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Artwork by Olivia Marsh As my friends and I approach our 25th birthdays, we have been apprehensively awaiting the arrival of our text messages from the NHS inviting us to our first cervical screenings. These screenings, previously referred to as smear tests, are offered every 5 years to women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to check cervical health and help prevent cervical cancer. During the appointment, a tube-shaped tool called a speculum is inserted into the vagina to push open the vaginal walls, and a sample of cells is taken from the cervix for testing. The sample is checked for specific types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that can cause abnormal cell changes and significantly increase the risk of cervical cancer. A speculum can be quite an invasive instrument for a tender muscle; while some feel only pressure, many describe insertion as uncomfortable, and for a few, it can be painful. Since the 19th century, there has been little change to the cold, metal design of the device. Only recently has innovation begun to consider comfort during appointments. Students in the Netherlands designed the ‘Lilium’ in 2024, a speculum made from rubber that allows for gentle opening, which received worldwide celebration. While alterations can be made to the device, the nature of gynaecological appointments shapes a power dynamic that reflects the vulnerability women continuously encounter. A way around this can be the option of self-insertion, which, when offered, is thought to reduce anxiety and encourage attendance. Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer amongst women, and of the estimated 880 deaths each year in the UK, 99.8% are thought to be preventable. Numerous challenges can explain avoidance of these appointments, shaped by an individual’s intersecting identities and experiences. Common examples include medical mistrust, history of sexual trauma, disability, fear, misconceptions about the HPV vaccination and the sexual transmission of HPV. Since graduating from KCL, studying MSc Psychiatric Research, I’ve been researching the lived experiences of inequalities in women’s health with the aim of spreading awareness. Lying in the Shadow of Exploitation Artwork by Olivia Marsh Medical mistrust is steeped in a history of exploiting the female body; some of the most grotesque examples of gynaecological research were the experiments of J. Marion Sims. The lack of care and protection the ill-fittingly titled “Father of Gynaecology” showed for the enslaved Black women he relentlessly operated on without anaesthesia has left its scar. Institutionalised racism and medical stereotypes have resulted in people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds suffering poorer health outcomes and turning away from routine exams. The UK government has found that people from BAME backgrounds are less likely to attend their cervical screenings than White British people. It is believed that different cultural attitudes surrounding sex and a lack of knowledge about the necessity of these screenings could be in part responsible for this difference, evident from interviews with women from ethnic minority backgrounds, revealing that several women did not recognise the term ‘cervical screening’. For some, the language barrier poses as the greatest obstacle to access. A recent case study of a clinic in England providing care for many patients whose first language was not English found that educating staff on how to most effectively discuss cervical screenings, offering flexible appointments, and placing cervical screening leaflets in different languages in the waiting room, helped increase screening attendance rates. Implementing inclusive communication strategies across the NHS and updating cultural competence training could dramatically aid attendance, especially in the most densely populated, diverse communities. The ‘M’ and ‘F’ Label Artwork by Olivia Marsh NHS communication systems can also affect trans patients’ screening invitations. I recently spoke to my friend about an aspect of his transition, which he is happy for me to discuss. As a trans man, he changed his NHS profile to ‘Male’ and, despite having a cervix, stopped receiving invitations for appointments. The distinction between sex and gender remains inconsistent across NHS services, and while not always the case, responsibility is often placed on trans patients to be aware of what sex-specific anatomical exams they need. My friend explained to me that trying to access gender affirming care is fatiguing enough without the added burden of requesting routine tests. Also, the nature of the appointment can cause severe dysphoria for trans patients. Ensuring staff partake in sensitive communication training is therefore essential to minimising non-attendance. Going forward, research is needed to understand the barriers present for trans patients and how clinicians can prevent dysphoria, as well as a consistent system to ensure all patients are correctly identified for their routine tests. An Epicentre of Anxiety Artwork by Olivia Marsh One of my closest friends faces her cervical screening with an overactive pelvic floor; she agreed to discuss her experience for this article. An overactive floor can cause numerous issues in the pelvic region, including painful sex – often associated with vaginismus, the involuntary spasm of vaginal wall muscles, and vulvodynia, pain in the vulva caused by an unidentifiable source. While often portrayed in the media as associated with sexual trauma, there can be no obvious explanation. Typically described as feeling the vagina is blocked by a wall, my friend has made the distinction that her general anxiety holds itself in her body, and upon instances of possible vaginal penetration, her anxieties are directed there. She’s been attending physiotherapy to ease her pelvic floor and recommends belly breathing for anyone during their next cervical screening to relax pelvic muscles and increase comfort. While my friend still wants to attend her cervical screening, the looming prospect of the appointment has created greater anxiety for her to urgently progress in therapy. The Future of Cervical Screenings The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England was just published - echoing concerns of pain and discomfort during gynaecological procedures - acknowledgement of which should hopefully propel progress. Furthermore, the news recently highlighted research advances being made into testing for HPV at home using samples of period blood. Collecting menstrual blood at home using pads or tampons would overcome many obstacles to cervical screenings, and for those who do not menstruate, such as post-menopausal women, other options would still be available. While this method is in early stages of testing, the NHS has been developing a self-test kit, which began rollout in early 2026 for anyone overdue for an appointment by over 6 months. A vaginal swab is taken at home, then posted to a lab for analysis of signs of HPV. However, this cannot detect cell changes that may lead to cervical cancer; therefore, an in-person appointment would be required if signs of HPV were found. These alternatives would mitigate the fear, embarrassment, and logistical challenges of attending an in-person appointment for many. Unsurprisingly, from the women who have completed both the self-test and clinical cervical screening, 85% agreed that they would like the option to choose between the two. During the writing of this article, I had my first cervical screening, and although I was slightly apprehensive, I was pleasantly surprised by how little discomfort I felt, helped by the nurse’s friendliness. However, women lie on a vast spectrum of differences and do not conform to a one-size-fits-all model. We need greater choice in the healthcare we receive to accommodate the various challenges that are associated with accessing reproductive care; crucially, to ensure that as many people as possible attend life-saving screening appointments.

I am writing this piece as I believe that navigating addiction within a family is a unique experience that only those who have lived through it can truly understand. I hope these reflections offer some hope to others walking the same path. If anyone came across my family now, you would never be able to tell what we have been through. And although our bond is so unique and tight, our past cannot go unnoticed. In my case, things were different from the beginning. Even though, as a kid, I was completely unaware of the underlying issues, I always knew something was "unique". When I was born, my mom was 29, working as a music producer, and my dad was 35, working at his father's company. Of course, when you are at this age, freshly married with a newborn child, you have a lot to celebrate. In Greece, it is a typical part of our culture to drink when you're celebrating, so no one in our circle really thought much of it. But that is how my peculiar but amazing childhood started. It wasn't until I was around 12 that my father took over the company, and that's when the drinking became a stress reliever rather than a celebratory potion. Adrian Vieriu on Pexels. What followed was years of unpredictability. My dad would go through episodes that none of us could anticipate or fully understand at the time. It would be excessive fun, that would turn into deep anger, and sometimes he would even disappear for a few days. As a teenager, I did not have the emotional tools to process any of this. I was reactive, and so was my sister, though we each found our way of coping with what was happening around us. She always had a softer relationship with my dad, whereas I was usually the one to fight with him. I think part of me was fighting for answers I didn't know how to ask for, and a father I wasn’t sure I still had. At one stage, clinicians believed he was experiencing bipolar episodes. Years later, after he had stopped drinking, we were told that many of the behaviours we had witnessed may have been linked to trauma and alcohol use. In other words, the drinking was not just a symptom — it was feeding something far bigger, and none of us had the language for it back then. It was difficult for all of us to understand and admit what was going on right under our noses. I think this was one of the hardest processes along the way. Especially for my mother, who was essentially responsible for holding the entire family together. The quiet hero My mother is, without question, the quiet hero of this story. While my sister and I were reactive teenagers trying to make sense of our world, and my father was lost inside his own, she was doing something almost impossible: giving up her ego to stand by her husband. At times, my sister and I felt like she couldn't understand that our dad had an addiction, that she was too patient, too forgiving. But the truth is that she was simply trying to protect us. She was absorbing far more pain than we ever knew and doing it in silence so that we could still have a childhood. To put yourself aside completely, for years, for your family, and to do it not from weakness but from an enormous quiet strength. Without her, we would not be where we are today. But admitting what was really happening was a process that took time for all of us. There is something particularly cruel about addiction within a family; it grows in the spaces between people, quietly, until one day you realise it has been shaping everything. The atmosphere at home, the conversations you avoided, the things left unsaid. You don't see it clearly when you are inside it. You just feel that something is a little off, and you learn to live around it. My Path of Discovery When I moved to the UK for my undergraduate studies, I was alone for the first time in my life. I was responsible for my own wellbeing and, to be honest, I messed it up. Having lived in this environment for my whole life, I immediately turned to what I knew, and I started drinking. Other than that, I was doing well: I was going to my classes, I had made a lot of friends, I was eating well, but I was drinking every day. Sometimes from early in the afternoon. It took me a while and a lot of therapy to understand what I was doing. But the moment I did, my life changed completely. I had inherited a coping mechanism without ever choosing it. I had watched someone I loved use alcohol as a way to manage the weight of the world, and somewhere along the way, without realising it, I had started doing the same thing. That realisation was one of the most uncomfortable and important moments of my life. Alexis Ricardo Alaurin on Pexels It was around that same time that my father started going to rehabilitation programmes and, for the first time, made a real change in his life as well. That process was harder than I had ever expected. All the anger I had carried towards him for years, for the unpredictability, for the pain, for the childhood moments that could have been different, slowly began to shift. It did not happen overnight. It took a lot of work from both sides. But I was eventually able to realise that all those years, my dad was just in so much pain and pressure himself, and he simply did not have the strength to see it clearly. Of course, that is never an excuse. But at the end of the day, we are all human. And I chose my father above my own ego. Behind the mask The best way I can describe addiction is that it is like a mask. Not just for the person wearing it, but for the entire family around them. It covers the real person underneath, and it distorts how everyone else sees themselves, too. Recovery, then, is not just the removal of a substance; it is the slow, painstaking process of learning who everyone really is without it. Who your parent is. Who you are. Sergio Souza on Pexels Almost four years now, my dad has been sober. And every year, I get to know more of who he actually is, and was, behind that mask. Watching him re-emerge has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. He is funny, warm, and present in a way I had not always known him to be. And I think about how much strength it must have taken to walk away from something that had been suppressing him for over twenty years. That is its own kind of bravery. If anyone came across my family now, they would see a tight, loving, slightly chaotic Greek family. They would not see the years it took to get here. They would not see my mother's quiet sacrifices, or my father's long road back to himself, or the girl who moved to another country and unknowingly started repeating a pattern she had grown up watching. But we see it. And we carry it with us, not as a wound, but as proof of what love, honesty, and relentless effort can actually do. Addiction is powerful. But so, it turns out, is the choice to face it.

Understanding Dissociative States and Disorders Have you ever found yourself staring out of the window on a train and suddenly realised you had no idea how many stops had passed? Maybe you’ve caught yourself daydreaming in class, rereading the same sentence five times, or performing familiar tasks on autopilot. Most of us know what it’s like to experience these mild and temporary mental “check-outs” from time to time. Many of us might not realise that these sorts of feelings or experiences exist on the spectrum of dissociation, a term used to describe a range of experiences involving a disrupted or altered sense of connection to thoughts, memories, emotions, the body, or reality. While often brief and harmless, these experiences sit on a continuum that, at its more extreme end, can become clinically significant and deeply distressing. Image by Fidan Nazim Qizi on Pexels The term dissociation is often thrown around in all sorts of contexts, to describe many different things, from ordinary distraction to severe psychological distress. In reality, dissociation is not one single experience, but a range of experiences that can look very different from person to person. My own interest in dissociation comes from both personal curiosity and academic work. With a background spanning science and art, including embodied practices like dance, where connection to and with the body is central, I became fascinated by what happens when this connection feels disrupted, distant, or absent altogether. This paved the way for my PhD research exploring bodily awareness in depersonalisation-derealisation disorder (DDD), and continues into work in the Neurological, Affective and Dissociative Symptoms (NEUROADS) Lab led by Dr Susannah Pick at King’s College London, where I am currently based as a postdoctoral researcher. Here, we will unpack what dissociation is, look at why the mind sometimes disconnects in the first place, and examine the relationship between dissociation and the body. So, What Actually is Dissociation? At its core, dissociation involves a disruption in the normal integration of experience. This might mean feeling detached from thoughts, emotions, memories, surroundings, identity, or even from the sense of being fully present in your own body. Put simply, the mind’s usual sense of unity or continuity becomes altered. Dissociation can be difficult to define because it does not look the same for everyone. Two people might both describe feeling “disconnected” while referring to experiences that feel completely different internally. In many ways, dissociation is less a single symptom and more a broad collection of ways the mind can distance itself under certain circumstances. Image by Nishant Das on Pexels Because dissociation can take many forms, people often use different words to describe it: detachment, disruption, separation, fragmentation, depersonalisation, derealisation, and compartmentalisation. These terms overlap, but each captures slightly different aspects of dissociative experience. For some people, dissociation can feel like emotional numbness. For others, it may feel dreamlike, foggy, distant, or unreal, as though the world around them has lost its familiarity. Some people describe watching themselves from the outside or feeling strangely absent from their own body, almost like observing their own life rather than fully participating in it. Others experience gaps in memory, visual distortions, or a blurry and uncertain sense of self or identity. Importantly, dissociation exists on a spectrum. The mild and temporary mental “check outs” mentioned earlier are relatively common, especially during periods of stress, anxiety, exhaustion, overwhelm, or emotional strain. For some people, however, these experiences can become more persistent and disruptive to daily life. They may interfere with memory, emotional regulation, relationships, work, identity, or the ability to feel connected to reality and to oneself. This is where dissociation may move beyond an occasional experience and into the territory of dissociative disorders. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), dissociative disorders include: Dissociative identity disorder (DID) – involves disruptions in identity and significant gaps in memory. Dissociative amnesia, including dissociative fugue – involves periods where someone is unable to remember information about themselves or life events. Depersonalisation/derealisation disorder (DDD) – involves persistent, recurring feelings of detachment from the self (depersonalisation), surroundings (derealisation), or both. Even within psychiatry and psychology, however, the boundaries within dissociation are not always clear. For example, functional neurological disorder (FND), which can include a range of symptoms from non-epileptic seizures, to tremors, to sensory changes, that are not explained by an identifiable neurological cause, is classified differently across diagnostic systems. In the DSM-5 it falls under Conversion Disorders, while the International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11), groups it under dissociative disorders, reflective of the elevated dissociative symptoms often reported in FND. This reflects a broader challenge within the field: dissociation is complex, multi-layered, and often difficult to neatly categorise. Why Might Someone Dissociate? One of the most important things to understand about dissociation is that the brain is usually trying to do something when it happens. Although dissociation can feel strange or unsettling, we might generally understand it as serving some kind of psychological or protective function, rather than occurring for no reason. Current theories suggest dissociation is often linked to the brain’s attempts to cope with experiences that feel overwhelming, threatening, emotionally intense, or impossible to escape. Image by Kagan Karatay on Pexels Importantly, dissociation is not always linked to trauma, although trauma is an often cited contributor. Dissociative experiences can also occur during periods of high stress or anxiety, alongside other mental health difficulties, due to exhaustion or burnout, emotional conflict, or in response to alcohol and drugs. Dissociation might be understood as a survival response, something the mind may do when experiences become too overwhelming, stressful, or emotionally intense to fully process in the moment. In traumatic situations, this response can genuinely help someone survive, reducing pain, fear, or emotional overload in the moment. You have probably heard of the “fight or flight” response, but the nervous system can also react to threat by freezing or shutting down. Dissociation is often thought to be closely linked to these states. Rather than confronting danger directly, the mind may create distance from it through numbness, detachment, memory gaps, or feelings of unreality. Dissociation tends to happen automatically, almost like the brain pulling an emergency brake behind the scenes. For some people, particularly those exposed to repeated or early-life trauma, dissociation can become a learned coping strategy. If mentally “checking out” once helped somebody get through overwhelming situations, the brain may continue to use the same strategy long after the original danger has passed, in situations that are quite ordinary. Understanding dissociation as a protective response can help make these types of experience feel a little less mysterious. Dissociation and the Body When it comes to treatment, there is no universal one-size-fits-all approach. However, because dissociation often involves feeling disconnected from the self or body, there has been increasing interest in the development of interventions that aim to rebuild a sense of bodily safety and connection. In the case of depersonalisation/derealisation disorder (DDD) specifically, experiences of disembodiment and detachment from one's body could be reflective of alterations in the processing, sensing, or awareness of bodily signals and sensations (otherwise known as interoception). Some studies have indeed found differences in interoception/bodily self-perception and mindfulness in people experiencing DDD. Building on this, in my PhD research, I examined the relationship between dissociation and the body itself, exploring interventions that aim to strengthen one’s bodily connection. In both online and in-person studies examining the use of dance/movement tasks to reduce dissociative symptoms in DDD, participants reported less bodily detachment after task completion, with greater body awareness during the tasks also linked to lower levels of symptoms. Image by Bianca Salgado on Pexels Direct work with the body allows for the generation of bodily experiences, rather than thinking about their absence. This research highlights the possible therapeutic value of dance/movement practices as a complementary approach for symptom reduction, and the development of greater body awareness, in dissociative and related disorders. While there is still much left to be understood, these findings point toward a more integrated way of thinking about dissociation, one that includes both psychological and bodily experience. Ultimately, feeling ‘present’ or ‘in the here and now’ is something that is continuously constructed, shaped through the interaction of mind, body, and surroundings. In this sense, presence is not a fixed state, but something we continually return to.

Inspire the Mind is an inclusive digital mental health magazine exploring the intersection between mental health, science, and society. Led by a dedicated team of clinicians, scientists, and researchers who are passionate about making mental health science accessible and engaging for everyone. Mental Health, Science and Society The digital magazine bringing together everything you've always wanted to know about the worlds of mental health, science, and society. Read Now Submit Pitch Our Partnership We are proud to partner with the Psychiatry Research Trust (PRT), a charity that funds research and education in mental health. Their support enables us to fund lived experience writers and strengthen our mission to improve public understanding of mental health and reduce stigma. Hidden Obstacles to Cervical Screenings As my friends and I approach our 25th birthdays, we have been apprehensively awaiting the arrival of our text messages from the NHS inviting us to our first cervical screenings. These screenings, previously referred to as smear tests, are offered every 5 years to people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to check cervical health and help prevent cervical cancer. During the appointment, a tube-shaped tool called a speculum is inserted into the vagina and a sample of cells is taken fo SCIENCE & RESEARCH Olivia Marsh 22 hours ago 5 min read The Power of Addiction I am writing this piece as I believe that navigating addiction within a family is a unique experience that only those who have lived through it can truly understand. I hope these reflections offer some hope to others walking the same path. If anyone came across my family now, you would never be able to tell what we have been through. And although our bond is so unique and tight, our past cannot go unnoticed. In my case, things were different from the beginning. Even though, a LIVED EXPERIENCE Anonymous 2 days ago 5 min read When Reality Feels Far Away Have you ever found yourself staring out of the window on a train and suddenly realised you had no idea how many stops had passed? Most of us know what it’s like to experience these mild and temporary mental “check-outs” from time to time but might not realise that these sorts of feelings or experiences exist on the spectrum of dissociation, a term used to describe a range of experiences involving a disrupted or altered sense of connection to thoughts, memories, emotions, the SCIENCE & RESEARCH Merritt Millman 3 days ago 6 min read The Software Crash: What it feels like when your body shuts down My name is Liam Virgo, and I am an advocate for functional neurological disorder (FND), pushing to raise awareness for this life-changing condition. For the past ten years, I have been fighting a quiet, gruelling war to reclaim my body and my identity after a sudden illness turned my teenage world upside down. While the physical realities of severe FND are devastating, the profound mental health struggles, emotional scars. LIVED EXPERIENCE Liam Virgo 4 days ago 5 min read Claw Marks in my Memories: Healing from childhood loneliness I’ve noticed something weird, the last few years: people think I’m friendly. I’m referred to as outgoing, and even, occasionally, extroverted. It feels like I’ve pulled off some magnificent con–because for much of my childhood, I was deeply lonely, and through my adolescence, that loneliness gave me terrible anxiety. This is a story of growth before it is anything else–mostly because I started, socially, around rock bottom. LIVED EXPERIENCE Alex Masse 7 days ago 5 min read Even when I was lonely, I still had my eating disorder... No matter what, at least I have control. Or that’s what I used to think…When I was 14, I was admitted into hospital with an eating disorder; I left my home, my family, and my community all behind. Not knowing how long it would be until I was able to go home, I was scared and very alone. LIVED EXPERIENCE Megan Plant Jun 18 5 min read My Journey to the Science of Social Connection Loneliness is sometimes sad and uncomfortable, and I think we like to pretend it isn’t happening when it is. We hide the feeling from people we know, like saying it out loud means something is wrong. I now reject this and would like to say: I need social connection, and I’m not afraid to say it anymore! LIVED EXPERIENCE Ahmad Muntadhar Jun 17 5 min read Chronic Illness Left Me Isolated; Embroidery Offered Connection Overnight, at the age of nine, I went from an energetic, sociable child to housebound and isolated as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and other comorbidities shrunk my world to my bedroom. ME is a chronic, fluctuating disease that causes symptoms such as severe fatigue, post-exertional malaise, pain, sleep problems, and brain fog. It can leave people bed or housebound, and there is currently no cure. As the years passed, I tried every form of low‐energy activity that I cou LIVED EXPERIENCE Tiger-Lily Snowdon Jun 16 5 min read Dysmorphia of True Potential Ever heard of picture perfect? Clicking posts, attracting attention, wanting to feel validated. Validated. Something so many teenage girls, like me, crave the feeling of. Ever looked at yourself in the mirror and not seen your true potential? All you see is what others want of you. All you see is a dysmorphic image of who you seem to be, a monster to you, and a so-called ‘perfect girl’ to others. My name is Joana. LIVED EXPERIENCE Joana Luzi Neto Jun 15 5 min read The Men Minds Project: Young men making time for young men My name is Nina, and I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice. This year, on the occasion of Men’s Health Week, I wanted to share how co-producing research and working alongside young men can help us understand and address the crisis in men’s mental health, drawing on my experience leading the Men Minds project as Principal Investigator. SCIENCE & RESEARCH Nina Vaswani Jun 12 5 min read Men’s Health Week — Why #TalkingBollocks could save your life! Every year during Men’s Health Week, we see more conversations around mental health, wellbeing, cancer awareness and the importance of speaking up - which of course, should absolutely be applauded. But there’s still a long way to go when it comes to helping men feel genuinely comfortable talking about their health. This is especially true when it comes to topics that feel personal, embarrassing or vulnerable - like testicular cancer. LIVED EXPERIENCE Toby Freeman Jun 11 4 min read All My Insecurities on Parade: Masculinity, disability and identity A perfect column of khaki moves across the concrete. 300 pairs of legs marching in unison, with military precision. If not for the basketball hoops on either end of our parade square, we would be indistinguishable from professional soldiers. The occasional adolescent voice crack of the parade sergeant not withstanding, we were that good, or at least so we all believed. I am right in the centre, where everyone can see. LIVED EXPERIENCE Harry Smith Jun 10 5 min read 1 2 3 4 5 Our Vision Inspire the Mind brings a different perspective from other mental health magazines: viewpoints of clinicians , researchers , and others working within mental health . We want to complement people’s accounts by discussing the scientific evidence underpinning these personal experiences , while also sharing with our readers ongoing research and clinical work, discussion pieces, and the various links between culture and mental health. Ultimately we want to impact mental health literacy and reduce the stigma around mental health. About us Who are we? ITM is an inclusive digital magazine that focuses on the intersection between mental health, science and society. We do this with the help of our diverse group of writers with lived experience and academics who have dedicated their lives to research. Editorial Process Breadth of Content Behind the Scenes Our in-depth editorial process allows for a collaborative approach between the writer and the editor. We maintain the author's unique writing style through the process, and review all articles before they are published. The publication is overseen by scientists and clinicians, ensuring that the information put out is not only of significant interest to the public, but also factually accurate. We cover a wide breadth of topics ranging from lived experience, to science and research. Our writers discuss topics of public and personal interest, such as art and culture, as well as lifestyle and relationships. We explore these topics in the context of mental health, and their relation to one another. Our content is carefully chosen to align with current world trends and new scientific discoveries. ITM is all about the behind-the-scenes of scientific research in the field of mental health. We offer the unique opportunity to learn more, through our interviews with scientists and academics, about the studies that are making the headlines, the research they’ve dedicated their whole lives to, and the findings that might change the world of psychiatry and psychology as we know it. 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Inspire the Mind is an inclusive digital mental health magazine exploring the intersection between mental health, science, and society. Led by a dedicated team of clinicians, scientists, and researchers who are passionate about making mental health science accessible and engaging for everyone. Mental Health, Science and Society The digital magazine bringing together everything you've always wanted to know about the worlds of mental health, science, and society. Read Now Submit Pitch Our Partnership We are proud to partner with the Psychiatry Research Trust (PRT), a charity that funds research and education in mental health. Their support enables us to fund lived experience writers and strengthen our mission to improve public understanding of mental health and reduce stigma. Hidden Obstacles to Cervical Screenings As my friends and I approach our 25th birthdays, we have been apprehensively awaiting the arrival of our text messages from the NHS inviting us to our first cervical screenings. These screenings, previously referred to as smear tests, are offered every 5 years to people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to check cervical health and help prevent cervical cancer. During the appointment, a tube-shaped tool called a speculum is inserted into the vagina and a sample of cells is taken fo SCIENCE & RESEARCH Olivia Marsh 21 hours ago 5 min read The Power of Addiction I am writing this piece as I believe that navigating addiction within a family is a unique experience that only those who have lived through it can truly understand. I hope these reflections offer some hope to others walking the same path. If anyone came across my family now, you would never be able to tell what we have been through. And although our bond is so unique and tight, our past cannot go unnoticed. In my case, things were different from the beginning. Even though, a LIVED EXPERIENCE Anonymous 2 days ago 5 min read When Reality Feels Far Away Have you ever found yourself staring out of the window on a train and suddenly realised you had no idea how many stops had passed? Most of us know what it’s like to experience these mild and temporary mental “check-outs” from time to time but might not realise that these sorts of feelings or experiences exist on the spectrum of dissociation, a term used to describe a range of experiences involving a disrupted or altered sense of connection to thoughts, memories, emotions, the SCIENCE & RESEARCH Merritt Millman 3 days ago 6 min read The Software Crash: What it feels like when your body shuts down My name is Liam Virgo, and I am an advocate for functional neurological disorder (FND), pushing to raise awareness for this life-changing condition. For the past ten years, I have been fighting a quiet, gruelling war to reclaim my body and my identity after a sudden illness turned my teenage world upside down. While the physical realities of severe FND are devastating, the profound mental health struggles, emotional scars. LIVED EXPERIENCE Liam Virgo 4 days ago 5 min read Claw Marks in my Memories: Healing from childhood loneliness I’ve noticed something weird, the last few years: people think I’m friendly. I’m referred to as outgoing, and even, occasionally, extroverted. It feels like I’ve pulled off some magnificent con–because for much of my childhood, I was deeply lonely, and through my adolescence, that loneliness gave me terrible anxiety. This is a story of growth before it is anything else–mostly because I started, socially, around rock bottom. LIVED EXPERIENCE Alex Masse 7 days ago 5 min read Even when I was lonely, I still had my eating disorder... No matter what, at least I have control. Or that’s what I used to think…When I was 14, I was admitted into hospital with an eating disorder; I left my home, my family, and my community all behind. Not knowing how long it would be until I was able to go home, I was scared and very alone. LIVED EXPERIENCE Megan Plant Jun 18 5 min read My Journey to the Science of Social Connection Loneliness is sometimes sad and uncomfortable, and I think we like to pretend it isn’t happening when it is. We hide the feeling from people we know, like saying it out loud means something is wrong. I now reject this and would like to say: I need social connection, and I’m not afraid to say it anymore! LIVED EXPERIENCE Ahmad Muntadhar Jun 17 5 min read Chronic Illness Left Me Isolated; Embroidery Offered Connection Overnight, at the age of nine, I went from an energetic, sociable child to housebound and isolated as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and other comorbidities shrunk my world to my bedroom. ME is a chronic, fluctuating disease that causes symptoms such as severe fatigue, post-exertional malaise, pain, sleep problems, and brain fog. It can leave people bed or housebound, and there is currently no cure. As the years passed, I tried every form of low‐energy activity that I cou LIVED EXPERIENCE Tiger-Lily Snowdon Jun 16 5 min read Dysmorphia of True Potential Ever heard of picture perfect? Clicking posts, attracting attention, wanting to feel validated. Validated. Something so many teenage girls, like me, crave the feeling of. Ever looked at yourself in the mirror and not seen your true potential? All you see is what others want of you. All you see is a dysmorphic image of who you seem to be, a monster to you, and a so-called ‘perfect girl’ to others. My name is Joana. LIVED EXPERIENCE Joana Luzi Neto Jun 15 5 min read The Men Minds Project: Young men making time for young men My name is Nina, and I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice. This year, on the occasion of Men’s Health Week, I wanted to share how co-producing research and working alongside young men can help us understand and address the crisis in men’s mental health, drawing on my experience leading the Men Minds project as Principal Investigator. SCIENCE & RESEARCH Nina Vaswani Jun 12 5 min read Men’s Health Week — Why #TalkingBollocks could save your life! Every year during Men’s Health Week, we see more conversations around mental health, wellbeing, cancer awareness and the importance of speaking up - which of course, should absolutely be applauded. But there’s still a long way to go when it comes to helping men feel genuinely comfortable talking about their health. This is especially true when it comes to topics that feel personal, embarrassing or vulnerable - like testicular cancer. LIVED EXPERIENCE Toby Freeman Jun 11 4 min read All My Insecurities on Parade: Masculinity, disability and identity A perfect column of khaki moves across the concrete. 300 pairs of legs marching in unison, with military precision. If not for the basketball hoops on either end of our parade square, we would be indistinguishable from professional soldiers. The occasional adolescent voice crack of the parade sergeant not withstanding, we were that good, or at least so we all believed. I am right in the centre, where everyone can see. LIVED EXPERIENCE Harry Smith Jun 10 5 min read 1 2 3 4 5 Our Vision Inspire the Mind brings a different perspective from other mental health magazines: viewpoints of clinicians , researchers , and others working within mental health . We want to complement people’s accounts by discussing the scientific evidence underpinning these personal experiences , while also sharing with our readers ongoing research and clinical work, discussion pieces, and the various links between culture and mental health. Ultimately we want to impact mental health literacy and reduce the stigma around mental health. About us Who are we? ITM is an inclusive digital magazine that focuses on the intersection between mental health, science and society. We do this with the help of our diverse group of writers with lived experience and academics who have dedicated their lives to research. Editorial Process Our in-depth editorial process allows for a collaborative approach between the writer and the editor. We maintain the author's unique writing style through the process, and review all articles before they are published. The publication is overseen by scientists and clinicians, ensuring that the information put out is not only of significant interest to the public, but also factually accurate. Breadth of Content We cover a wide breadth of topics ranging from lived experience, to science and research. Our writers discuss topics of public and personal interest, such as art and culture, as well as lifestyle and relationships. We explore these topics in the context of mental health, and their relation to one another. Our content is carefully chosen to align with current world trends and new scientific discoveries. Behind the Scenes ITM is all about the behind-the-scenes of scientific research in the field of mental health. We offer the unique opportunity to learn more, through our interviews with scientists and academics, about the studies that are making the headlines, the research they’ve dedicated their whole lives to, and the findings that might change the world of psychiatry and psychology as we know it. Submit your pitch Ready to write your own article to publish in Inspire the Mind? Send us your article or short story pitches now. Submit Pitch