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Herbal doesn’t always mean harmless; news for St John’s Wort
St John’s Wort has, for centuries, been used as a treatment for mental disorders and nerve pain. Named after St John the Baptist whose feast day on 24 June coincides with its full bloom, its five yellow petals are thought to represent a halo, and characteristic red sap the blood of the martyred saint (St…
The truth about lies
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as ‘deception literature’ – that is the study of lies in the practice of communication. I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing – good, I suppose, in that someone is actually bothering to take account of mankind’s propensity to deceit, and…
New help weighing up antidepressants
I have a cousin who has suffered from depression for years. Like many in her position, she’ll go through a period when things are OK, during which time she might stop taking her medication; never a good idea. As a consequence, she’s sampled lots of different antidepressants, with doctors using her lack of compliance to…
Babies and antipsychotics don’t appear to mix
Drug safety is very much on the agenda in the UK, with the government’s Early Access to Medicines Scheme unveiled to great industry acclaim earlier this year. The scheme allows patients with serious illness to gain access to drugs before they are approved, with lobbyists making much of the popular benefit of ‘greater choice’. A…
English unemployment and poverty – and the landscape for antidepressants
New research, published as a part of QualityWatch, a joint initiative of the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation reveals a stark trend in the incidence of antidepressant prescribing in England. Between 1998 and 2012 (the last year for which data was available), the number of antidepressants dispensed in the community each year rose from 15…
New research on which to meditate
We hear a lot about meditation these days, mostly as an antidote to stress. But it has also been associated with improving mood and sleep quality, enhancing memory and reducing some of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Far from being a definitive technique, meditation takes many forms, from mindfulness (whose marketing machine seems to…
Don’t panic: it’s Mental Health Awareness Week
Did you know it’s Mental Health Awareness Week? Don’t panic if not; you have two more days to get your head around this year’s theme, anxiety, now one of the most common mental health problems here and in the rest of the world. The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) is a key driver of Mental Health…
Relief for depression in spades
Getting out into the great outdoors is good for us all, especially at this time of year. And what could be more delightful than colluding with nature in a spot of gardening, to fully immerse oneself in the experience. It seems that such a strategy may be more than just a good idea for people…
