A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
“Look on the sunny side of life.” “Turn your face toward the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you.” “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” “See the glass as half-full, not half-empty.” Researchers are finding that thoughts like these, the hallmarks of people sometimes called “cockeyed [...]
When children are chronically anxious, even the most well-meaning parents can fall into a negative cycle and, not wanting a child to suffer, actually exacerbate the youngster’s anxiety. It happens when parents, anticipating a child’s fears, try to protect her from them. Here are pointers for helping children escape the cycle of anxiety. 1. The [...]
While being diagnosed with a serious mental health condition like schizophrenia can have devastating consequences for patients, many don’t realise how much their physical health may suffer too. The life expectancy for people with schizophrenia is around 10 – 25 years less than the general population. They also have two to three times the risk [...]
Data from nearly 14,000 men shows those who strongly identify as self-reliant are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. For the first time large-scale empirical research has linked notions of what it is to be a man with suicidal thoughts, which the researchers argue puts a spotlight on the societal attitudes that may be putting [...]
Jane* has lived with severe depression and anxiety for the last 15 years outside a small town in rural Victoria. For much of that time, she's felt isolated and alone in her struggle with her mental illness. "I've had several attempted suicides," she said. Jane has no doubt where she'd be if she wasn't getting [...]
Feelings that others are dismissive or blame parents commonly cited as reasons for not accessing help for children and young people with mental health concerns. "Cumbersome" mental health services with long waiting times and difficulties getting a referral also cited. Parents feeling blamed for their child's mental health difficulties has been cited as a common [...]
Why are we so shocked when we, or someone we know, becomes ill? Why are many people scared of illness and unable to support their loved ones when illness strikes? And why do so many people still think “it won’t happen to me”? These questions strike at the heart of our relationship between sickness and [...]
"I hope she doesn't get bullied," I confided to my husband on our daughter's first day of school. "I hope she doesn't bully," my husband replied. The thought that my darling angel could bully another child had never once entered my head. And when I did think about it I dismissed it immediately. I suspect [...]
Not everything online is evil, nor does danger lurk behind every new app that comes to market. But keeping up with your teens' and preteens' online activities is much like trying to nail jelly to the barn door - frustrating, futile and something bound to make you feel inept. Keep in mind that no app poses [...]
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 [...]
