Generation Next Blog

June 2014

Australian children and adolescents increasingly use psychotropic drugs

By |2020-11-16T11:34:08+11:00June 21st, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

"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?

By |2014-06-21T22:03:32+10:00June 20th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

Father wins High Court challenge on federal funding of school chaplains program

By |2014-06-21T22:12:27+10:00June 19th, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

The decision could undermine the federal government's recent decision to allocate $245.3 million to continue running the chaplaincy program for another five years. That funding was intended specifically for schools to hire faith-based chaplains rather than social workers. Under the program, 3700 schools are eligible for up to $72,000 funding to employ chaplains. In a [...]

You’re probably more racist than you think

By |2014-06-21T23:17:34+10:00June 18th, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , |

Although it is perfectly possible to be both stupid and racist, only someone who hasn’t personally experienced it could be ignorant enough to claim racism not only doesn’t exist but is really just an expression of stupidity, and hence we should tolerate it as fact of life. And yet, the internet is littered with the opinions of [...]

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

By |2014-06-21T23:23:27+10:00June 18th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

Is The Science Of Brain Imaging Overrated?

By |2014-06-16T01:16:25+10:00June 16th, 2014|Categories: Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Hardly a week passes without some sensational news about brain scans unleashing yet another secret of our cognitive faculties. Very recently I stumbled upon the news that according to recent research neuroscientists can tell, depending on your brain responses, whether you and your significant one will still be together in a few years: “You might hide it from [...]

Students Driving Wellbeing In One School

By |2014-06-16T00:55:28+10:00June 16th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

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

By |2014-06-16T00:32:04+10:00June 16th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

What’s Behind Bieber Fever? Neuroscience Offers Explanation

By |2014-06-16T00:25:31+10:00June 16th, 2014|Categories: Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The symptoms include uncontrollable screaming, swooning and spending hours on Twitter and Facebook. It primarily affects preteen and teen girls, yet it is highly contagious and can infect mothers, too. In severe cases, sufferers camp out on sidewalks for days. "The appeal for me is, of course, that he's beautiful," said 15-year-old Emma Reeves of [...]

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

By |2014-06-16T00:17:34+10:00June 16th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |

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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