By better supporting at-risk families we can prevent the ‘transmission’ of mental illness from parents to children.
The many people who are mourning the loss of Phil Walsh should also reflect on what we as a society can do to help families avoid such tragedies.
AAP/Ben Macmahon
The killing of Phil Walsh is a tragedy for his family and the football community. It should also lead us to question whether we do enough to support families before the issues they face spiral out of control.
Women planning a family who abruptly stop using antidepressants may be putting themselves in harm’s way.
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Research published today has found an association between commonly used antidepressants and birth defects. But pregnant women face greater harms from stopping their medication abruptly.
Depression isn’t a single condition with a single cause.
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A budget speech that fails to discuss basic measures of how the economy going is revealing in itself. Joe Hockey is the first treasurer since at least 1981 not to mention GDP.
Unlike other chronic diseases, targeted spending on mental health care keeps people in the prime of their lives in the workforce.
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There’s a growing disconnect between grassroots awareness of mental illness and decisive action towards providing the full spectrum of care for those in need.
In this photo James Holmes and his defense attorney Daniel King sit in court for an advisement hearing at the Arapahoe County Justice Center, June 4 2013.
Andy Cross/Pool/Reuters
Jurors will likely be presented with conflicting notions of sanity and insanity. And they will be forced to confront widely held cultural assumptions about mental illness and violence.
Entry to prison presents an opportunity to identify mental illnesses and provide treatment that will continue after release.
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If you or someone you care about experience an emotional problem it won’t be long before you hear that cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT, is probably the treatment of choice.
Some fathers with mental illness feel discriminated against for their – perceived or actual – inability to meet the traditional paternal responsibilities of provider, protector and role-model.
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Where there is mental illness, there’s almost invariably social disapproval and discrimination. And a report released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies today shows fathers with mental illness…
Compared to other antisocial people, psychopaths lack empathy and are less able to understand punishment.
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The psychologist David Lykken once wrote that most violent crime could be prevented by cryogenically freezing all males aged 12 to 28. Although this option might be appealing at times for high school teachers…
Neuroscience holds the key to understanding the brain – and to developing more effective treatments for people with mental health disorders. But if we are to translate the many neuroscience discoveries…
People with social anxiety disorder believe they will be rejected when others see how anxious and awkward they are.
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Most of us would admit to feeling shy from time to time, or anxious about public speaking: the larger the crowd the greater the terror. It’s also not unusual to feel awkward while making small talk with…
Pensive: Winston Churchill in 1946, by Douglas Granville Chandor.
Cliff1066
It was 1930. Winston Churchill was a 55-year-old Conservative Party politician who had been a member of parliament for three decades. He had eventually risen to the position of chancellor of the exchequer…
Adolf Wölfli drawing from 1926: a prolific artist.
Wikimedia/Kulture Online
Organisations such as MIND work tirelessly to raise awareness of mental health problems and real progress has been made in destigmatising mental illness through campaigns such as Time to Change and Black…
It’s normal to feel distressed after a such an attack, but this generally reduces in the following days and weeks.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
People in Sydney and the broader community are feeling shocked, anxious, and sad about the actions of a lone, unstable person that led to the tragic loss of lives in the siege early this week. But there’s…
The growing chronic disease burden will require not only greater focus on prevention, but also innovative treatment.
AAP/Joe Castro
Australia’s health care arrangements do not work well for those with complex and chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer and mental illness, according to a federal government paper. These people need…
Disclosing mental illness in the office can be difficult. But it doesn’t need to be.
Image of office worker via KieferPix/Shutterstock
Deciding to disclose information about a non-obvious disability at work is complicated and potentially risky, no matter what you do for a living. For people with a mental health issue, like bipolar disorder…
For people with severe depression, incorrect application can worsen their condition or cause memory loss.
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Around 350 million people worldwide have depression. Antidepressant medications are often prescribed to treat the condition, alongside talking therapies and lifestyle changes such as regular exercise…