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Authors Note: If you are interested in taking part in the CODA study, please visit our CODA study page or email coda@kcl.ac.uk . For...

As a third-year psychology student, I’ve felt the stress of juggling assignments and staying focused in classes, especially during exam...

On a busy road, when the traffic rushes like water breaking through a dam and the lights refuse to turn red, the decision you may make to run across when there is a small break between cars, is a conscious one. Our ability to make informed decisions is what allows us to take responsibility for our actions. Every choice we make, every action we take is a result of neuronal pathways firing in a particular sequence in various areas of the brain. An area called the pre-frontal

The lecture theatre is abuzz with voices. I see a group of girls hunched over a laptop, laughing. The professor is standing by the...

Dr Annabel Sowemimo is a senior clinician in sexual and reproductive health, a part-time PhD student, founder of a charity Reproductive...

My name is Kat Frere-Smith, and I am a third-year National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent

When perimenopause hit, it triggered a perfect storm , which led to me discovering I was Autistic, aged 58. After my autism...

As a researcher working in the field of perinatal psychiatry, I am part of a team that focuses on two key periods, pregnancy, and the postpa

A Journey from Ancient Infections to Modern Mental Health The notion that 8% of our genome is derived from ancient viruses sounds like a...

During my clinical training as a psychiatrist, I had access to the emotional worlds of my patients in every aspect. This could be...

It is ADHD Awareness Month, and I often find myself reflecting on my own diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the challenges and strengths it's brought to my life. However, what I have frequently found is ADHD is often discussed in terms of its impairments. Struggling to concentrate. Forgetfulness. Emotional dysregulation, and a predisposition to depression. Problems with sleep. Difficulties meeting potential at school, work and beyond. The l

German-Kenyan collaboration to encourage brain awareness in Kisumu “Afya ya akili” means “mental health” in Swahili. The approach to...

The Hidden Key to Beating Depression? Ketamine, a well-known sedative , has gained a lot of attention in the world of neuroscience and...

The perinatal period, which spans from pregnancy through to the first year after childbirth, can be a particularly challenging time for...

Humans are inherently social beings, and our daily interactions with others – whether family, friends, colleagues, or strangers – shape...

This June we launched the ASPIRE study, aiming to understand how we can use inflammation blood tests to identify people with depression...

The FREED project In September 2024 we will be celebrating the 10th birthday of FREED (first episode rapid early intervention for eating...

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious eating disorder affecting the body and brain, with significant implications for physical and mental...

Trigger warning: This article discusses suicide. Some readers may find this distressing. Massive increases in referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the last few years have led health professionals, including myself as a doctor, to question why. Child mental health is important to me as I have personally seen peers experience mental health problems at school, and I believe this is such a crucial time to offer support and interventions. Looking a

At some point in life, we all feel some unnecessary jitters. It might manifest in stuttered words during a presentation or a hammering...

In my second year of medical school, I had the opportunity to choose my student-selected component of the course. There were several interesting options, ranging from short language courses to exploring case studies in medical law. However, one option stood out: ‘Cultural psychiatry.’ As a woman of colour, I'd always been fascinated with how culture shapes our understanding of mental health. In my Nigerian community, for instance, mental illness is often shrouded in stigma,

A few months ago, while walking home, I heard a child screaming about not wanting to leave the playground. The parents were also shouting, “Stop crying… we won’t go the playground anymore… if you don’t stop crying we will leave you here.” The child, around 3 years old, was exhausted. When he heard his parents threatening him, he started screaming even more until, eventually, he stopped crying and went back on his bike to go home. What happened? A child, most likely exhausted

Part II: The effect of Ozempic on people suffering with eating disorders Trigger warning: The following article contains discussions...

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of suicide It is 2024 and there are still no highly-effective treatment options for...