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

Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash 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 ten

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

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily known for its motor symptoms. However, a substantial proportion of people living with Parkinson’s have a wide range of non-motor symptoms, among which visual hallucinations are very frequent. Approximately 60% of patients are estimated to develop this symptom within 12 years of diagnosis. Dementia can be defined as a decline of thinking skills (for example, memory, language) that significantly interferes with dail

When I turned to my GP regarding the issues with my menstrual cycle, I expected more clarity. But after I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), I was more confused than ever before. It wasn't clearly explained what that meant but I was frankly advised to consider going on the oral contraceptive pill or changing my lifestyle to lose weight. At the time, that suggestion only fuelled my insecurities and anxiety.

In 1989, the reign of Romania’s Communist leader came to a sudden, brutal end when Nicolae Ceauşescu was executed by firing squad on live television. In the revolution that followed, an intrigued Western world rushed into a nation long sealed off from view – only to discover nearly 170,000 abandoned children being raised in warehouse-like orphanages.

Most of us have felt “lost for words” – during moments of heartbreak, awe, or pure surprise. But under the influence of psychedelics like psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, this experience can go much further. People often describe a strange silence within their minds. Words slip away. Sentences dissolve. Even the very sense of I begins to fade. As someone who has just completed a PhD in neuroscience, my research has focused on how the brain’s wiring support

While ongoing research continues to sound alarm bells that mental health diagnoses are consistently and dependably rising in the UK, this does not seem to have translated into panic and action, and one could be forgiven for thinking it has fallen on deaf ears. In the last 10 years there has been a 20% increase in the number of adults being clinically assessed to have a common mental health condition; in young adults the increase is even more stark, at 47% within the same peri

As a researcher working at the intersection of digital technologies and women’s health, it is always so empowering to see the latest advancements in FemTech (tech-driven products like apps and wearable devices to address female health, like pregnancy and menopause) such as menstrual blood being discovered as a valuable biomarker, and wearable products for menopause detection. It empowers me, as a South Asian woman in science, to do the work I do.

When treating patients, we often focus primarily on improving their clinical outcomes, and as such inadvertently overlook their broader care needs. These include their perceived problems across health, social, service, and daily functioning areas. Individuals with psychosis, a mental condition characterized by a distortion of reality, often experience poor overall functioning, meaning a difficulty in managing everyday activities, including self-care, social relationships, an

Heartbreak is a common experience, often understood as a time of emotional crisis which can be resolved with feeling-based healing. Some typical advice you may have heard (or given) is: “the feeling will pass, you’ll get over it”, or “sit with your emotions”. But this advice feeds into the stigma that heartbreak is solely an emotional experience and pays no mind to all the physiological impacts. I am a student on the MSc Psychology and Neuroscience of Mind-Body Interface.

I never had to think when I switched between speaking Tamil and English, it was second nature to me. I spoke Tamil at home and English at school, sometimes mixing the two without realising I did. I had never given much thought to the role of an interpreter. I had always translated for my parents during appointments and considered it normal. It wasn’t until I began observing GP appointments as a student that I realised how many details were overlooked.

The question surrounding the innate and cultural forces that can shape an individual goes as far as biology and social sciences go. Psychiatry can be understood as a hybrid medical speciality. While biological factors, such as genetics, hormones, and brain structure and function, play a crucial role in explaining the mechanisms of mental health disorders, the field is also deeply shaped by social influences. Our environment and life experiences profoundly affect how we feel

The healthcare sector’s overwhelming complacency with current female hormonal contraceptives has resulted in a lack of innovation for new methods. Between 2017 and 2020, pharmaceutical companies funded only 20-25 clinical trials worldwide for contraception options, with most studies focusing on incremental changes to existing hormonal contraception options. By comparison, For some women who use hormonal contraception, serious side effects can emerge, and alternative options a

Surrounded by echoes of doctors, nurses, fluorescent lights beaming above, the clatter of medical equipment, a flurry of instructions, sensations, reassurance, overflowing emotions, she lays there as her body and mind are going through unimaginable things, an embodiment of strength, ready to give birth. She feels confused, senses judgement and thinks: “How will I be able to do this?” Motherhood is often seen as a time of significant personal change, filled with both joy and

Disability due to chronic pain is a massive issue in the UK, with millions of people across the country unable to work, see their friends, or perform everyday tasks because of their condition. As an individual with experience in researching chronic pain and educating others about it, I am passionate about understanding the holistic impact pain has on individuals and how this can be managed. 

On ‘The Traitors UK’, an award-winning reality TV competition, strangers trust and betray one another for the chance to win up to £120,000 (and one more day in the presence of Claudia Winkleman’s fringe). There may be no official strategy for winning, but the players who last longest all seem to understand one thing: psychology.

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects the brain and causes issues with memory, behaviour, emotions, and communication. The most common form is Alzheimer’s disease, which is characterised by a slow decline in cognitive and motor functioning, with symptoms including trouble concentrating, finding the right words to communicate, issues with remembering events, people and places, and controlling movements. Many individuals also experience secondary me

I will shift. Two teenagers scribbled this same line repeatedly in their journals. Both later died by suicide after extensive interactions with Character.AI chatbots

The first time I heard about circadian rhythms was in my high school biology class. I remember breezing past the term, memorising that “circadian rhythms = sleep-wake cycles,” and not thinking much more about it. That is, until I started to study them in graduate school.

I am a mental health researcher working on the HappyMums project, a European consortium that focuses on understanding depression in pregnancy. At King’s College London, we are leading a clinical study involving the use of a smartphone application, called the HappyMums App.  Since the start of our project, much of our discussions have been about privacy and data sharing. The idea of having a large-scale dataset encompassing a thousand participants, across seven different sites

When we think about individuals who are likely to consume alcohol in large quantities, we often think about college-aged students or middle-aged adults. However, one important age group is often overlooked: older adults. Alcohol consumption in this group, specifically among individuals aged 60 years and over, is increasing at a faster rate than previous generations, raising concerns about the health consequences of alcohol use in ageing populations.

Some things in life you never expect to lose. Your orgasm is one of them.

More than a century ago, psychiatrists spoke of ‘climacteric insanity’: the strange and sudden madness said to strike women at the end of their reproductive years. Physicians in the late 19th century described vivid delusions, sleeplessness, and emotional turmoil appearing ‘at the change of life’, when the female body ‘lost its balance’.

I am a psychiatrist with a long interest in researching topics like mental capacity, that lie in the borderlands between psychological medicine, ethics, and law. In this context, I do something unusual for a psychiatry professor: I teach psychiatry in a law school.

On a Sunday evening in August this year, I was on my first on-call shift as a trainee psychiatrist in a leafy psychiatric hospital. After a day of walking between old buildings which had been converted into wards, tending to patients’ mental and physical health needs, I decided to have dinner on the grounds.