Mental Health & Wellbeing

‘Pornification of culture’ a threat

As a psychotherapist, I specialize in supporting women and men as they recover from working on the streets, in body rub parlours, brothels and as escorts. In the 12 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve found the vast majority grow up in desperation and deprivation, and become ensnared as adolescents within an exploitative machine that [...]

Study finds association between maternal exposure to agricultural pesticides and autism

Quinn, an autistic boy, and the line of toys he made before falling asleep. Repeatedly stacking or lining up objects is a behavior commonly associated with autism. Credit: Wikipedia. Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a [...]

Empathy May Be Genetic

Do you jump to help the less fortunate, cry during sad movie scenes or tweet and post the latest topics and photos that excite or move you? If yes, you may be among the 20 percent of our population that is genetically predisposed to empathy. - Stony Brook Univ. via Empathy May Be Genetic.

There’s No ‘Rushing Women’s Syndrome’ But Hormones Affect Mental Health

Political controversies often use the suffix “gate“ to embellish their significance. In pop psychology, the equivalent is the made-up “syndrome”, which involves a combination of symptoms and circumstances to explain behaviours and reactions. The latest is “rushing women’s syndrome”, which former swimmer Lisa Curry used to explain her hormonal shifts leading to her divorce. But [...]

Australian children and adolescents increasingly use psychotropic drugs

"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 [...]

Botox…..For Depression?

A single injection of Botox, which is typically used to improve the appearance of facial wrinkles, may be an effective treatment for depression. Investigators at the Hannover Medical School in Germany found that treating the facial muscles involved in emotion with Botox eases symptoms of depression."Our emotions are expressed by facial muscles, which in turn [...]

Anti-gay chaplains driving children to self-harm, says outgoing Labor Senator Louise Pratt

Outgoing Labor Senator Louise Pratt has used one of her final parliamentary speeches to call for the abolition of the school chaplaincy program, saying it is harming vulnerable gay and lesbian children. Senator Pratt said a survey found anti-gay chaplains had driven schoolchildren to self-harm and had told them to “pray the gay away”, claims [...]

Students Driving Wellbeing In One School

It’s interesting isn’t it? We often talk about approaches to student wellbeing in school, without ever really chatting to students themselves. Indeed I’ve spoken to many students in schools all over Australia, and whilst they are aware of phrases like resilience, social & emotional learning and/or wellbeing, not too many can actually articulate what those [...]

Music Or Books? Teen’s Choice Linked To Depression

Teenagers who whittle away their time listening to music are far more likely to suffer from depression than those who spend more time consuming other media, including books, say the authors of a new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The researchers called 106 adolescents - 46 of whom had been diagnosed [...]

A color-coded map of the world’s most and least emotional countries

Since 2009, the Gallup polling firm has surveyed people in 150 countries and territories on, among other things, their daily emotional experience. Their survey asks five questions, meant to gauge whether the respondent felt significant positive or negative emotions the day prior to the survey. The more times that people answer "yes" to questions such [...]

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