Mental Health Training

Have you ever experienced anxiety about your health, even when there’s no medical reason to do so?  Perhaps you worry about having a severe illness, despite your doctor reassuring you that you’re healthy. This anxiety could be a sign of  illness anxiety disorder . Illness anxiety disorder (IAD), formerly called hypochondria or hypochondriasis, is a type of anxiety disorder that affects millions of...

How to Make the Most of good stress and Manage the Bad by Marissa Downes Stress, or more accurately distress, occurs when the demands on a person exceed their abilities, skills, or coping strategies. “Stress is a response to a threat in any situation and is the body’s way of protecting you,” says Laura Kampel, a Senior Clinical Psychologist at the Black Dog Institute. It’s essential to recognise t...

Lying on a mat around a fire in the Costa Rican jungle, I was too terrified to speak. I had just taken iboga, a psychedelic plant medicine native to Central Africa, in a desperate attempt to avoid taking my own life. It was 2015, two years after I had retired from international rugby, where I was a celebrated full-back, playing for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks and Toulon, and had represented Scot...

Do I have Misophonia? Have you ever felt a strong adverse reaction to sounds that most people find insignificant, such as someone eating or tapping their feet, becoming unbearable? If so, you may be experiencing misophonia, a relatively unknown auditory disorder that affects a small percentage of the population. What is Misophonia? Misophonia, or selective sound sensitivity syndrome, affects one i...

I took magic mushrooms to relieve the stress of motherhood. Do you know that saying about the Sixties? If you remember them, you weren’t there? My parents remember the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969, where Bob Dylan headlined. They popped by out of curiosity and left at 8 pm. My folks were — and still are — wonderfully straight. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that I was brou...

Why Do I Feel More Anxious at Night? The quiet hours can bring a lot of internal chatter, and here’s how to deal with it. Whenever you try to fall asleep at night, many anxious thoughts and embarrassing memories come racing into your mind, preventing you from drifting off. Why does this happen, and can you do anything about it? Experts say that whether you’re throbbing through tomorrow’s to-do lis...

The torrent of personal revelations that has  poured from Prince Harry  of late has been met with a range of reactions, from sympathy through to fury. But quite why he has pressed the nuclear button and blown up all before him, in such a public, uncompromising fashion, has remained a puzzle to some. One possible explanation, suggested earlier this month by Philip Ingram, a former colonel in the Br...

You will learn more about what developmental disabilities are, the associated risk factors, and different interventions that can help individuals with developmental disabilities reach their goals. Developmental disability  Developmental disability is a term used to describe physical or mental impairments caused by particular disorders or illnesses. It includes conditions such as Autism, now called...

Everyone seems to be on psychedelics except me. People will go to the unlikeliest of places to sort their heads out, be it the internet, the rainforests of the Amazon, or even suburbia in London, UK. Like noticing the first grey hairs, I suppose there comes a time in midlife when many of us think: is everyone on drugs but me? These rude awakenings of ageing are inevitable – I just hadn’t counted o...

Aphasia. Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from damage or injury to the language parts of the brain. It's usually caused by a stroke but can also be caused by other brain injuries, such as a tumour or head injury. People with aphasia may have difficulty understanding spoken and written language, speaking, reading and writing. They may also find it challenging to communicate effectiv...

We’re all looking for that elusive, ‘spark’ – but what really ignites a long-lasting relationship? There is good news, Science is closing in on the answers. For centuries, our romantic fates were thought to be written in the stars. Wealthy families would even pay fortunes to have a matchmaker foretell the success, or failure of a potential marriage. Despite the lack of any good evidence for its ac...

Micro-dosing psychedelics and mental health. Continuing with the psychedelic theme, and the potential benefits to mental health have been covered in a previous article and podcast. The key issues were the potential therapeutic benefits of using these compounds. After all, there was a 40-year pause on psychedelic research following the prohibition of these substances. There are some cynics and conc...

Have you ever wondered what the secret to overall good health is?  Turns out, it all starts with your gut. The gut microbiome is an ecosystem of hundreds to thousands of microbial species living within the body. These populations affect our health, fertility, and even our longevity. There is increasing evidence that the mixture of microorganisms found in the gut and intestinal tract plays a key ro...

The term “psychedelic” is derived from the Ancient Greek words “psyche” (meaning “mind”) and “delos” (which means “to manifest”). The British-born Canadian psychiatrist Humphry Osmond coined it in a letter to author Aldous Huxley in 1956. Psychotropic medication definition.  Is any drug prescribed to stabilise or improve mood, mental status, or behaviour? It’s an umbrella term for many medications...

Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, but you are not alone if you have experienced a mental health challenge over the past few years. We were already in an epidemic of anxiety before the pandemic, and those rates have continued to climb. The international prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25 per cent in the first year of the pandemic, according to the World Hea...

A previous podcast discussed how jet-lag medication was used to treat young people for sleep problems. A dietary supplement containing melatonin was readily available in health shops throughout the United Kingdom until it was banned. In some cases, melatonin supplements may also contain serotonin. Be mindful that the human body can make melatonin from the enzymatic conversion of serotonin into mel...

Helping your child sleep better. The number of children being prescribed the previous jet lag hormone melatonin to help their child sleep has nearly tripled in the past seven years. Melatonin is indeed not a sleep hormone but a biological marker of darkness.” For example, in humans and other diurnal animals, the release of melatonin into the bloodstream helps prepare the body for sleep.  A recent...

Building upon a previous podcast on self-talk because many of us, when we read something, you hear a little voice in our head. Most of us would refer to this as an inner monologue. Just in case you didn’t know, many individuals don’t have one.  Individuals often make assumptions about someone’s internal experiences, being identical for everyone, such as talking to themselves or seeing words in the...

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in 2020, young adults aged 18 to 24 had the highest prevalence of mental health issues. Though mental health issues are common among Gen Z, indi­vid­u­als born between 1995 and 2010 — are grow­ing up in an age of increased stress and anxiety. And been called the most depressed generation are more likely to seek mental health counselling or ther...

As the Christmas holiday is approaching, many consider it a magical and charming time for adults and children alike. However, it’s the least wonderful time of the year for sunlight. Winter blues or seasonal affective disorder? As many as one in five Americans report “winter blues” beginning around this time of year, making you feel more cranky and lethargic. For about one in twenty Americans, symp...

Positive Self Talk Self-talk:  How often do you hear that little voice in your head tell you that you aren’t good enough? Negative self-talk can hinder your progress in life and hold you back from fulfilling your dreams. There are ways to turn your inner voice into a positive one.   Follow the ten tips below  and create a new positive and pleasing voice that will build your confidence and improve...

Overcome Obstacles by Removing Self-Doubt People doubt themselves and their abilities. When it becomes a chronic situation, it can hold people back from getting what they want. Confidence will break through the barriers caused by obstacles. You need to recognize when an obstacle is holding you back. Sometimes, people make excuses for their situations and pretend like they don’t exist. For instance...

Six Beneficial Ways to Deal with Critical People Constructive criticism is fine, but some people are so relentlessly negative that they can suck the joy out of life. No matter what happy news you might have, they are guaranteed to find the cloud to fit your silver lining.  Here are 6 strategies you can use to deal with hypercritical people.  Don’t Take It Personally It’s a safe bet that it's not y...

An individual’s personality traits define how they perceive the world around them. It is a set of characteristics and features that cause them to think, feel, and behave in a particular way. Personality traits are characteristic of enduring behavioural and emotional patterns rather than isolated occurrences. Although all aspects of your personality stem from both nature and nurture, many models of...

Doom and Gloom Thinking Expecting the worst to happen in any situation can harm your mental health. How do we stop this unhealthy thinking Imagine you’ve applied for a dream appointment and have now been nominated for the second round of interviews. Do you celebrate your progress and start preparing for the new challenge? Or do you immediately start imagining a rejection, agonising over what it wi...