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About the AMHDM Series
The present series is one of the outcomes of a project organised by Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from EDIFY to showcase and reflect on science communication activities across a range of research programmes that were funded by the UKRI “Adolescence, Mental Health and the Developing Mind” (AMHDM) initiative. Having received an “Early Career Researchers – Networking and Knowledge Dissemination” award from UKRI, Dr Tine Opitz and her colleagues organised a mixture of training and networking activities to facilitate and enhance wider public impact from the AMHDM-funded programmes. The current article series is a collaborative project that allows ECRs and youth advisors from associated programmes to reflect on research processes, public engagement, as well as their roles and identities within their research environment.
Articles:
I Passed the Interview. I Failed the Break Room
My first job out of university was as a proofreader. People hear that and picture something calm, maybe a little dull. Nobody imagines it as a job that could push someone into a fear of leaving their own house, or into needing antidepressants just to function. The masking required in an office setting, however, drained everything I had. The work itself suited me. Long stretches of quiet, focused attention on a page, checking for consistency, catching errors other people had m
Anonymous
2 hours ago5 min read
When Helping Too Much Stops Helping
Sometimes, the wish to help can become part of the problem. And this does not happen only in psychotherapy. In families, friendships and romantic relationships, we can sometimes find ourselves repeatedly occupying familiar positions: the person who needs to be rescued, the person who must rescue everyone else, or the person who is blamed for what has gone wrong. These patterns can become so familiar that we barely notice them.
Benedetta Vai
1 day ago5 min read
Psychedelic Panic
Before I tried psychedelics I wasn't much interested in drugs. Perhaps a part of my neurotic tendencies was that I was terrified of losing control of myself and mostly stayed away from caffeine, alcohol, and cannabis. Psychedelics, though, weren't just a drug, but an opportunity for a breakthrough. I am Clare Ashcraft, a twenty-three-year-old writer living in Ohio, and in this blog I share my experience with psilocybin (magic mushrooms).
Clare Ashcraft
2 days ago6 min read
Cornwall Is Full of Talent, But Not Enough Jobs
At 24, I have two degrees, I am a published author of over 15 titles, and I had worked my way into a senior editorial position at a children's publishing house. I was building the kind of career I had imagined for myself, and in Cornwall, the place I’m lucky enough to have made my home. Then I was made redundant. Since losing my job, I have applied for roles in my industry, as well as hospitality and retail jobs that I assumed would be easier to find.
Millie Burdett
3 days ago6 min read
Digger and The Burning Forests of Indonesia
I was born and raised in the UK, where it is easy to look away. But, as an Indonesian part of the diaspora, I can’t help but ache as the land my ancestors lived on is burned and torn apart. By the end of September 2026, an estimated 1.92 million hectares of Indonesia have burned. The dry conditions behind the fires were caused by a natural climate pattern in which the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean becomes unusually warm.
Nuriza Tukiran
4 days ago5 min read
The Waiting Room After My Brother Died
My brother was my best friend before he was anything else. Not just family, not just the person I happened to grow up next to, but the person I called first, the person who knew which version of a story I was telling and which version was true. My name is Israel Temmie. I am a freelance writer, and much of what I do now involves trying to make sense of experiences by putting them into words.
Israel Temmie
Nov 65 min read
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
I met Mark Moore while desperately looking for a flat in London. We immediately connected over our passion for electronic music and the club scene. As S’Express’s lead DJ, Mark is a living piece of that culture. Our friendship has motivated me, as a psychiatry trainee, to investigate the mental health impact of clubbing – one of my favourite off-work activities. In the late 1980s, the Second Summer of Love saw British youth flocking to parties, dancing to the rhythm of acid h
Costanza Pavone
Nov 56 min read
Unpaid Caregiving Economy: Building Feminist Solidarity for Women
When I was fourteen, I was often pitted against my six-year-old sister. “Look at her, how much she cares about her father”, they would remark as my sister would watch my father take off his shoes, pick them up and keep them in their designated place. She was applauded for her work and hailed as the ‘domestic princess’, and her actions were construed as an act of love towards our father, leading to approval and validation.
Varisha Tariq
Nov 44 min read
Hiking, Gen Z, and Mental Health: Is There a Connection?
There is a growing interest in hiking amongst young people being driven by a desire for stronger real-life connection and a dissatisfaction with online socialising. Could this trend be an encouraging symptom of increasing mental-health awareness, in a generation deeply affected by pandemic-era loneliness and chronic screen use? The media often sees young people as the generation most addicted to the digital world.
Oliver Bell
Nov 35 min read
ACOTAR 6 Is Here: Let’s Talk About the Women of the 'Maasverse'
Sarah J. Maas, you’ve done it again. At this point, is there anything I don’t love about her? Like me, she loves sharks. What’s not to love about a woman who can create entire fictional worlds filled with magic, mayhem and characters who stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page?
Following the anticipated release of A Court of Splintered Harmony, the newest instalment in the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series, on 27 October 2026, I’ve found myself reflect
Riddhi Laijawala
Nov 26 min read
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