Category Archives: Mental health

Nearly 70% of veterinarians have lost a colleague or peer to suicide, study finds

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Australian research shows six in 10 have sought professional help for their mental health

New research shows nearly 70% of veterinarians have lost a colleague or peer to suicide and about six in 10 have sought professional help for their mental health.

For those with decades of experience, including former Australian Veterinary Association national president Dr Warwick Vale, the figures come as no surprise.

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Let doctors use MDMA to treat veterans with PTSD and depression, former ADF boss says

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Chris Barrie says he hopes common sense will prevail and the TGA will allow drug to be more readily used to treat patients

The former chief of the Australian defence force, Chris Barrie, is campaigning to remove barriers stymying doctors from using MDMA to treat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, saying he hopes “common sense is going to prevail”.

Late last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration decided against downgrading the classification of psilocybin or MDMA as a prohibited substance to a controlled substance, a move which would have increased patient access.

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‘You feel so light’: swimming dogs help emergency workers deal with trauma

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Pete Lewin’s Newfoundlands also provide emotional therapy for veterans and young people with disabilities

“All you can hear is the water and the dogs paddling. That’s it, there’s nothing else,” said student paramedic Abigail Walker after emerging from Stanton lakes in Leicestershire, where she had been swimming with three Newfoundland dogs. “Until you’ve done it, I don’t think you realise how calming it is.”

It was her first time trying a type of emotional therapy pioneered by Pete Lewin, a paramedic who travels the country helping emergency services staff deal with trauma with the help of his pack of canines.

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‘You don’t have a choice’: Victoria’s mental health regulator criticised over complaints handling

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Olivia* complained to hospital and regulator about her treatment and feels disempowered by the process

Olivia* still has questions about the compulsory mental health treatment she received at a Melbourne hospital.

Last year, she was admitted into the Northern hospital after an eating disorder relapse. Olivia, aged in her 40s, alleges she received forced mental health treatment after being told the hospital did not treat eating disorders.

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Bristol University found guilty of failings over death of student

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Parents of Natasha Abrahart argued Bristol failed to make allowances for their daughter’s severe anxiety

A leading university has been ordered to pay £50,000 in damages to the parents of a vulnerable student who took her own life, after a senior judge ruled it had discriminated against her.

In a landmark case that has deep implications for other higher education institutions, the parents of Natasha Abrahart successfully sued the University of Bristol under the Equality Act.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org

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US Covid deaths hit 1m, a death toll higher than any other country

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Virus has laid bare America’s fragmented healthcare system and corrosive racial and socioeconomic inequality

More than one million people have died in the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, according to Johns Hopkins, far and away the most deaths of any country.

While the sheer number of deaths from the coronavirus sets the US apart, the country’s large population of 332.5 million people does not explain the staggering mortality rate, which is among the highest in the world.

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‘Forgotten’ Syrian interpreter attempts suicide after UK asylum delays

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The man, who has been awaiting a Home Office decision for almost two years, says the anxiety has had a significant impact on his wellbeing

A Syrian interpreter who has worked for the British government and the White Helmets has tried to kill himself after waiting nearly two years for a decision on his asylum claim.

Ali [not his real name] worked as an interpreter and translator for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Istanbul, and for Mayday Rescue, a humanitarian organisation that supported the work of the White Helmets (officially known as the Syria Civil Defence) across Syria.

In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here

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Ex-Facebook moderator in Kenya sues over working conditions

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Petition alleges local workers subjected to irregular pay and inadequate mental health support

A former Facebook moderator has filed a lawsuit against its owner, Meta Platforms, alleging poor working conditions for contracted content moderators violate the Kenyan constitution.

The petition, also filed against Meta’s local outsourcing company Sama, alleges that workers moderating Facebook posts in Kenya have been subjected to unreasonable working conditions including irregular pay, inadequate mental health support, union-busting, and violations of their privacy and dignity.

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Hundreds of mentally ill prisoners denied urgent treatment in England

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Most seriously ill inmates left to wait in cells often due to bed shortages at secure hospitals, data shows

Hundreds of severely mentally ill prisoners in urgent need of hospital treatment are being left in prison cells due to bed shortages in secure NHS psychiatric units, an investigation has discovered.

Freedom of information (FoI) responses from 22 NHS trusts reveal for the first time that just over half of the 5,403 prisoners in England assessed by prison-based psychiatrists to require hospitalisation were not transferred between 2016 and 2021 – an 81% increase on the number of prisoners denied a transfer in the previous five years.

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Revealed: betting giants lobbied UK government over proposed crackdown

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Documents show gambling firms warned Treasury officials against tightening up industry laws

Some of Britain’s betting giants are revealed to have quietly lobbied Treasury officials against a proposed industry crackdown, claiming it will cost millions of pounds in lost tax receipts.

Executives representing Bet365, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes met officials from the Treasury and Revenue and Customs, warning a radical overhaul of the industry could drive gamblers to the black market. The meeting was with tax officials rather than ministers and was therefore not required to be automatically disclosed.

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Israel scraps Independence Day fireworks after appeals from veterans

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Cities to mark occasion without usual displays out of consideration for former soldiers with PTSD

For the first time, cities across Israel have scrapped fireworks displays that normally mark the country’s Independence Day out of consideration for military veterans and others with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Parties and celebrations that begin on Wednesday evening in more than a dozen cities, including Tel Aviv, will not be accompanied by the cracks and bangs of fireworks. Israeli authorities in Jerusalem have opted instead for a silent pyrotechnic show.

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AMA welcomes proposed $460m mental health facility in Sydney despite questions over staffing

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New centre in city’s west will bridge ‘really big’ gap between public and private care and must have ongoing funding, medical association says

Plans for a $460m integrated mental health facility in Sydney’s west have been welcomed as a step in the right direction in addressing the “enormous” need for better and fairer care across the state.

But the Australian Medical Association New South Wales head, Dr Danielle McMullen, said the “million-dollar question” was how the complex at Westmead would be staffed, amid ongoing issues of doctor and nurse furloughing and burnout.

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Ban permanent exclusions from English primaries, says ex-children’s tsar

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Anne Longfield says ‘exclusions culture’ rewards removal of some vulnerable children from school roll

Primary schools should no longer permanently exclude pupils, and measures of wellbeing should be included alongside exam results in school league tables, according to a report by the former children’s commissioner for England.

The Commission on Young Lives, headed by Anne Longfield, argues that exclusions can be highly damaging to those affected, putting young people at risk of exploitation, serious violence and criminal activity.

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‘Unsafe’ UK accommodation threatens asylum seekers’ health – report

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Exclusive: poor healthcare and conditions at sites such as Napier worsen mental and physical illness, Doctors of the World says

Asylum seekers’ accommodation is “unsafe” due to inadequate healthcare, while poor living conditions are exacerbating or creating mental and physical health problems, according to a new report by Doctors of the World.

The charity’s research, published on Wednesday, details the barriers to medical care and medication for asylum seekers in initial accommodation across the UK.

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UK teachers popping pills as workload grinds them down, union told

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NASUWT conference delegates condemn non-stop culture that puts colleagues on long-term sick leave

Teachers are “popping pills” and are on long-term sick leave, ground down by a culture of non-stop school emails and WhatsApp messages that “ding and ping” day and night, a conference has been told.

Delegate after delegate took to the platform at the annual conference of the NASUWT teachers’ union in Birmingham to condemn the increase in workload and describe the devastating impact on health and wellbeing.

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Covid lockdown dreams reflected our claustrophobia and lack of control

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From the scary to the truly weird, our nights were full of apt visions in the early days of the pandemic, a study at University College London found

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Trapped inside a house, stuck inside a vehicle that wouldn’t move, unable to complete seemingly simple tasks: this was the stuff that dreams were made on during lockdown, according to new research from University College London.

Analysis of more than 850 dreams and nightmares submitted online to the Lockdown Dreams Project between March 2020 and March 2021 shows people often dreamed about having frustrating and restrictive experiences in mundane, everyday settings, like the home, at the height of the pandemic.

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Music improves wellbeing and quality of life, research suggests

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A review of 26 studies finds benefits of music on mental health are similar to those of exercise and weight loss

“Music,” wrote the late neurologist Oliver Sacks, “has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.”

A new analysis has empirically confirmed something that rings true for many music lovers – that singing, playing or listening to music can improve wellbeing and quality of life.

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Death of sexual assault survivor in therapy preventable, inquest finds

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Emma Pring, 29, who had PTSD and depression, killed herself after insufficient observation in Maidstone hospital, jury concludes

The death of a young woman at a privately run hospital could have been prevented, an inquest has concluded.

Emma Pring, 29, killed herself while an inpatient at Cygnet hospital in Maidstone in April 2021.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

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Reasons to be cheerful: optimists live longer, says study

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Those with a positive attitude to life may lower their anxiety levels by avoiding arguments

People who have a rosy outlook on the world may live healthier, longer lives because they have fewer stressful events to cope with, new research suggests.

Scientists found that while optimists reacted to, and recovered from, stressful situations in much the same way as pessimists, the optimists fared better emotionally because they had fewer stressful events in their daily lives.

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Be open, be honest and listen: how to talk to children about Ukraine

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Hearing parents say ‘It’s OK to feel scared and I’m here to listen’ might provide comfort

How should we deal with children’s anxiety over what’s happening in Ukraine?

I wonder if the question should be: how do we deal with our own? Our kids will pick up on how we are feeling and are likely to mirror our own emotive state. Even if you don’t mean to expose them to news, children will realise that something is going on. It may not concern younger children at all but those who are a bit older or old enough to have a smartphone may well be worried, and even work themselves up into a bit of a frenzy.

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