A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness characterised by disturbances in a person’s thoughts, perceptions, emotions and behaviour. The illness affects around 26 million people across the world. Despite being a treatable disorder, more than 50% of people with schizophrenia cannot access adequate treatment, and 90% of people with untreated schizophrenia live in the developing world. [...]
Dr. Wang explains that the first step is to identify triggers for excessive Internet, social media or technology use - such as boredom or stress. Next, learned automatic responses - such as using the smartphone to relieve anxiety - are challenged and reversed. "At a deeper level, exploring their thoughts and beliefs about anxiety and [...]
"This is a major concern. Antipsychotics are strong drugs with serious side effects such as obesity, diabetes and sedation, and these tend to be worse in young people. Despite this, these drugs are increasingly used in situations where other treatments may be safer and more appropriate," said Karanges. Use of the main ADHD medication Ritalin [...]
More than 7 percent of American schoolchildren are taking at least one medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties, a new government report shows. Apparently, the medications are working: More than half of the parents said the drugs are helping their children, according to the report. - Serena Gordon via One in 13 US schoolkids takes [...]
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, warned that "society has become increasingly drawn towards using medication as a substitute for authoritative teaching and child-rearing". He added that he believes that we are going through a "cultural redefinition of some of the normal problems of childhood." So when does being a naughty [...]
Dr Helen Mayberg at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the U.S., studied brain scans to look for clues about what happens in the brain when someone is depressed and how different treatments affect brain activity. She used PET scans to measure brain glucose metabolism, an important index of brain function, and found that scan [...]
In the US, at least 9% of schoolchildren are on medication for ADHD. In Australia it is estimated that 11% of children and adolescents fulfill the criteria for ADHD. In France the figure is .5%. As in POINT five. Half a percent. Why is this? Well, first of all the way in which French psychiatrists [...]
The hunt is on for a faster-acting, more effective antidepressant. Current treatments for depression, including drugs like Prozac and Celexa, often take a month or more to give patients relief—and they don't work for everyone. Now, researchers and several pharmaceutical companies are testing medications that early studies are showing can lift mood in just a [...]
WHEN fashion publishers feel they have to use photo-shop to ‘‘fatten up’’ models in a major fashion event before they can publish their images, you know there’s a problem. Usually when fashion and beauty publications employ digital enhancement it’s for the opposite reason: to slim down the model or celebrity and hide ‘‘flaws’’. But this [...]
