A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Adolescence is the life stage when mental illnesses are most likely to emerge, with anxiety disorders being the most common. Recent estimates suggest that over 30 percent of teens have an anxiety disorder. That means about one of every three teenagers is struggling with anxiety that significantly interferes with their life and is unlikely to [...]
Our brains are wired differently and this is the reason why we think, dream and behave in a particular way without being a clone of each other. The brain is the organ which is responsible for inducing one’s perception and outlook on life. It is the functioning of this organ that makes certain people have [...]
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 [...]
We're not wired to feel safe all the time, but maybe one day we could be. A recent study investigating the neurological basis of anxiety in the brain has identified 'anxiety cells' located in the hippocampus – which not only regulate anxious behaviour but can be controlled by a beam of light. The findings, so far demonstrated [...]
Findings could help hunt for treatment for degenerative conditions such as Alzheimers, and psychiatric problems. Humans continue to produce new neurons in a part of their brain involved in learning, memory and emotion throughout adulthood, scientists have revealed, countering previous theories that production stopped after adolescence. The findings could help in developing treatments for neurological [...]
Alarmingly, the World Health Organization now considers depression as the leading cause of ill-health and disability worldwide. And for a great number of the people suffering there are simple, free and non-pharmaceutical ways of managing their mental health. Much of the research in the field of mindfulness explores the impact of thirty to forty-five minutes [...]
Nine out of ten people in Western Australian youth detention are severely impaired in at least one area of brain function such as memory, language, attention, and executive function (planning and understanding consequences). Such deficits would strongly impact on their ability to conform with legal instructions, and with other aspects of the justice system such [...]
When it comes to managing anxiety, science just lent more credibility to the advice to “stay busy.” Engaging the brain to stay busy with problem-solving appears to be an effective buffer against debilitating anxiety, especially in those prone to the worst of the condition, according to a new brain imaging study from Duke University researchers. The [...]
Seventeen million babies under the age of one are breathing toxic air, putting their brain development at risk, the UN children's agency has warned. Babies in South Asia were worst affected, with more than 12 million living in areas with pollution six times higher than safe levels. A further four million were at risk in [...]
In the midst of my worst moments of anxiety and panic, I would focus incessantly on the physical sensation and fear that it was something serious and harmful. But, as I learned over time from several experts, my attention was directed on the wrong thing. What if I could shift my focus to something else – [...]
