COVID-19 outbreak.

What Is COVID-19?

The novel coronavirus set in motion a global pandemic that the world is still attempting to understand, treat and grapple with.

The virus is a novel member of the coronavirus family of viruses, long associated with the common cold, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The virus is believed to have existed in animals before recently mutating and undergoing transmission to humans.

Continue reading

Depression and Relationships

Logan was a doctoral student studying ancient Italian poetry. His life was filled with shelves of old books and a teaching job where he was supposed to inspire lethargic first-year students.

His doctoral adviser was ambiguous and inconsistent, and Logan was a people-pleaser who worried that his adviser and students were always upset with him.

Continue reading

Managing the acute psychotic episode: Life on the ward

The folowing is a podcast, hosted by staff nurse John-Barry Waldron, which challenges some of the myths and taboos around mental illness in the UK today, as it provides listeners with a rare look into what life is like for patients and staff living and working in a secure mental healthcare hospital.

In Episode 1 of ‘On the Ward’, we hear from one patient in his early 40s, who has been living at St Andrew’s for more than two years. During the episode the patient speaks candidly about the street drug Black Mamba, which he says ruined his life, causing him serious problems to his mental health. He also opens up to John about his childhood, and life living at St Andrew’s.

Assistant psychologist Mel Morgan and Healthcare Assistant Michael Mullally also feature in the first episode providing insight and analysis on a range of topics such as the pathway in which patients end up in the hospital, to how and when they can leave.

Continue reading

The silent crisis that is literally killing men

Your mental health is inseparable from your physical health. I know it not a revolutionary concept, but what is astounding is the stigmatisation that still surrounds men who dare to talk about their mental struggles.

Men who are vocal about any kind of mental issues can be regarded as weak or inferior. As flawed, broken guys who are more likely to be ostracised for their honesty, instead of rewarded for their bravery. Instead of affording your fellow man compassion, we mock, belittle, and turn a blind eye.

We freely spit the phrase, “Man up,” as though your gender alone should be sufficed to guide you through your darkest times.

Continue reading
>