Medcast news and blog
What we all need is more hygge!
Is that a typo in the title? Should it say hugs? Well, “hugs” is getting close but not really quite there.
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Generally speaking Mental Health apps don’t have much of an evidence base. For that reason, if you are a mental health practitioner, it’s important to take a close look yourself at any apps you plan to recommend.
Do you feel comfortable about using computers to help people with their mental health? If not you are not alone and this might give you some insight into why you feel that way. Earlier this year I read a book called The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North, a pseudonym belonging to British author Catherine Webb. The story revolves around two interesting ideas.
Recently on a social media group someone asked if TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) really was a treatment for depression or just another “alternative therapy hoax”. Here’s some information to update you on TMS...
Though exercise helps in managing the symptoms of mild to moderate depression, even in non-depressed adults fewer than half are still following an exercise program after six months. What are some factors that help increased physical activity become a habit?
Podcasts are a great way to get a dose of education or relaxation without having to stop whatever else it is you are doing. I listen to This American Life on long drives from one workplace to another, to the BBC Comedy shows while exercising
“Cognitive bandwidth” is a term you may not have heard but a concept that makes sense from the minute you encounter it. We all know that referring a seriously depressed patient for “talking” therapy is probably not going to be very useful. In severe depression, and severe anxiety for that matter, concentration and focus are sufficiently impaired that any attempt to try to think differently, (as cognitive behavioural therapy requires) is fairly futile.
Do you know the other professionals working in mental health in your area? Working in isolation in mental health is a great way to get burnt out. We all need support while we work to support the mental health of others.
It’s Monday morning and you’re already 45 minutes behind. Jessie*, aged 39, walks into your consultation room and promptly bursts into tears. Between sobs she explains that she has reached the end of her tether at work due to “severe bullying” by a co-worker.
In clinical practice many of us see the sad results of homophobia and prejudice. Marriage aside, as GPs we need to know how to help members of the LGBTI community who are experiencing mental health problems.