Minding Your Mind

When does someone with a mental illness need to go to hospital? How does it happen, especially if the person doesn’t want to go? What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary hospitalisation? What happens to someone who is in hospital for a mental illness? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topic...

Can your mind help you control pain? Is there a difference between physical and emotional pain? How similar is the pain of getting dumped by your partner to the pain of putting your hand on a hotplate? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and s...

Should we regret our mistakes, or just move on? What purpose does feeling guilty serve? When are regret and guilt useful? Can we get stuck on regretting the past and feeling guilty in a way that damages our mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more ab...

What causes our moods? Why are some people more moody than others? Do we get less moody as we get older?  Can we learn to control or at least influence our moods ? How do we cheer ourselves up when in a bad mood? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about...

Denial is when we pretend something isn’t happening, and deliberately don’t think about it.  Humans do it a lot. ‘No, I don’t have a drinking problem.’ ‘I’m not stressed, just a bit busy at work’. ‘I’m fine. I feel great’. Why do we go into denial?  How do we stop? Is denial sometimes useful? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com &n...

How much influence does what you eat and drink have on your mental health? What should you eat and drink for good mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth....

Atypical depression is a type of depression that is more episodic. Someone feels fine for a few days, then plunges into a deep depression for the next few. Then the pattern repeats. What causes it and how is it treated? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more abou...

How important is friendship at different stages of life? How important is it for good mental health? How do you make friends? What makes a good friend? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at&...

If you are living with someone who has mental illness, what should do you do?  How can you help? What are the right, and wrong, things to say and do? And how do you take care of yourself? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support se...

Many parents say boys and girls are different from day 1. Boys run around more, girls do quieter activities. Is that just people bringing their own preconceptions and prejudices into it, or is there some physiological truth there? How different are the genders? Are men more aggressive? Women more caring? What about those who don’t feel that the gender identity they were given at birth fits? If you...

How are mental illness and mental health conditions diagnosed? How often do mental health professionals get it right? Are they getting better at it?   Shouldn’t there be a machine by now, that can just look at our brain and tell us exactly what is going on? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics...

Many of us have too much stuff, but find it hard to get rid of any of it. Who knows, you just might need that year 10 maths book one day. For some, hoarding becomes a real problem that interferes with their life. Why do people hoard? How do you treat hoarding? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d...

What makes us want to get to the top? What is ambition?  Where does it come from? What is the right mix between having goals, but not being so focussed on them that we forget to enjoy the ride? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at mindingyourmind2@gmail.com . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services...

Do we have kids because of a genetically strong instinct? Or because we want to nurture and love? Could it be because we want to feel important? Or even be because we think doing so might help us become better people? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about...

Finally, the biggest question of all. Who are you? How do we work out our identity? How does it change through life? How does our sense of our who we are affect our mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you ca...

Whenever we talk to someone at work, socially or at home, status is almost always a factor. How is our status determined? Is it all about relative power, or at least our perception of it?  How does our status affect our mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. T...

Everyone has experienced a bully at school or in the workplace. How do you deal with bullies? Why do some people bully others? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth.go...

When bad things happen – a loved one dies, a natural disaster, the end of a relationship - how do we deal with it? Can we learn to cope better? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  ww...

We think we have free will, but do we? When facing with traffic jams, deadlines, or a free weekend, do we behave very predictably? Is will power all it is cracked up to be? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can conta...

Narcissism involves inflated self-importance, inability to handle criticism, a need for admiration and a disregard for the feelings of others. But aren’t we are all a bit like that sometimes? How do you deal with narcissists? What to do you do if you have some of those tendencies yourself? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let the...

Your self-esteem is what you think of yourself. Do you think you’re a good person, and capable of doing things? Some people have low self-esteem. Others have very high self-esteem. What determines our self-esteem?  How important is it? If our self-esteem is low, how can we raise it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them...

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? How is it diagnosed and treated? Do kids sometimes grow out of it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth.gov.au &nbsp...

Who gets nervous walking alone into a party? Many of us are shy and socially anxious. What can we do about it? Kids often have separation anxiety, where they are uncomfortable being separated from parents. How can it be treated? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out...

What is your subconscious? What is happening in your mind, apart from the thoughts and feelings you are aware of? When you approach a puddle and your steps automatically adjust so your foot lands exactly at the edge, how does that happen? What is instinct? If you think, ‘I don’t trust that guy?’ but don’t know why, is your subconscious analysing tone of voice, patterns of speech, facial expression...

When someone does you wrong, do you hold a grudge? And sometimes quite enjoy it? Is taking the high road and forgiving wrongdoers better for your mental health? Can forgiveness actually be a pragmatic, even selfish, act that we do because we know it will make us feel better? Can we learn to forgive people, even when we don’t want to?