Mental health

The response, both online and in person to the band, has been enormous, with fans sending messages of support and sharing their own experiences. Alexander, 25, told the Observer last week that he had been overwhelmed by the positive reaction. “It shows that people really want to talk about these issues. Fans tweet me or message me on Instagram, and the reality of a lot of their lives is that they are dealing with mental health issues – I see it all the time. When I meet fans – after shows, or wherever – they sometimes tell me their life stories. There are so many young people struggling with anxiety, depression and mental health issues.” … [Read more...] about Brit award contenders score a hit in the battle against mental health stigma

“For too many, especially black, Asian and minority ethnic people, their first experience of mental health care comes when they are detained under the Mental Health Act, often with police involvement, followed by a long stay in hospital,” Farmer and the taskforce’s vice-chair, Jacqui Dyer – a counsellor, mental health service user and carer – state in the report’s foreword. … [Read more...] about NHS vows to transform mental health services with extra £1bn a year

He said: “As a society we have to recognise that one in four of us during our lifetime will suffer a degree of depression, some of it will be very severe, some of it will be less so. Many of us will become sufferers of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. We all have family or friends who are going through periods of stress. … [Read more...] about Jeremy Corbyn attends mental health event on first day as Labour leader

We learned from the fight against tobacco that public health responses require long-term investment, sustained attention, strong collaboration and ongoing political will in order to see results. After decades of incremental progress in the fight against tobacco, lawmakers raised taxes in New York City and banned smoking in bars and restaurants. … [Read more...] about The mental health crisis needs to be fought as robustly as the smoking battle

Helping more than an extra million people with mental health problems is laudable (NHS vows to transform mental health services with extra £1bn a year, 15 February). But only if treatment is effective. Illness of the mind is inherently more difficult to diagnose than illness of the body. And treatment outcomes are more uncertain. For example, the much vaunted talking therapies can only work if counsellor and patient hit it off (over the years I have had one positive score from six attempts). Drug therapy is certainly effective, but it normally takes weeks to work and often makes people a lot worse before they start to get better, leading some to stop taking the pills too soon. It is not clear that GPs’ training yet gives them an adequate grounding in mental health. Psychiatric inpatient treatment is obviously worthwhile, but in my experience if you get 20 minutes a week of your consultant’s time and then only on weekdays you are doing well; and acute pressure on … [Read more...] about The scale of the UK’s mental health challenge has been underestimated