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For some people, the days before a period bring mild irritability or low mood. For others, the emotional shift is so intense it can feel like becoming a different person entirely. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is far more than the occasional premenstrual mood swing. It is a severe, cyclical mood disorder that can disrupt relationships, work, social life, and a person’s sense of self.

Years of navigating a body that was misunderstood by the medical system, and inevitably missed by me, sparked a deep curiosity about the relationship between the physical and psychological experience. I now have the privilege to study that relationship formally, because I believe that science and lived experience should inform one another. I was in my early teens when my body began raising alarms – over and over again – alarms no one else could hear.

On April 15, we celebrate the birthday and legacy of Leonardo da Vinci, a true Renaissance master whose boundless curiosity bridged art, science, and invention. With an extraordinary talent for observation, he redefined creativity, leaving a timeless imprint as both an artist and a scientist, inspiring generations to come. In his research projects he showed us that creativity is born from infinite curiosity, from observing the world closely, and from being a good friend of ti

‘She’s a right little madam.’ You might think that was quite a mean thing for a parent to say about their child, wouldn’t you? Now imagine there is a little more context, that the parent said: ‘Oh Zoë’s a lovely little girl. She’s funny, sweet… except when she doesn’t get a lolly before bed, then she’s a right little madam!’ We can go a little further. Imagine the parent laughed after they said that. Suddenly not quite so bad, huh?

For me, OCD has always been about cycles, contradiction, and chaos. I’ve had OCD for as long as I can remember, but the first time anyone picked up on it properly, I was taken to the doctor for rashes on my hands around the age of eight. I remember trying to pass it off as something else. Dry skin, a reaction, anything but what it actually was. The doctor hardly even glanced at my hands before they said, quite plainly, that my cracked, oozing hands were likely from excessive

The last time I saw my grandfather, he didn't look like himself. Or maybe, he looked like a version of himself I hadn't been given enough time to get used to. That's the strange tax of distance. He lived in Bangalore, and I grew up in Texas, which meant I didn't watch his Parkinson's disease progress the way my cousins did: steadily, incrementally, in the daily way that allows you to adjust. I saw him in intervals. Years apart, sometimes.

It was November 2004 when I received my comorbid diagnosis: Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia and Major Depressive Disorder. At age 14, this had been a huge relief and also the first time I encountered what the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) were. For the first time, I had a valid explanation for my feelings of impending doom, my breathlessness and dizziness, and my rapid heart rate.

Throughout life, women often experience a series of shared transitions. From menstruation and reproductive health to pregnancy and motherhood, and later life stages such as menopause, quietly creating forms of connection and community. My own experience with menstruation was one of the first times I noticed how these unspoken communities began to form. When I got my first period, it felt like a secret I was embarrassed to carry.

As I approach the end of my master’s degree and find myself once again confronted by the question of what comes next, I am reminded of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. In this book, Plath beautifully illustrates indecision and future possibilities through her fig tree analogy. “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked."

I’ve grappled with an eating disorder for most of my life. A millennial, I grew up in a skinny-centric culture and watched shows like America’s Next Top Model, where aspiring models were berated for being anything more than size 0. And I berated myself for every pound I gained or failed to lose. In my 30s, I stand on the scale every day. On many days, I do it multiple times. Like other millennials, I grew up watching cycle after cycle of Tyra Banks chastising young women.

Pregnancy is a remarkable time of profound transformation for both the mother and the fetus. During these nine months, the pregnant person undergoes significant physical changes, including complex shifts in hormones and metabolism, which are essential to support the developing fetus. Alongside these physical demands, emotional challenges can increase levels of perceived stress and, in some cases, lead to mental health issues.

It seems that I do have a trend of finding life lessons from my hobbies and interests. Two years ago, I wrote a piece on how ballet taught me life lessons. Then, I wrote about the deep symbolism of children’s movies, and finally, Taylor Swift. These are just some of my hobbies and interests alongside my full-time job as a researcher, and part time PhD.

I am running for the animal world. I am running the 2026 London Marathon in support of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the charity that runs the London Zoo and a range of amazing international conservation programmes. The adult in me – and hopefully those of you who want to support my 42 km of sweat and tears – is proud to support the conservation charity, but I would be lying if I did not also acknowledge the child in me who still feels so excited at visiting the Zoo

Today, on International Bipolar Disorder Day, we celebrate not only awareness of the condition, but also the birthday and legacy of one of the most brilliant minds in art history: Vincent van Gogh. Public understanding of mental health has grown significantly in recent decades; however, during Van Gogh’s lifetime, emotional vulnerability was often silenced and left unsupported.

The impact of eating disorders on oral health is well documented, yet it remains an overlooked consequence of these complex mental health conditions. Research consistently shows that individuals with eating disorders often experience significantly poorer oral health than the general population, with an increased risk of dental erosion, tooth decay, gum problems, and dry mouth. Dentists are frequently among the first healthcare professionals to notice physical signs of underly

Food and nutrition are rarely thought of as an approach to improve symptoms of neurological disorders, yet for some people with epilepsy, changing what they eat can significantly reduce seizures. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes recurrent and unprovoked seizures due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain and affects approximately 70 million people worldwide. The most common treatment for epilepsy is anti-seizure medication and for many people this treatme

“Everyone has ADHD nowadays”. It’s a phrase that has become almost unavoidable- repeated across social media, echoed by politicians and woven into everyday conversation. However, as a woman in my mid-twenties who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, it is one that I find difficult to accept. For many people like me, receiving a diagnosis is not a trend, but a long-overdue explanation for patterns of behaviour that we have spent years trying to manage and make sen

A recent comment actor Timothée Chalamet made about ballet and opera in a recent interview with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey for Variety has dominated the headlines in the past few weeks. The Oscar-nominated Hollywood star has faced a strong backlash in response to his presumptuous remark that people no longer care about these art-forms – unlike they do about cinema. Some even speculated this misstep cost him the Academy Award for Best Actor for his leading role in Marty

There are countless approaches to try to explain why people think and behave in the ways that they do, and like many Inspire the Mind readers, I have always been interested in this question. As a teenager, I had heard about the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate, where scientists disagree over how much our traits and behaviours are determined by our genes, and how much they are shaped by the environment around us. Of course, the general answer tends to be: it’s a bit of both.

Of the nearly 50 years that I’ve been alive, I’ve been different people for varying lengths of time. I was a naturalist-in-waiting for a few years before I turned 10. I was a mostly reluctant student for around 20 years and a (failed) bassist for most of my youth. I’ve been a writer for nearly 25 years now. Since last year, I’ve been a fiancé. But, of all the different people I have been across my life, there is one I have never stopped being – a stammerer.

For many, football is a celebration. But for some families, match day can bring fear instead of excitement. During major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup or the European Championships, football often dominates conversations, social plans, and media coverage. Sport events for fanatics are a way to come together and support their favourite team, which creates a sense of unity, excitement, and shared identity. However, match days can bring anxiety and fear rather than enjo

What if the path to healing didn't start in your mind, but in your body? For many people living with trauma, chronic stress, or unexplained neurological symptoms, conventional approaches haven't brought relief. Somatic yoga is opening up new possibilities—not as a replacement for medical care, but as a powerful complement of working directly with the body's own capacity for regulation and change. I'm writing this as a somatic yoga practitioner and honorary researcher at King

After years of suffering with my mental health, in particular depression and OCD, I finally thought I had got what I had always dreamt of. I had met someone I was about to marry, and I was pregnant with my first child. I had never thought I would even be in the position to imagine a future like this. Then I experienced prenatal depression, and my world collapsed.

Last year, I spent six months living and working in Japan. I worked at the World Expo, a role that allowed me to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds. It was an experience that stayed with me long after I left, not because it was extreme or overwhelming, but because it quietly changed how I understand belonging and mental health. Being in a place where I didn’t fully fit in made me more aware of how much our sense of well-being is shaped by whether we feel connected