In his debut blog, Liam Mackay summarises a recent study that shows an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm in bisexual and lesbian/gay individuals. The study also highlights common mental health problems, discrimination and bullying as potential contributors to this excess risk.
[read the full story...]“I’m always going to be tired”: fatigue in adolescent depression
Georgia Kemp reflects on a recent qualitative paper that looks at adolescents’ personal accounts of fatigue as a symptom in depression.
[read the full story...]Barriers to PTSD care for US veterans: new evidence highlights importance of an intersectional approach
Dr Ana Veic explores the barriers to mental health care reported by over 17,000 US veterans with PTSD, and how these barriers differ between demographic groups (e.g., by race and by sex).
[read the full story...]The burden of perinatal mental illness in migrant women: new evidence on prevalence and risk factors
In her debut Mental Elf blog, Gilda Spaducci explores the global prevalence of perinatal mental disorders among migrant women; summarising a recent review which finds that “one in four experience perinatal depression, one in five perinatal anxiety, and one in eleven perinatal PTSD”.
[read the full story...]Suicide prevention for autistic people: the importance of belonging, mental health and movement
Shania Lorenz summarises a recent network analysis on the complex pathways to suicide and suicidal thoughts among autistic people, which may include a lack of caring and supportive friends, feeling like an outsider, movement differences like restlessness, and mental health problems like anxiety.
[read the full story...]Mental health services for sexual minorities: experiences of discrimination, barriers to services and priorities for improvement
In her latest blog, Siobhan D’Almeida appraises a qualitative study exploring the experiences of sexual minorities when accessing mental health services, with a specific focus on the impact to the therapeutic relationship.
[read the full story...]The term ‘borderline personality disorder’ is misunderstood by almost everyone; it needs to go
Many people feel very strongly about the term ‘personality disorder’. It is not the adjective that troubles; it is the noun. ‘Disorder’ is used as from 1980 onwards every mental health diagnosis has been listed as a disorder even if the final word is not mentioned. You cannot make a mental diagnosis without using it, [read the full story…]
Care or punishment? Black service users’ experiences of inpatient mental health care under detention
Ian Cummins summarises findings from a recent qualitative study by Solanki et al. (2023), which explores the experiences of individuals from Black Ethnic backgrounds detained under the Mental Health Act (1983).
[read the full story...]Does a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder help or harm? #BIGSPD23
As we prepare for #BIGSPD23 in Glasgow (starting tomorrow), a psychiatrist and mental health occupational therapist explore a review of stigma occurring as a result of a borderline personality disorder diagnosis, coming to their own conclusions on the key messages.
[read the full story...]“Like being a pretender”: A meta-synthesis of experiences of loneliness in perinatal depression
In her debut blog, Francesca Kingston explores experiences of loneliness among women with perinatal depression, reported in a new meta-synthesis published in BMC Psychiatry.
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