Positivity
There is a fundamental asymmetry between human beings' negative and positive emotions. For good evolutionary biological reasons our negative emotions are stronger, yet we experience positivity more...
View ArticleGirls and autism
Most people tend to think of autism as a male disorder, the character in the film Rain Man often comes to mind. But emerging research shows that girls often have different symptoms which cause them to...
View ArticleObsessions and compulsions
Most people have strange, intrusive thoughts. They can be embarrassing or completely irrational, so we don’t often talk about them. But for some these thoughts are impossible to stop, and can lead to...
View ArticleIndigenous hope and recovery
In this NAIDOC Week 2015, we pay a visit to The Glen—a male-specific drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre on the Central Coast of NSW run by the Ngaimpe Aboriginal Corporation.
View ArticleLove, rock 'n' roll, and 'the S word'
Jeremy Oxley fronted the Australia '80s cult rock ‘n' roll band Sunnyboys until his erratic behaviour led to its demise. After years of battling with schizophrenia he met his love, Mary Griffiths, who...
View ArticleChildren and their emotions
Are children are more anxious these days? There’s no way to be really sure, but according to some researchers anxiety is one of the more common mental health problems that kids are facing.
View ArticleRay of Light
A media project called 'Ray of Light' connects young people who have suffered from different triggers of depression and survived suicide attempts, and moved on through treatment and recovery.
View ArticleDepression treatment: the way forward
A look at a new era of personalised depression treatment combining knowledge from neuroscience, psychiatry and psychology.
View ArticleThe second brain
Leading edge science is discovering that our brain and mental health are influenced by what goes on in the gut.
View ArticleThe addicted mind
The addicted mind is complex, and we know from past history that there’s no easy fix.
View ArticleEveryone is watching
We hear the story of one man’s experience of this delusion, and a psychiatrist who reflects on the impact that popular culture can have on our mental health.
View ArticlePsychoanalysis: a contemporary treatment?
Combined with knowledge from modern neuroscience and applied to the treatment of trauma and serious mental disorders, could psychoanalysis be a treatment for our times
View ArticleThe economics of behaviour
We know that human beings misbehave—we’re irrational, indecisive and passionate—yet conventional economics assumes that we will always behave logically. However behavioural economics knows us better,...
View ArticleDementia—hopes and imaginings
Dementia affects around 350,000 Australians. Whilst there’s still no cure, a better insight into the experience of dementia can help to improve the care and quality of life for those affected.
View ArticleYou've gotta laugh!
Living with mental illness is no laughing matter but when stand-up comedians draw on their own personal experience for their material it can be therapeutically powerful and hilarious.
View ArticleDepression and #ReasonsToStayAlive
At the age of 24, acclaimed novelist Matt Haig’s world suddenly fell apart—he could no longer see a reason to live. Haig’s memoir is an honest and inspiring account of how he emerged from severe...
View ArticleImaginary illness
Some people worry about their health more than others, but although many of us have pondered over whether an ache or pain could be the sign of something more sinister, for those people with...
View ArticleDiet on the brain
We know that as a nation we’re more overweight than ever—losing kilos is a major challenge for many, despite the plethora of diet information around us—but we can equip our mind to take better control.
View ArticleNeurotribes
When writer Steve Silberman noticed a high proportion of Silicon Valley workers who had children with autism—and the massive increase in diagnoses of autism in the mid 90s—he decided to investigate.
View ArticleMusic of memory
Our relationship with music begins at birth, if not before, and plays a role in the formation of our identity when we are young. Now a heart-warming movement called Music & Memory is creating...
View ArticleThe use and abuse of benzos
Remember the Rolling Stones hit Mothers Little Helper? The song reflected the massive increase in the use of benzodiazepines during the early 1960s—particularly those under the brand name of Valium....
View ArticleWomen, mental health, and hormones
Women experience depression twice as much as men, and four times as much anxiety—yet their mental health has not had high priority. Biological, social and psychological factors mean that men and women...
View ArticleDistorted love
Psychological abuse is part and parcel of the unacceptable level of family violence—it’s particularly challenging to recognise and often hidden behind closed doors. This week a family therapist casts...
View ArticleScience of self
Scientists and philosophers have been perplexed by our sense of the self for millennia. Now, by investigating neurological conditions which disrupt the self—such as body identity disorder,...
View ArticleBefore I forget
Imagine being in your 40s and having a diagnosis of dementia—at the prime of your life. Twenty years ago this happened to Christine Bryden. Despite having difficulty remembering what she’s doing—often...
View ArticleProject happiness
Happiness—it’s elusive, ephemeral, and greatly desired. But how do you nail it? One writer in New York created a personal ‘Happiness Project’. After intensive research, she spent one year becoming a...
View ArticleChildren and their emotions
Are children are more anxious these days? There’s no way to be really sure, but according to some researchers anxiety is one of the more common mental health problems that kids are facing.
View ArticleGirls and autism
Most people tend to think of autism as a male disorder, the character in the film Rain Man often comes to mind. But emerging research shows that girls often have different symptoms which cause them to...
View ArticleEveryone is watching
We hear the story of one man’s experience of this delusion, and a psychiatrist who reflects on the impact that popular culture can have on our mental health.
View ArticleThe second brain
Leading edge science is discovering that our brain and mental health are influenced by what goes on in the gut.
View ArticleMusic of memory
Our relationship with music begins at birth, if not before, and plays a role in the formation of our identity when we are young. Now a heart-warming movement called Music & Memory is creating...
View ArticleThe story of your brain
Locked in the darkness of your skull—the grey mush of your brain devises rich narratives of your reality and identity. Neuroscientist David Eagleman draws on his extensive brain research to tell the...
View ArticleThe boxer's story
Australian boxing champion from the 1960s Johnny Famechon describes the fight of his life. His remarkable recovery from brain injury was the result of a Goju Karate expert's intensive movement...
View ArticleIt's a conspiracy
9/11 was an inside job, Princess Diana was murdered in a government plot, and the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked. There’s a conspiracy theory for just about every major event—but believers aren’t...
View ArticleOpen Dialogue
When people reach a crisis point with their mental health, the last thing they need is to feel they are being judged and their reality denied. More than 25 years ago in a small town in Western...
View ArticleStill Alice and other stories of neuroscience
Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist turned author. Little did she know that her first self-published novel about early onset dementia—Still Alice—would hit the best seller list. Now Lisa Genova has...
View ArticleBreaking the ice
We’re in the midst of an ice epidemic—or are we? It's known that current methamphetamine users are switching from speed to the stronger form of crystal meth or ice. As a result, the risk of addiction...
View Article
