A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
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 [...]
Mara Violato, University of Oxford; Jack Pollard, University of Oxford, and Tessa Reardon, University of Oxford Anxiety rates have been rising in recent years among children and young people, with the situation partially exacerbated by the pandemic. Occasional feelings of anxiety are normal, even in childhood – for example, a child may feel anxious about [...]
Vivienne Lewis, University of Canberra Season two of the series Heartstopper on Netflix brings out an issue that is often hidden – male eating disorders. Centred on two teenage boys in love, the show helps bust the common perception that eating disorders are only seen in girls and women. In one episode of the series, [...]
Emily Setty, University of Surrey Parents, teachers and politicians are worried about the appeal of so-called “online misogyny influencers” to boys and young men. These influencers post content to thousands of followers in videos and podcasts, offering advice about relationships, mental health and wellbeing, and achieving material success and status. They are believed to be [...]
