A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
In the 1970s, a truth was accidentally discovered about depression – one that was quickly swept aside, because its implications were too inconvenient, and too explosive. American psychiatrists had produced a book that would lay out, in detail, all the symptoms of different mental illnesses, so they could be identified and treated in the same [...]
A device which sends tiny electric shocks to the brain to stimulate neurons could one day be at least as useful to people with anxiety and depression as antidepressants, Curtin University researchers hope. The university's Patrick Clarke said small electrical currents were being used to directly stimulate underperforming parts of the depressive brain and numb [...]
Mental health problems continue to carry a heavy stigma. People who experience them are often feared, excluded, shamed and discriminated against. Overcoming that stigma is a high priority, not least because it’s a barrier to engaging people in treatments that might help them. People suffering from mental health problems are not the only ones to [...]
Pixabay Images Is depression caused by an inflamed brain? A review of studies looking at inflammation and depression has found that a class of anti-inflammatory drugs can ease the condition’s symptoms. Fatigue link? The most commonly used anti-depressant drugs, known as SSRIs, act to increase levels of serotonin in the brain, to improve [...]
Pixabay Images There is growing evidence that inflammation – already known to be a cause of many whole-body diseases – is also involved in diseases of the brain, including psychiatric conditions like depression. Depression is a common and crippling disease affecting over 350m people worldwide. Around 20% of the UK population will suffer [...]
Flickr Images The first “gold standard” clinical trial of ketamine for the ongoing treatment of major depression was launched in Sydney on Tuesday and will involve seven research institutions and 200 patients from across Australia and New Zealand. Several pilot studies have examined the effectiveness of ketamine for depression but these have typically [...]
Pixabay Images Once upon a time, the future of mental health treatment was drugs. The advent of Prozac and whole class of similar medication in the 1990s gave doctors an easy option and big pharma easy money. But 20 years on, the problems have not gone away. In fact, mental illness is much more [...]
Flikr Images A recent study from the United Kingdom found a simple form of therapy called behavioural activation (BA) is as effective in treating depression as more complex psychological treatments and even medication. So, how does BA work and what is the relationship between behaviour and emotions? What we do affects how we [...]
Pixabay Images The multibillion-dollar supplement industry spews many dubious claims, but a new study suggests that some nutritional supplements, including omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, may boost the effectiveness of antidepressants. If so, the supplements might help relieve symptoms for the millions of people who don’t immediately respond to these drugs. The [...]
Pixabay Images The majority of antidepressants do not work on children and teenagers and prescribing them could do more harm than good, a major study in The Lancet has warned. A review of clinical trial evidence found that of 14 antidepressant drugs only one, fluoxetine - marketed as Prozac - was better than placebo [...]
