4 d. ago 'I'm haunted by my father’s cries after my brother killed him'

Lara said while she does not excuse her brother’s actions, she believes he deserved greater support from mental health services and says she "will always love and care for him”

Events

2 w. ago Young people 'want to make TikTok videos' instead of nursing, warns NHS chief amid shortages

A mental health director has warned that Swindon's NHS services are struggling with severe staff shortages, with young people no longer attracted to nursing careers and instead seeing the appeal making money from TikTok videos

Events

2 w. ago One in five young people now use mental health services by age 18

New research shows a fourfold increase in the numbers of young people using specialist mental health care in the last two decades

Politics

2 w. ago ‘I feel it’s a friend’: quarter of teenagers turn to AI chatbots for mental health support

Experts warn of dangers as England and Wales study shows 13- to 17-year-olds consulting AI amid long waiting lists for servicesIt was after one friend was shot and another stabbed, both fatally, that Shan asked ChatGPT for help. She had tried conventional mental health services but “chat”, as she came to know her AI “friend”, felt safer, less intimidating and, crucially, more available when it came to handling the trauma from the deaths of her young friends.As she started consulting the AI model, the Tottenham teenager joined about 40% of 13- to 17-year-olds in England and Wales affected by youth violence who are turning to AI chatbots for mental health support, according to research among more than 11,000 young people. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Why are diagnoses of ADHD soaring? There are no easy answers – but empathy is the place to start | Gabor Maté

Some say it’s overdiagnosis, others say it’s greater recognition. But it’s clear we must think about how our society is impacting human developmentGabor Maté is the author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic CultureDoes the rise in diagnoses of ADHD mean that normal feelings are being “over-pathologised”? The UK’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, seems to suspect so. He is said to be so concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people claiming sickness benefits that he has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, and autism and ADHD.I was diagnosed with ADHD (ADD, as it was then most often called) decades ago, in my early 50s. As I wrote in my book on the subject, Scattered Minds, it “seemed to explain many of my behaviour patterns, thought processes, childish emotional reactions, my workaholism and other addictive tendencies, the sudden eruptions of bad temper and complete irrationality, the conflicts in my marriage and m...

Politics

3 w. ago Ministers order review of ADHD and autism diagnosis amid alarm that MILLIONS of people are on benefits with 'medicalised normal life stresses'

The Health Secretary said the issue needed to be looked at through a 'strictly clinical lens' as he and fellow ministers look to tackle Britain's ballooning welfare bill.

Politics

3 w. ago Wes Streeting launches review into ADHD, autism and mental health services

The Health Secretary has previously said there has been an ‘overdiagnosis’ of mental health conditions.

Politics

3 w. ago How I learned to be kind to myself and stop repeatedly doing chores

Jade accessed Wellbeing Works in Falkirk, funded by Falkirk Employability Training Unit, when she was struggling with her mental health. Here she describes how the service helped her

Politics

4 w. ago ‘It’s heartbreaking that vulnerable people will slip to the bottom of the NHS queue’

A volunteer led service which has helped thousands suffering mental health crises for 25 years faces closure after funding was stopped

Politics