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Eating disorders thrive in times of crisis. They pounce on any disruption to everyday life and turn your recovery on its head, and I know...

Insight from the #5BigInsights “Parenthood isn’t a prerequisite to understand the importance of the early years” — HRH THE DUCHESS OF...

For years, many people have advocated that the majority of office work can be done from the comfort of one’s own home. If you are going...

Before we start to really dive in, I have a bit of a confession to make: I think I’m a perfectionist. Ok, well maybe it wasn’t the...

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common but serious mental illness that causes symptoms affecting emotions, thoughts, and daily...

When Sir David Attenborough joined Instagram in September, his account gained over 1 million followers in less than 5 hours and broke a...

Reflections from the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists on the latest series of PsychStar blogs I was glad to be invited to write this blog to conclude this fantastic series of work from our PsychStar participants. I’ve read the blogs with interest, and have found the topics thought-provoking and forward-thinking. I’ve worked as a psychiatrist for many years, and I specialise in Forensic psychiatry. I became the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in

As we adjust to a second lockdown, one musical voice keeps playing in my head: that of Rumi, the thirteenth-century Persian poet and Sufi. Like Anna Maria Di Brina, who wrote movingly in an earlier Inspire the Mind blog about how she derives solace from reading (as well as writing) poetry, I too am drawn to verse right now. Rumi’s poem ‘This Being Human is a Guesthouse’ in particular is working its magic. The poem casts the individual as a dwelling, allowing each chapter of l

I opened my phone a couple of days ago to a headline reading, “A Black doctor died in childbirth, highlighting a tragic trend that...

One of the perks of getting older is the constant sense of déjà vu when listening to political debates. So, here we go again,...

I am not a clinician, but I have come to acknowledge the 3 C’s of the clinic: communication between the patient and physician,...

My experiences working as a support worker for adults with intellectual disability, before starting medical school and alongside my studies, has given me valuable insight into the lives and experiences of the people that I supported. In this role, I gained an appreciation of some of the challenges faced by people with intellectual disability, including the impact of stigma and healthcare inequalities. I also was able to appreciate the vital role that specialist community team

During childhood and adolescence, parents play a crucial role in their child’s development, acting as their first teachers and preparing...

Mental health stigma and discrimination is slowly decreasing, as shown in the report ‘Time to Change’ in 2015. Given the current effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing/quarantining, the incidence of mental health problems is anticipated to rise. As a final year medical student on a placement in GP at the moment, I have witnessed first-hand the mental distress induced by the pandemic. Many people fear of contracting the virus while others have had th

Telling people to ‘speak up’ and ‘be kind’ on social media isn’t going to change the fact that mental health services are failing the working class Original tweet — @hattiegladwell on Twitter Mental health is becoming a more popular topic on social media, and that’s great for three reasons: It educates people who don’t have a personal understanding of mental illness, it encourages those who do to talk about it more openly, and it comforts those suffering, letting them know th

Disclaimer: This blog is by no means an endorsement, nor is it advocating illegal activities. It is purely a discussion about the growing interest in psychiatric research on the potential of psychedelics in novel treatment approaches in mental health. It should be noted that the use of recreational drugs such as psychedelics is, under law, a criminal activity. Psychedelics should only be used within the legal framework of one's county and under the supervision of a clinician

Think of the last time you had a cold sore, or the flu, or a bowel infection…I am sure you don’t have the fondest memories of that...

A lot has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 6 months. For those of us familiar with the inside of clinic rooms, one of the starkest changes may be the sudden reliance upon providing health care electronically. As a medical student, I spend a lot of time shadowing doctors in the clinic, and since returning to medical school for Year 5, my peers and I have increasingly noticed that consultations are taking place over the phone or on a video call. Over the past 5

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder with a global prevalence rate of 5–10%. ADHD presents with...

Psychiatry, like many other specialties within medicine, has a range of sub-specialties from which one can choose during higher training, which lead to further development of expertise in a certain area of psychiatry and a particular subset of patients. Neuropsychiatry is one of those sub-specialties. Simply defined, neuropsychiatry is the practice of managing mental illness in the context of an organic, neurological cause or associated lesion — depression in Parkinson’s dise

Salut, Hålla, Olá, Ciao, Kumusta: these are all ways to say ‘hello’ in various languages. The first letters also happen to spell out the...

Source: Iz zy on Unsplash Content Warning  — This blog deals with the topic of suicide and may be distressing to some readers. If any of the topics raised resonate with you or someone you know, at the end of this blog I have signposted charities and helplines that can provide a listening ear. About me Male mental health has always been at the forefront of my mind growing up with a brother with Asperger’s. I noticed how he really struggled his whole life with getting the right

A major topic in research over the past couple of decades has been understanding biological correlates (or as often referred to,...

Special note from the editors: This is the fifth blog of our new series, The future of mental health as seen by the future leaders in mental health, written by the 2020 ‘Psych Stars.’ Selected by The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Psych Star ambassadors are a group of final year medical students awarded for their particular interest and commitment to psychiatry. During the year-long scheme as Psych Stars, students are nurtured in their interest in psychiatry through the assi