Mental Health

As lockdown goes on and we continue to adapt, new statistics suggest soon-to-be parents are turning to alternative means to help combat anxiety and regain a sense of control New figures released by Hypnotherapy Directory have shown a 169% increase in those searching for hypnobirthing as soon-to-be parents turn to online forms of support during

We speak to experienced anxiety experts to find out more about high-functioning anxiety, how it affects us, and what we can do to cope… We’ve all heard of anxiety. Related to our ‘fight or flight’ response, while the emotional and physical sensations are unpleasant, it can be a normal thing to experience from time to

Fearne Cotton, mental health advocate, author and highly acclaimed broadcaster joins Happiful’s podcast I am. I have to talk about life in lockdown, letting go and practising gratitude Like so many parents, Fearne Cotton is currently juggling work with homeschooling, managing endless loads of laundry and picking her way through the lego on the floor,

From charity support services to mum networks and some light hearted laughs, mums, these are for you At a time of great uncertainty, a threat to your physical and mental health, and on-demand housefuls, Mums have it tough. Of course, dads too, but this week we’re celebrating mums in honour of Maternal Mental Health Matters

Live Life Well Virtual Weekender is the UK’s first ever virtual wellbeing festival in response to COVID-19 and the current national lockdown While life in lockdown may have paused some events for the moment, we’re delighted that the UK’s first online mental health and wellbeing festival, the Live Life Well Virtual Weekender will take place

We share some of the great deeds done, how you can still get involved, and where you can turn if you need a little support right now We’re all in this together has been a sentiment much-shared over recent weeks. While we may not all be in the same boat, undergoing the same experiences, it’s

Staying in touch with friends and family has never been more important, so how can you keep things exciting? You’ve caught up about another day spent in the house, shown off your pet on camera, and completed your 1,764th pub quiz since lockdown began – there must be something else you can do to stay

The campaign lays out three easy tips for dads who want to have the conversation Our teenage years can be bloody difficult. And starting your period is a big moment. But as your body go through immense changes, and you try to navigate this new era in your life, everything gets a little bit easier

Model, activist, and entrepreneur, Kenny Ethan Jones is making history as the first trans man to front a period campaign. Here he shares his insight on how we can all be better trans allies Mental health matters to me because… it’s a universal experience. It’s one of the few things that we can all understand,

It’s time to harness the power of music. Follow our five tips to start building your new, ultimate feel-good playlist Music has the ability to completely transform our moods. How many times has an upbeat song come on, and suddenly your feet are tapping, you’re singing along, and the worries that were weighing you down

‘I’m so OCD when it comes to my baby — all his outfits must match!’ reads the first tweet that comes up after a quick social media search for ‘OCD’.Others reference the disorder as the reason they don’t like having unread notifications on their phone, another for improper grammar use. These posts aren’t hard to find — there are

With restrictions still in place, what do we do if we have to say goodbye to a loved one during lockdown? Lianna Champ, funeral director and bereavement expert, explains more More than ever, we need help to grieve; to try and find an anchor in this new chaos in our lives. In these times of

Our routines have changed completely since lockdown began, and so have the routines of our canine companions. Trainer and author of ‘Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy’, Steve Mann, shares how we can all make the most of this extended time inside with our dogs While Happiful usually focuses on the human experience, we’re massive dog lovers

More than just a restless night, insomnia is a sleep disorder that can deeply impact a person’s life. Here, Sassy Smith reveals what it’s really like to experience insomnia first-hand… It’s 4am and I’m lying in bed sobbing, listening to my husband snoring gently beside me, and trying to resist the urge to pinch or

The last seven months as Acting CEO of Mental Health Australia has been a rollercoaster of challenges, many rewarding and some, like the bushfires and coronavirus, quite confronting. Above all I would like thank the staff, board, and members for supporting me in the role during this time. From breaking a Guinness World Record on

Thinking and decision making are among the cognitive processes affected by stress. The hippocampus and amygdala (to simplify this) kick the pre-frontal cortex off line, so to speak, depending on how activated we are. Putting it simply, when our bodies (and minds) are scanning for threat, we’re not using the thinking part of our brains

Toronto, Ellen L. K. 2009.  Time Out of Mind: Dissociation in the Virtual World. Psychoanalytic Psychology.  26 (2) 117-133), I have described the case of the young woman whose use of the Internet had cordoned off an important part of her psychic life. In doing so she performed her work responsibilities well but paid a

Today I love that yesterday I made date squares and they were as good as any I’ve ever made before and I’ve made lots. I love that my new oven has yet to fail me, wow what a great thing it is. I do regret that it doesn’t open sideways, but that is a small

I see it in my daughter’s life, and I see it in the mental health industry that has grown up in support of supposed pathologies that a short time ago would never have been considered mental illnesses. The ideals I see threatened: work and responsibility. In my daughter’s life we’re beginning week seven of homeschooling

How could this happen? Yup. Government late to the problem and lacking solutions? Yup. Raw fear? Yup. Hospitals overflowing? Yup. Uncertainty about who is well and who is not? Yup. Lack of clarity regarding transmission and lethality? Yup. As gay men of a certain age, my colleague Dr. David Fawcett and I are having some

Today I love that I bought some yeast sight unseen by ordering it on the phone and when I got it it is four times the quantity that I normally buy and so I won’t have to go looking for yeast for quite some time I reckon. I love that I am now contemplating baking

I thought I’d do it, well, better. But I’m not calmer and I’m not doing it better at all. Instead, somehow my mind has been remarkably persistent thus far about trying to translate “stay at home” to mean “put my whole life on hold” and then convince me it is right. And unfortunately, my mind

But then I got thinking, are WE safe at home? WE? Yes, WE! Those of us with ADHD. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not suggesting we should be allowed to roam around freely, ignoring isolation rules and just being all manner of foolish. I’m simply asking the question, are we really and truly

One useful way to check in with ourselves and, if need be, recalibrate our attitudes and actions is to conduct an evening review of our day. The suggestions below are meant to be done in a spirit of self-compassion and gentleness. This is not an opportunity to beat ourselves up for perceived shortcomings or to

But even if you have that empathy in a theoretical sense, applying it in the moment is harder. In fact, applying skills in the moment is where people with ADHD often experience challenges. Symptoms like impulsivity and not thinking situations through fully can interfere with us putting the theoretical knowledge we have – or in