This week some really interesting research has been published, stating that long-term use of mobile phones and cordless phones can increase the chance of developing glioma, the most common type of brain tumour. YIKES!!!!!! Now, before you go and throw your phones away, let’s have a closer look. If you want to read the research […]

Having a healthy digestive system is crucial to becoming and maintaining a healthy body. With a backed up or clogged digestive tract, nutrients, antioxidants, proteins and enzymes are not completely absorbed into our bloodstream, meaning we are wasting so much of our already depleted food. Our bodies already have a powerful engine that knows how […]

By Dorothy Bruck, Victoria University A poll by Lifeline released earlier this week shows almost two-thirds of Australians reported sleep loss because of stress relating to work or their finances. The findings went largely unremarked, even though a chronic lack of sleep has serious public health implications. Sleep theory tells us that there are two […]

I have got to say this. I am shocked at how many men today seem to think it’s okay to abdicate their responsibility to their family. I seem to be assessing so many men these days who are naval gazing and narcissistic, constantly complaining about how everyone has done them wrong. Don’t get me wrong, […]

The 1990’s have been referred to as “the decade of the antidepressant.” Pharmaceutical companies went into overdrive advertising them and many of us jumped naively on the bandwagon thinking we’d found a quick fix. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the miracle pill we all thought it was. We’ve realised since then, thank goodness, that depression is a […]

Recently I added a post to the website called, “Just Do It” which talked about getting up off your bum and doing something when you’re depressed.  Well, I want to follow up on that and talk about the joy of meeting new people and getting to know their stories. This last week I got to know […]

As part of an exciting research project being conducted by the University of Melbourne and aimed at parents of teens, I have been invited to conduct one of my Youth Mental Health First Aid courses in Hobart, which research participants will be able to attend for free. Any parent with a teen aged between twelve […]

As part of an exciting research project being conducted by the University of Melbourne and aimed at parents of teens, I have been invited to conduct one of my Youth Mental Health First Aid courses in Sydney, which research participants will be able to attend for free. Any parent with a teen aged between twelve […]

This week in Australia at the Sports Medicine Australia’s “Be Active 2014” conference, researchers from the University of Wollongong will be presenting their findings on the apparent negative impact of primary school kids dropping out of organised sport. It’s terrific research, but I’d like to put a slightly different spin on it. Quit Bagging Out […]

A guest post by Kate Kelland, reprinted from www.samaritans.org Middle-aged men in the lowest socio-economic group and living in the most deprived areas are 10 times more likely to commit suicide than those in the most affluent group, often because they have lost a sense of identity and masculine pride, researchers said on Thursday. In […]

We don’t like to talk about it, but maybe it’s about time we did. Check out this 2011 campaign by “Soften the Fck Up”. The statistics might surprise you. This campaign was for 2011, but I ask you, when was the last time you looked a bloke in the eye and really asked him, “How […]

According to our statistics in Australia, we know that around 30 Australian men die by suicide every WEEK (1,881 people died by suicide in 2007 and 77% were men, the majority of them young men). It’s heartbreaking. I share this because I have been informed of yet another suicide in a rural community this week, […]

By Fron Jackson-Webb, The Conversation Quitting smoking is associated with reduced depression and anxiety, and has a similar effect to antidepressant drugs for mood disorders, British researchers have found. Published today in the journal BMJ, the study shows the improvement in mood, stress levels and quality of life is as large among the general population […]

By Sarah Macgregor, Australian Institute of Criminology For decades, cannabis has remained the most popular illicit drug among Australians. The strong demand among cannabis and other drug users for methods to evade detection and legal trouble has made online products such as “drug-free urine” popular. More recently, this demand has fuelled the influx of a […]

According to “Science Daily”, adolescent pot uses leaves lasting mental deficits. Stay tuned for more on this topic….

A slight sense of unease accompanied me to my recent teaching experience at a Muslim school in a large city in Australia. I’m not sure why. I had initially felt privileged when the school invited me to talk to staff and students about youth mental health and I don’t usually have any biases or prejudices, […]

I work on a mental health crisis team in a major city and have the privilege of being able to go out and assess people who are in crisis, right where they are. It is much more effective than the usual practice, which would have them waiting for assessment in an overcrowded, loud, chaotic Emergency […]

Mental Health First Aid Australia has released a free to download Android app for members of the public and those who have completed a MHFA Course. To get this handy resource and have key MHFA information in your pocket, head here OR simply scan this QR code. If you don’t have a QR reader, you […]

Are you a parent of adolescents?  Do you find yourself sometimes (or often) feeling frustrated, angry, hopeless, overwhelmed, or all of the above?  Do you identify with the above statement? I do.  I’m not afraid to be honest.  There are times where I have actually thought to myself, “Why did we even have kids?”  At […]