Blog Entries - May 2011

Bullying can happen at any age

editor@uticopa.com — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Bullying can be a problem at any stage of your life. For the hapless victim it causes serious distress and can affect mental health for decades to come.

The mindsets of the people doing the bullying are often similar, whatever their ages. It's when the ancient ‘tribal' instinct of terrorising a perceived ‘enemy' comes into play. And who is the supposed enemy? It's anyone who is seen to be different in some way from the rest of the peer group. [...]

Is prolonged grief a psychological disorder?

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

In today's world of rush, rush, rush, there's often no time to say goodbye to a loved one when they die. Yet, our priorities must change. Dying is a part of life. It can't be avoided, however much we wish it, and must be accepted and dealt with.

Let's say it's been two years since your father died and your mom still won't go out socially or stop talking about wanting to join him. Similarly, perhaps you can't shake a sense of meaninglessness into your life as the anniversa [...]

Could Your Symptoms Be Depression?

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Do these symptoms sound familiar to you? Fatigue. Insomnia. Loss of appetite. Aches and pains. Most of us with these symptoms usually assume we're suffering from an ailment that's physical. Sometimes we're right. But, how often do we realise that what is really wrong is depression?

Even in good times, there are millions of new cases of depression every year. Yet many of those people - more than a third, according to a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Ad [...]

Could climate change be bad for our mental health?

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Historically, British people have always ignored the effects of our poor, wet weather. The heavy rain has always been there, so most carry on regardless. However, as the world shifts towards global climate change, water-related problems are arguably the most imminent and most personal. As Britain's temperature rises and weather patterns become more extreme, will our health be compromised by a lack of clean water and diseases spread by polluted floodwater?

And what of our mental [...]

Post-natal depression: a legacy from literature

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

When Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote that disturbing 19th-century novella called 'The Yellow Wallpaper', she could hardly have known that it would later become a classic of feminist fiction. Even less could she have realised that at its heart was a pioneering portrait of the trauma of postnatal depression.

As the book is being reissued by Virago this year, it is interesting to note that, unlike her heroine, the author herself managed to break free from the oppressive shackles [...]

Alternative to Prescription Drugs

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Get Well Scheme was an experimental scheme run out of two centres in Northern Ireland that enabled GP's to refer patients to complimentary therapists with the NHS picking up the tab. The aim was to show that not only can those who have come to rely on long term prescription drug use to manage their conditions reduce their dependency through these therapies, but that the scheme could even save the NHS money.

The use of prescription drugs to manage conditions can be costly and r [...]