious, train-six-times-a-week-and-never-do-anything-else kind. By the time I was 10, I had represented NSW at national championships, and won. By the time I was 12, I had represented Australia. By 15, I was preparing for my second World Championships. I had been training relentlessly, day in, day out. I [...]
#Care2QPR Question. Persuade. Refer. It’s three simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide says Illawarra psychologist Dr Alex Hains. And – as community members are encouraged to learn CPR to potentially save lives – Dr Hains is urging the public to learn QPR to do the same for those people struggling with suicidal thoughts. [...]
