http://blogs.independent.co.uk| Blogs from the Independent newspaper - news, views and features from the world's most free-thinking newspaper| Sat, 18 May 2013 20:54:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2| en hourly 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/03/12/how-technology-is-helping-young-people-to-cope-with-mental-illnesses/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/03/12/how-technology-is-helping-young-people-to-cope-with-mental-illnesses/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:19:07 +0000 Mei Leng Yew http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=33256 Mental illness can be your very worst companion. It might keep you in your bed all day, coiling round you with its tight embrace and soft whispers, “Stay here. The morning’s past and you’ll never manage anyway. You can try again tomorrow but today’s already lost.” When bedtime beckons, you might not sleep. Your illness bothers you with its tears and its worries or its silence until morning returns.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/03/12/how-technology-is-helping-young-people-to-cope-with-mental-illnesses/feed/ 6 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/21/living-with-postnatal-depression-i-felt-terrified-of-motherhood-and-no-love-for-my-baby/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/21/living-with-postnatal-depression-i-felt-terrified-of-motherhood-and-no-love-for-my-baby/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:49:19 +0000 Liz Wise http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=31006 Depression - I never believed in this word, especially not postnatal depression, how could anyone be depressed when they have a wonderful new baby, I thought?]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/21/living-with-postnatal-depression-i-felt-terrified-of-motherhood-and-no-love-for-my-baby/feed/ 18 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/18/the-army-of-angels-war-wounds-aren%e2%80%99t-necessarily-physical/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/18/the-army-of-angels-war-wounds-aren%e2%80%99t-necessarily-physical/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:21:19 +0000 Steve Valentine http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=30892 My name is Stephen Valentine and I was born in November 1969. At the age of 18, I decided to enlist in the British Army as a driver in the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT). I completed my basic training in February 1988 and was then posted to eight Squadron, 27 Regiment RCT, at Buller Barracks in Aldershot.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/18/the-army-of-angels-war-wounds-aren%e2%80%99t-necessarily-physical/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/22/dr-norman-rosenthal-after-all-who-wants-to-prescribe-a-10-year-old-with-prozac/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/22/dr-norman-rosenthal-after-all-who-wants-to-prescribe-a-10-year-old-with-prozac/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:27:34 +0000 Steve Watkins http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=29312 Dr Norman Rosenthal is used to looking outside the box for answers to conditions such as seasonal affective disorder and post-traumatic stress. His work has sometimes put him at odds with a largely conservative medical establishment who forget that many of today’s procedures were themselves questioned in the past. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/22/dr-norman-rosenthal-after-all-who-wants-to-prescribe-a-10-year-old-with-prozac/feed/ 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/09/world-mental-health-day-defeating-the-dog-called-depression/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/09/world-mental-health-day-defeating-the-dog-called-depression/#comments Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:45:40 +0000 Neela Debnath http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=29030 To coincide with World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization have produced an animated video about depression. The short video by Matthew Johnstone, who has written, illustrated and narrated it, features a black dog which serves as a metaphor for the mental disorder.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/09/world-mental-health-day-defeating-the-dog-called-depression/feed/ 8 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/#comments Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:32:17 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26729 Channel 4’s Mental Health season, the controversially titled ‘4 Goes Mad’ kicked off last night with ‘Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions’.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/are-there-mental-tools-that-can-help-alleviate-mental-illness/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/are-there-mental-tools-that-can-help-alleviate-mental-illness/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:00:10 +0000 Tony Lobl http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25505 What could trigger the Twitter tribute “Unbelievably brave. Kevan Jones MP is a hero!” from a rival Conservative MP? Tory Louise Mensch was praising the Labour MP’s courageous decision to share his experience of depression in last week’s House of Commons debate on mental illness.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/are-there-mental-tools-that-can-help-alleviate-mental-illness/feed/ 5 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:06:25 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25315 Members of parliament gathered in the House of Commons today to discuss something which has, for far too many years, been sidelined, overlooked and if acknowledged at all, treated with a certain level of complacency; mental health.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/feed/ 125 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/21/is-there-a-correlation-between-internet-usage-and-depression/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/21/is-there-a-correlation-between-internet-usage-and-depression/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 13:53:56 +0000 Jamie Lewis http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=24406 A recent study at the Missouri University of Science and Technology found that students were more likely to use the internet, file-share and send emails when they were feeling blue - going as far to say it could be an indicator of depression.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/21/is-there-a-correlation-between-internet-usage-and-depression/feed/ 2 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/16/scotlands-50p-alcohol-tax-battling-health-with-money/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/16/scotlands-50p-alcohol-tax-battling-health-with-money/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 09:29:25 +0000 Josh Barrie http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=24238 Scotland has elevated far beyond Theresa May’s 40p proclamation then, with an impetus to enforce a minimum 50p per unit levy on alcohol prices. Nicola Sturgeon's arguments are less annoying than Theresa's at least; if we were to hear yet another tirade of ‘pre-loading’ nonsense I fear for my health for entirely different reasons.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/16/scotlands-50p-alcohol-tax-battling-health-with-money/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/01/12/the-hidden-side-of-sport-and-beyond/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/01/12/the-hidden-side-of-sport-and-beyond/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:48:53 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=20343 Freddie Flintoff's documentary, 'The Hidden Side of Sport' shown on BBC1 last night did far more than shed some light on what goes on beneath the helmets of sportsmen on top of their game as they go out to bat. By unveiling those cracks and speaking candidly with others who have shared the sleepless nights and shameful drunken binges, Flintoff took a massive step forwards in fighting against the belief that depression is something that should be kept in the shadows.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/01/12/the-hidden-side-of-sport-and-beyond/feed/ 7 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/09/30/song-of-the-day-mozart-parties-%e2%80%93-black-cloud/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/09/30/song-of-the-day-mozart-parties-%e2%80%93-black-cloud/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:29:07 +0000 John Hall http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=16926 Finger-clicks, sweetly-sung melodies and a vaguely syncopated rhythm may seem out of place in a song about living under a cloud of depression, but Mozart Parties (AKA James Bennett) clearly approaches the whole ‘nervous breakdown thing’ with an element of black humour. The song’s heavy, occasionally overdriven bassline suggests an Afrobeat influence (albeit one that [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/09/30/song-of-the-day-mozart-parties-%e2%80%93-black-cloud/feed/ 2