3 h. ago Healing through discomfort at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival

Reflecting this year’s theme of “Comfort & Disturb”, the films in this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival show how embracing discomfort can lead to understanding, empathy and healing, writes Rob Dickie

Politics

4 h. ago West Lothian locals warned over Amazon Prime Big Deal Days scams

Advice Direct Scotland has encouraged customers to stay safe while shopping online and be aware of fake deals presented through phishing emails, texts, and calls.

Events

5 h. ago Nearly one in four West Lothian children living in poverty is 'mark of shame'

Despite the shocking statistics laid before the council’s Corporate Policy and Resources PDSP, the baseline level of child poverty has marginally improved since the last years of the pandemic.

Politics

5 h. ago West Lothian locals urged to take part in Alzheimer Scotland’s Memory Walk

Communities across the area are being invited to join the event in Lauriston Castle Gardens in Edinburgh where they can walk in memory of loved ones affected by the illness.

Politics

5 h. ago Tragic Ricky Hatton will support mental health battles with new initiative in his name

EXCLUSIVE: The Ricky Hatton Foundation vows to carry his 'spirit forward' by backing 'those facing their own fights with mental illness' and 'ensuring that no one ever has to face those battles alone'

Events

6 h. ago Nightclub boss to sell up after venue linked with 'serious crime'

The owner says the stress is affecting his physical and mental health

Events

7 h. ago British pop star Perrie Edwards reveals the heartbreaking reason she was too scared to eat while touring with Little Mix: 'I'd be starving'

Perrie Edwards has revealed how her mental health battle at times left her too scared to eat. 

Events

7 h. ago West Lothian Council chiefs 'unable to quantify' what cyberattack cost

Councillors were told this week that a live investigation remains ongoing though the IT system recovery phase is now complete.

Events

9 h. ago Alan Partridge is back at rock bottom – and it’s the funniest he’s been in years

After stadium tour success, the delusional broadcaster is back where he belongs: self-funding a series about the nation’s mental health. As comedy goes, it couldn’t be more pleasurableLike anyone who has grown up in the shadow of Alan Partridge’s three-decade dominion over British comedy, I want only the very best for Norwich’s most relentless broadcaster. By which I mean the absolute worst. For me, Partridge is at his finest when he’s scrabbling around the media’s outer fringes, rebranding past humiliations as glories and furiously name-dropping 1980s television personalities to the nonplussed acquaintances he genuinely believes to be his closest friends.Sadly, Alan has been riding (relatively) high in recent years. In 2022, Steve Coogan’s creation – now co-written by Rob and Neil Gibbons – embarked on a UK arena tour as a motivational speaker, imparting dubious advice to tens of thousands of adoring fans. Before that, he landed the job of a lifetime: a presenting gig on the BBC’s ...

Politics

22 h. ago 'Same old Tories' unveil plan to cut benefits for 'low level' mental health conditions

The Conservatives were accused of coming back with reheated policies to cut benefits, foreign aid and civil service numbers - and failing to apologise for their dire record

Politics

23 h. ago Machine Gun Kelly admits being 'broken' as he opens up about mental health

Machine Gun Kelly has shared a very honest insight into his mental health struggles, admitting that while he feels 'broken', he is finding ways to deal with his issues

Politics

33 h. ago ‘We all need someone’: the hairdressers tackling stigma of mental heath issues in west Africa

In Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Togo, where therapy services are almost absent, some stylists are being trained to listen, comfort and guideYopougon, the largest of Abidjan’s 13 communes, with a population of 1.5 million, is known for its entrepreneurial grit, its bubbly nightlife and, in pop culture, as being the birthplace of Francophone Africa’s most popular comic character, Aya de Yopougon.Beneath the bustle, it is also home to another taboo-busting pioneer: 49-year-old Adjoua Catherine Tano, a hairdresser who has spent two decades offering mental health advice, or just listening quietly as she cuts her clients’ hair. Continue reading...

Society

33 h. ago ‘We all need someone’: the hairdressers tackling stigma of mental health issues in west Africa

In Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Togo, where therapy services are almost absent, some stylists are being trained to listen, comfort and guideYopougon, the largest of Abidjan’s 13 communes, with a population of 1.5 million, is known for its entrepreneurial grit, its bubbly nightlife and, in pop culture, as being the birthplace of Francophone Africa’s most popular comic character, Aya de Yopougon.Beneath the bustle, it is also home to another taboo-busting pioneer: 49-year-old Adjoua Catherine Tano, a hairdresser who has spent two decades offering mental health advice, or just listening quietly as she cuts her clients’ hair. Continue reading...

Society

34 h. ago BBC staff 'took 20,000 sick days for mental health as stress, depression and anxiety rife at taxpayer

Some 20,884 days of work at the public service (pictured, file photo) were lost for psychological reasons in the year to the end of March.

Economics

51 h. ago Moment Scots motorists drive through 'broken barrier' on level crossing

The shocking incident took place in Kirknewton, West Lothian, at around 10pm on Friday October 3.

Transport

55 h. ago Rylan Clark thought he'd had a stroke after bitter marriage split

WARNING: Contains references to suicide: TV presenter and BBC Radio 2 star Rylan Clark opened up about his mental health struggles following his split from husband Dan Neal, saying he was left unable to speak for weeks

Politics

59 h. ago Courageous Scot takes on gruelling challenge after suffering tragic family loss

Callum Pigott 36, is running a whopping 53 miles from Edinburgh to Crail, a seaside town near St Andrew's to raise funds for the Mental Health Foundation.

Events

2 d. ago West Lothian parents fume at 'confusing, half finished' crossing on busy road

This comes after new homes were constructed in the area, bringing changes to the pavements and road outside the Livingston school.

Transport

2 d. ago West Lothian locals baffled as demountable camper 'dumped and set on fire'

The massive object was pictured on the side of the road on Drumshoreland Road near Livingston after it was dumped.

Events

2 d. ago I did Ricky Hatton's final interview before death – I was left gutted after it ended

Ricky Hatton died in September and the Mancunian boxing champion left a big impression on Darren Barker during his last ever interview that discussed his career and mental health

Events