22 h. ago Acclaimed actress, 48, says she plans to die by assisted suicide because she cannot overcome her mental illness

Claire Brosseau appears to have led a charmed life - but she is insisting on euthanasia after a series of distressing mental health episodes.

Events

27 h. ago The 7 signs your loved one is plagued by ‘smiling depression’ – one of the most dangerous mental illnesses

CHRISTMAS is meant to be the merriest time of the year. But thanks to family rows, the stress of cooking the turkey, and the cost of buying presents, we can all end up feeling a bit burnt out by New Year’s Eve. It’s even harder if you’re trying to slap on a smile for the...

Science

69 h. ago Inside Carrie Fisher's final moments: How the Star Wars legend died just after Christmas nearly a decade ago

Fisher had been open about her battles with addiction and bipolar disorder, which she documented in her memoirs and romans à clef like Postcards from the Edge.

Events

1 week ago The Divided Mind by Edward Bullmore review – do we now know what causes schizophrenia?

A brilliant history of psychiatric ideas suggests we are on the cusp of a transformation in our understanding of severe mental illnessIn 1973, an American psychologist called David Rosenhan published the results of a bold experiment. He’d arranged for eight “pseudo-patients” to attend appointments at psychiatric institutions, where they complained to doctors about hearing voices that said “empty”, “hollow” and “thud”. All were admitted, diagnosed with either schizophrenia or manic-depressive psychosis. They immediately stopped displaying any “symptoms” and started saying they felt fine. The first got out after seven days; the last after 52.Told of these findings, psychiatrists at a major teaching hospital found it hard to believe that they’d make the same mistake, so Rosenhan devised another experiment: over the next three months, he informed them, one or more pseudopatients would go undercover and, at the end, staff would be asked to decide who had been faking it. Of 193 patients a...

Events

1 week ago The Divided Mind by Edward Bullmore review – do we finally know what causes schizophrenia?

A brilliant history of psychiatric ideas suggests we are on the cusp of a transformation in our understanding of severe mental illnessIn 1973, an American psychologist called David Rosenhan published the results of a bold experiment. He’d arranged for eight “pseudo-patients” to attend appointments at psychiatric institutions, where they complained to doctors about hearing voices that said “empty”, “hollow” and “thud”. All were admitted, diagnosed with either schizophrenia or manic-depressive psychosis. They immediately stopped displaying any “symptoms” and started saying they felt fine. The first got out after seven days; the last after 52.Told of these findings, psychiatrists at a major teaching hospital found it hard to believe that they’d make the same mistake, so Rosenhan devised another experiment: over the next three months, he informed them, one or more pseudopatients would go undercover and, at the end, staff would be asked to decide who had been faking it. Of 193 patients a...

Events

2 w. ago How to best help your employees who struggle with mental health

Mental illnesses became more prevalent in the aftermath of COVID-19 especially among young adults

Society

3 w. ago Streeting orders review into ‘overdiagnosis’ of mental illness and ADHD in welfare spending crackdown

The health secretary has charged leading experts with finding out whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’

Economics

3 w. ago Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports. Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported. He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit. The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period. Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be ...

Science

3 w. ago Streeting orders review of mental health diagnosis amid welfare reform drive

The Health Secretary is concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness.

Science

4 w. ago ‘Conversion therapy’ is homophobic and dangerous. Yet it threatens to make a comeback | David Kirp

Bans on the dangerous practice, condemned by national mental health organizations, could soon be struck downHomosexuality is an illness that therapists can and should cure: that’s the rationale for “conversion therapy”, a practice promoted as a way to change an individual’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.But a host of studies conclude that such counseling doesn’t work – small wonder, since sexual orientation is a core part of an individual’s identity. It’s also potentially harmful, especially for minors. Research shows that youth subjected to conversion practices, often at the insistence of misguided parents, are prone to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.David Kirp is professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley and a frequent Guardian contributor.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@sa...

Events