We all feel the complete range of emotions throughout our lives, depending on what is happening around us and to us. Our ability to feel emotions, yet not be overwhelmed or controlled by them, is what allows us to cope with emotions such as stress, loss, loneliness, and anger. The World Health Organisation defines health […]
People who have migrated to a country from their homeland are much more vulnerable to mental illness. Studies carried out in various countries have long indicated that migrants often have higher rates of mental illness that either the native-born people or the population of their country of origin. Immigrants have much higher rates of schizophrenia […]
Young people’s mental health services are at crisis point. GPs are having to cope with the consequences of our failure to focus on prevention, and a lack of access to specialist services. We may not be able to change the world we have created for our young people, but we need to take action to ensure that help is […]
Orthorexia comes from the Greek word ‘ortho’ meaning correct and it’s a compulsion to eat a biologically perfect diet. Sufferers often hide behind highly restrictive diets, blaming allergies or food intolerances for their disordered relationship with food. You’ll hear orthorexics saying, ‘Eating x gives me migraines, y makes me bloated’. The motivation behind the faddy […]
Orthorexia is not officially recognised as a medical condition. The term was coined back in the 90s by Dr.Steven Bratman in the States. Here orthorexia would probably best slot into the ‘eating disorder not otherwise specified’ category. There are so many forms of disordered eating. These terms are fairly new but I think the condition […]
Over a period of years, between 10 and 20 per cent of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder who are taking medication at a maintenance dose will have a relapse. This is despite the fact that they are stating that they are taking their medication as normal. The process typically happens gradually, although it may […]
This is a type of personality disorder, which is marked out by the sufferers need for constant attention and exaggerated show of emotion. It tends to occur more in women than men. Individuals with HPD are lively, dramatic, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. They may be inappropriately sexually provocative, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and […]
For all sorts of reasons, people who have been taking medication for depression (or related conditions including anxiety and OCD) for many years may find that it seems to have stopped working. This is pretty dreadful for them, and presents a challenge for their clinicians. When I used to man a telephone helpline for an […]
When I first met Jenny, she was a very angry woman. She had just discovered that her partner of five years was living a double life, spending half the week with another woman, with whom he had a child. They broke up. Jenny was left feeling betrayed, rejected and lonely, even at times suicidal with […]
“I don’t know if I can do it.” Jeremy seemed truly frightened. “My GP is a woman, and I can’t talk to her about my loss of sex drive.” As a sex and relationship therapist in private practice, I’d been working with Jeremy (aged 43) and James (41) to explore their lack of sex. “It […]