Are you worried that you might be getting addicted to social media? You are not alone. It is estimated that over 210 million people worldwide suffer from some form of social media and/or internet addiction. [1] What starts as a ...read more
Last week the UK marked Parent Mental Health Day, an awareness event that was introduced in 2022 by Stem4, a charity that supports young people to build positive mental health. The campaign theme for this year was #BuildFamilyResilience and focused ...read more
If you have read Part I of this article, you are hopefully feeling reassured that you are not alone. Loneliness is extremely prevalent and felt across all age groups. A US study found that as many as 80% of young ...read more
Whether we are young, elderly, or somewhere in the middle, loneliness is a feeling that we can all relate to. But the way we experience it is very personal. It can be a fleeting feeling of distress, or a gnawing ...read more
Feeling nervous or anxious about meeting new people is common among many of us at some point in our lives, whether in a personal or professional context. Some of our worries may relate to a specific situation, such as public ...read more
The Movember movement is run by a charity that’s changing the face of men's health, focusing on mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. Here at P-UK staff have been getting involved by growing, styling, and rocking moustaches ...read more
If you have stopped to read this blog, it is likely that you are close to someone who you suspect has become, or is becoming, reliant on alcohol. You might be worried about a parent’s drinking, or about a sibling? ...read more
5% of the UK population are affected by Generalised Anxiety Disorder [1] - that’s 1 in 20 people! The likelihood is either you, or someone you know, has experienced, or is currently experiencing, anxiety. It can be distressing to see ...read more
Do you consider yourself to be a good listener? Could you recognise when someone is in need? Samaritans is challenging people across Britain and Ireland to become better listeners during its annual Talk To Us campaign. Throughout July, the charity ...read more
Your wellbeing is largely dictated by what makes you happy. Finding the leading sources of prosperity and contentment can be hugely important when tackling the struggles of everyday life, whether this be holding down jobs or dealing with the increasing ...read more
If we’ve learnt anything from the last two years, it would likely be the fragility of our minds, and how major life changes or unexpected situations can sometimes send our mental wellbeing into a negative spiral. Suffering from mental health issues is ...read more
January can be a tough time for even the most cheery individual, with many of us feeling the January blues. Today, Monday 17th January, is known as Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, due to the end of festivities, ...read more
The festive season is a time of relaxation and merriment and, for many, more than their fair share of alcohol. All the Christmas celebrations are a drinker’s paradise, from the free bar at the office party to the booze-frenzied ...read more
During your assessment with the Consultant, you may discuss whether medication would be appropriate to help you manage your ADHD symptoms. If you decide that you might find this beneficial, you will be referred to our Titration Team. Titration ...read more
How does the clinical picture of ADHD differ in males and females? Dr Johnson Consultant Psychiatrist in Neurodevelopmental disorders goes through how to recognise the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in girls and women. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ...read more
The world is a stressful place right now. The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in its top 10 most disabling conditions as measured by lost income and decreased quality of life. What is OCD? ‘Obsessions’ and ‘compulsions’ ...read more
1. Know that feeling anxious about coronavirus is OK and normal. Anxiety is a natural response to the unknown, so it's normal to feel unsettled since much about the virus is unknown even to experts. Anxiety is mother nature's way ...read more
We were recently inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and have been rated 'Outstanding' in ‘Caring’ and received an overall rating of ‘Good’. The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They make sure ...read more
People with ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder) are often creative, charismatic and ambitious. Many, however, seek help due to struggles in education, work, finances or relationships. People with ADHD can struggle in other aspects of life too. For instance, it ...read more
This is not one of those Mental Health day posts that sings and dances about the wonderful service we provide. We do enough of that on #feedbackfriday*. We are a remote business. There is no commute to work, with flexible ...read more
It was in the news recently that the adult son of Sally Challen managed to have his mother’s case reviewed. After lengthy consideration she was released from prison. She was serving a life sentence for the pre-meditated murder of her ...read more
The 7th World Congress on ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) was held 25 - 28 April 2019 in Lisbon. It is an international conference attended by psychiatrists, specialist, researchers and service users (i.e. patients, partners/family members, carers) from all over ...read more
Something we get asked quite a lot! A psychiatrist is a medically-qualified practitioner who will have first spent 5/6 years training as a doctor. They will then have worked as a doctor for at least a year. Following that, ...read more
‘Died by suicide’ is the term we tend to use nowadays. The old fashioned way, saying that someone ‘committed’ suicide, implies that a crime has taken place - which has not been true since The Suicide Act of 1961 ...read more
Every now and again you see a report in a newspaper. There was one a few years ago that always comes to mind for me, a seemingly happily married and successful lawyer with three young children who threw herself in ...read more
We’re all used to going to talk to our GPs about even the most embarrassing of physical conditions, but if you’ve never talked to your GP about your mental health, having that initial conversation can be pretty daunting. Don’t delay, ...read more
It's the season to be jolly - isn't it? Sadly, it's also the time of year that it is easiest to catch a nasty cold dose of clinical depression. When it actually happens, depression is all too real - and ...read more
So perhaps you have finally got that ADHD diagnosis - and you are taking the medication….. So what’s the problem now? Here’s some very important news – ADHD is really likely to be affecting your relationship - and you need ...read more
Mental illness is a sign of weakness. People with depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions aren't "mentally weak." Mental strength is not the same as mental health. Someone who is blind or who has an ulcer could still be ...read more
There has been a bit of a kick back this week against the rather glib idea of Blue Monday, supposedly the most miserable day of the year - but actually a concept made up by a holiday company ...read more
We had our 1000th patient book an online appointment with a consultant psychiatrist a few days ago. Over 600 people have paid to see one of our online psychiatrists in the last year - and we are now seeing ...read more
Is the stigma becoming less so? Isn’t it wonderful that nowadays everyone is much more willing to talk about mental health? It is so important that the stigma associated with having a mental rather than physical illness is confronted. It ...read more
Four of the Partners working with Psychiatry-UK presented at a symposium on Telepsychiatry In The UK at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) held in New York City. In the past 12 months we had had ...read more
It all looks so very glamorous ...and of course he doesn’t realise it - but he’s in huge danger….. …I’m not talking about the assassination skills of the SMERSH Agent about to attack 007, but about something that is ...read more
1. Feeling sad does not necessarily mean you have depression Sadness is such a normal emotion - and so very appropriate to many of the experiences that we all have. What would it be to never feel sad? We may ...read more
The future is upon us! Substance misuse is a major problem in the UK. Addiction statistics in the UK remain one of the highest in Europe and we are right up there with the heaviest alcohol consuming countries. However our ...read more
In their book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, the authors Collins and Porras coined the term Big Hairy Audacious Goal (2016). This describes a visionary medium term organisational goal which is compelling, stretches the workforce but is ...read more
Few are more aware of the current problems in healthcare than NHS consultant psychiatrists. Historically, the Cinderella discipline has been badly neglected. Though recently there has been some welcome increase in awareness and understanding around mental health, reducing prejudice, this ...read more
This question seems to have exercised plenty of people recently, including some US voters, his fellow politicians, other world leaders, worried citizens of the rest of the world, - and a number of prominent psychiatrists and, as it is my ...read more
This week marks the launch of Mental Health Awareness Week 2017. The stigma attached to mental illnesses is often the reason why people suffer in silence. This week is aimed at raising awareness of mental health related issues. In support ...read more
We face all sorts of difficulties in our everyday lives, and our brains are under immense pressure to analyse messages from an increasingly hectic outside world and integrate them with a knowledge of what is happening to us internally. This ...read more
What is anxiety? Anxiety problems are the commonest mental health disorders, with some surveys showing that a third of people suffer with anxiety at some point in their lives. Anxiety is a feeling of fear and distress. It is a ...read more
There should be no sugaring of the pill. The fact is that dementia and depression go hand in hand - it is depressing to get dementia. However, though there have been occasional headlines suggesting that those who suffer from clinical ...read more
Unfortunately, even though we are talking more about mental health, the stigma still remains. This is particularly true in the workplace. One confidential survey showed that 56% of companies said they would not hire someone with depression, even if they ...read more
How happiness has been viewed is constantly changing. Go back to ancient Greece and it was very simple: happiness was luck. There was nothing you could do about it. In fact, in every European language, the root of the word ...read more
There have always been people who have had to flee from wars, or natural disasters or severe persecution because of their ethnic origin or their political, religious or social activities. If we all had our DNA tested, few of us ...read more
We live in a world where men have always had many advantages - just because they are men, but in the area of mental illness perhaps it has always been those traditional male attitudes that mean that it is ...read more
In the month of Ramadan and in particular these last 10 nights, Muslims spend a lot of time reflecting on their lives. It is our time for introspection, when we both take stock of things past and plan ahead to ...read more
