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