Author name: louisam

Access to further education Many of you will have received your AS level, A level, T level, level 3 VTQs and BTECs results earlier this week. Further education offers new opportunities. This can lead to enhanced skills and increase knowledge and potentially better career prospects. When you are a young person it may be difficult to […]

Men and suicide Historically men have higher completed suicide rates and suicide is correlated with mental illness (particularly depression) so why are there fewer men seeking help for treatment of depression? From 2014 the rates of mental disorder have steadily risen in women, to one in five women compared to only one in eight in

Zuranolone approval for post-natal depression Zuranolone has been approved for treatment of postnatal depression in the USA. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a once daily oral medication for a fortnight. It allegedly showed marked improvement in depressive symptoms within three days and was maintained for tour weeks after the last dose. However the

The history of the diagnosis of ADHD It is believed that Sir George Still first documented symptoms of poor attention and hyperactivity. In 1902 he gave three lectures in March, at the Royal College of Physicians in London. He referred to 43 children, describing poor attention with little inhibitory volition, although their intellect was normal.

So you think you may have….. When do you go to your GP? When you consider there is something that you need for prevention, such as antihypertensives or asthma inhalers, or when you are ill. In psychiatry often the question is does this person have… In severe disorders, involving psychosis, you do not need to

Treatment postcode lottery Tomorrow heralds an exciting day in psychiatry. In The Netherlands, donanemab clinical trial results will be published for the first time. We anticipate that they will be positive as a similar drug trial was published last year, for the trial drug lecanemab, that slowed down the cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s disease

New social media platforms Unless you have been in a media blackout this last week you will be aware that there is a new kid on the block. Threads is a rival to Twitter and is owned by meta. Twitter has changed since its new owner last October. There have been some progressive changes halted,

Gambling addiction How much are you aware of the possibility of addiction to gambling. It is common knowledge that cigarettes, particularly nicotine, are addictive but what about other addictions? Gambling disorder is classified separately as a disorder of addictive behaviour, as opposed to an addiction to substances such as alcohol. It is considered a “Gaming

Self-promotion On Thursday night I went to a meeting, one of the talks was about social media promotion. I sat there observing two women a bit younger than me, telling us from their own experience how regular posting on social media had increased their presence in the sector they work in. As we are all

The power of change Change is often necessary and can be anxiety provoking. However, it is inevitable, and so should be something we embrace – looking for opportunities to improve our wellbeing. It is through change that we grow and adapt. Recently, I have witnessed change for others, bereavement, moving country, and changing employer. Now