A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Eugene Lee Davids, University of Pretoria Each day we make thousands of decisions, starting with what to have for breakfast and what to wear. We make so many decisions that we don’t keep count. But it’s important to understand the way we make choices. This is because the approach we take can influence our mental [...]
Gemma Sharp, Monash University Following a particular diet or exercising a great deal are common and even encouraged in our health and image-conscious culture. With increased awareness of food allergies and other dietary requirements, it’s also not uncommon for someone to restrict or eliminate certain foods. But these behaviours may also be the sign of [...]
Scarlett Smout, University of Sydney and Katrina Champion, University of Sydney We know young people in Australia and worldwide are experiencing growing mental health challenges. The most recent national survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found nearly two in five (38.8%) 16- to 24-year-olds experienced symptoms of a mental disorder in the previous [...]
Kayla Steele, UNSW Sydney and Jill Newby, UNSW Sydney What’s the difference? is a new editorial product that explains the similarities and differences between commonly confused health and medical terms, and why they matter. The terms “shyness” and “social anxiety” are often used interchangeably because they both involve feeling uncomfortable in social situations. However, feeling [...]
Delphine Raucher-Chéné, McGill University Human interactions are complex and come with their share of disappointments. This can be the case, for instance, when a loved one doesn’t react to our distress or joy the way we wish they had. Communication accidents happen! Psychiatry teaches us, however, that if these mishaps occur over and over with [...]
Theresa Larkin, University of Wollongong and Susan J. Thomas, University of Wollongong Can you remember a time when you felt stressed leading up to a big life event and then afterwards felt like a weight had been lifted? This process – the ramping up of the stress response and then feeling this settle back down [...]
Michael Kyron, The University of Western Australia and Andrew Page, The University of Western Australia Traditional approaches to preventing suicide have focused on “who is at risk?” The aim is to identify an individual and to help them get support. But that approach doesn’t seem to be working. Australia’s suicide rates have remained stubbornly high. [...]
Ben Bullock, Swinburne University of Technology This article is the next in The Conversation’s six-part series on insomnia, which charts the rise of insomnia during industrialisation to sleep apps today. Read other articles in the series here. The 2004 movie The Machinist gives us a striking depiction, albeit a fictional one, of the psychological effects [...]
Join Andrew Fuller as he chats with guest Dr Karen Spielman on eating disorders in young people. Mental health and our relationship with food in a post-COVID era Raising the issue with someone you suspect has an eating disorder How to support someone who denies having the condition and is reluctant to accept help Managing [...]
Penelope Hasking, Curtin University and Stephen P. Lewis, University of Guelph For many people, self-harm can be a difficult behaviour to understand. It also comes with a lot of stigma. This can make talking about it difficult as people who self-harm often anticipate negative responses and judgement. But if someone tells you they’re self-harming, how [...]
