Latest news with #mentalwellness
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Chatteris Museum closes for a day due to a lack of volunteers
A town's museum has had to close temporarily due to a lack of Museum in Cambridgeshire, which is usually open for three days a week, is desperate to attract more volunteers – particularly those who can work front of museum has 23 volunteers, but not all of them want to work as "meet and greeters".The situation meant it was unable to open on Friday last week. Andrew Spooner, part of the museum's management team, said that without more volunteers, its future could be in Spooner's wife Sue, 68, who is also part of the management team, said: "Last week was a unique situation for us in that we didn't have any volunteers to open the museum to the public in the role we call 'front of house', where they meet and greet visitors."I think it is difficult for people [to volunteer], particularly on Friday mornings and Saturday afternoons, with [their] other commitments."Mrs Spooner said volunteers needed to give the museum only two or three hours a youngest volunteer is 16 and the oldest is in their mid-80s. Mr Spooner, 70, said: "One thing that is talked about a lot today is mental wellness, anxiety, loneliness and isolation. Volunteering at the museum gives people a chance to meet and engage with others."It is a chance to do something worthwhile [and] give something back to the community... You don't need to be an expert on local history – you just need to able to engage with visitors and be enthusiastic."He added that the museum was "an important pivot for the community, not just for looking back into the past but [for] looking to the future as the town grows". Visitors to the museum can see a wealth of unusual objects, including mobile stocks from 1774 and an early "boneshaker" exhibits illustrate traditional aspects of Fenland life and the waterways, the railway boom and the wealth of a prosperous 19th Century market museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Independent Singapore
27-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
New white paper warns of the cost of inaction on youth mental health across APAC
SINGAPORE: There's a growing cost—both personal and economic—of not addressing young people's mental well-being across Asia-Pacific (APAC), according to a new white paper by the Z Zurich Foundation. The report warned that mental health issues left untreated early in life affect education, work, and relationships later in life. Notably, nearly half of all mental health issues start by age 14. Meanwhile, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among those aged 15 to 29 in several countries across the region. With over 750 million young people aged 15 to 24 in South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific, the report said the need for action was urgent. Despite this, mental health receives merely 1% of health budgets in many parts of the region, with even less funding going to mental well-being promotion. It explained that promotion initiatives aim to create supportive environments where young people can have emotional literacy and positive coping mechanisms. At the same time, prevention focuses on spotting and mitigating risk factors of mental health conditions, especially among the most vulnerable. 'All actors play a crucial role in scaling youth mental wellbeing initiatives and bridging the funding gaps,' it stated. It called on donors, policymakers, and community groups to invest in mental health prevention and promotion for young people across Asia-Pacific. It stated that urgent investment is needed in public-private collaborations, schools that integrate mental wellbeing with learning, and community-based support systems. It added that a future where young people's mental well-being is supported would require immediate action and long-term commitment, including prevention policies, sustainable funding, a trained workforce, and governance that is open to the youth's voices from diverse cultural backgrounds. It also stressed the need for a mindset shift to view youth mental health as key to societal resilience and economic growth. Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation, said, 'The time for fragmented solutions is over. We must align across sectors, scale proven approaches, build collaborations and invest in systems that put young people at the centre. The future of the APAC region depends on it. Together, we can create environments where young people not only survive but thrive.' See also Morning brief: Coronavirus update for August 5, 2020 The white paper builds on effective examples across the region as it aims to guide public and private organisations, institutions, policymakers, and civil society on how to best support youth mental wellbeing. Some promising initiatives mentioned include youth-led platforms, sports initiatives, emotional education programmes, and blended financing models, which combine the strengths of different sectors to create lasting change. /TISG Read also: Singapore youth turn to AI chatbots for mental health needs as they find it 'far cheaper than therapy' Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
10 Therapist-Approved Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." If you've recently found yourself in a rut, you're not alone. A lot of people (myself included) have been crashing out over the state of our country lately. Or maybe you've been feeling off for a while now. Regardless, I'm guessing you stumbled upon this page because you want some tips on how to improve your mental health. And honestly, good for you. The first step toward getting better is realizing you're in a bad place and deciding you want to do something about it. Struggling with your mental health can feel overwhelming. If your Google search history is full of questions like, 'How do I rebuild my mental health?' and 'Can you fix bad mental health?' take a deep breath and relax—I've got answers for you. I asked five therapists to tell me their best strategies for improving mental health, and they really delivered. But before you start reading their advice, keep in mind that none of these tips will change your life overnight (sorry!). Be patient as you try different strategies, and don't be afraid to seek out professional help if it feels like too much to take on alone. Okay, now on to the tips! You made it to this page, so I'm guessing you know you feel off. But do you know exactly which emotions you've been feeling recently and whether there are any patterns to them? If not, therapist and founder of Therapy for Women Center Amanda White, LPC, LMHC recommends trying a daily emotional check-in. Take a moment once or twice a day to reflect on what emotions you're experiencing, how your body feels, and whether there's anything you need that would make you feel a little bit better. 'This practice helps you identify patterns and respond to your needs before reaching a crisis point,' says White. 'From there, you can start understanding what different things you can do to take care of yourself when you feel certain emotions in your body.' Let's say you do your check-in at work, and you notice you're feeling super frustrated after a meeting. Taking a moment to note that emotion and do something to work with it—like taking some deep breaths or getting up for a quick walk—can make a big difference. And if you have no idea how to label what you're feeling, White suggests checking out this mood meter chart by psychologist Marc Brackett, PhD. Don't underestimate the power of a good night's sleep for mental health! 'Sleep can have a profound impact on not just overall mood, but our ability to effectively communicate our feelings. The more exhausted we are, the lower our emotional threshold and patience,' explains therapist Keanu M. Jackson, LCSW. If you find yourself feeling irritable or crying at the drop of a hat and you haven't been sleeping much lately (or you've been tossing and turning at night), that's a sign to take a look at your sleep habits, he adds. A 2021 study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that improving sleep quality has a direct effect on mental health—reducing depression, anxiety, and stress. As a baseline, aim to get at least seven hours of sleep every night, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For better quality sleep, the CDC recommends habits like going to bed at the same time every night, keeping your room cool, and avoiding screens for at least 30 minutes before you knock out. The concept of glimmers went viral on TikTok last year. They're tiny moments that bring you joy, calm, or comfort throughout your day—like the realization that the barista made your coffee just right or spotting a cute dog on your way home from work. Glimmers are so fleeting, you could totally miss them if you're not paying attention. But keeping an eye out for them and feeling gratitude when you spot one can improve your mental health (if you do it regularly, that is). 'Recognizing the good things, even those we might consider small, reminds us that it's not all bad, brings us joy, and rebuilds hope,' says therapist Christopher Lynn-Logue, LMSW. Chronic overthinkers and ruminators, this tip is for you. Have you ever started feeling anxious out of nowhere, and before you know it, you're panicking because you can't figure out why that feeling came on? Trying to analyze our emotions often gets us stuck in the feeling for much longer than we need to be. 'Neuroscience shows that most emotions physically last about 90 seconds, unless you keep feeding them with thoughts,' explains psychiatrist Sasha Hamdani, MD. Instead, she recommends trying to sit with your feelings for those 90 seconds—even when it's uncomfortable. You'll probably find that feeling passes quicker than you expected. Despite what a lot of people think, therapy isn't just for people who are super depressed, anxious, or dealing with serious trauma. The fact that you want to improve your mental health to any degree is a valid reason to start therapy. 'You can seek out professional help regardless of where you're at in your healing journey," says Jackson. 'As a therapist, my role is to collaborate and build a pathway forward with you so that down the line you can be more resourced, and confident in your ability to care for yourself.' Talking to a therapist is a great way to get an outside opinion on things happening in your life and will give you an ally in your journey towards feeling better. If you decide that you want to start therapy, keep in mind that it can take time to find the right provider for you, adds therapist Kaylee Bullen, LCSW. You may have to meet with multiple mental health professionals before you find someone you're comfortable with. In the meantime, she recommends opening up to some trusted friends or family members so that you don't feel alone while navigating your mental health challenges. It can be easy to get stuck on the fact that you feel shitty. (Believe me, I've been there.) But in order to improve your mental health, it's important to try to look beyond your current sitch and think about how you actually want your life to look and feel. Setting some intentions or goals for the future can help your mind feel clear and focused, and give you some motivation to make changes, says Jackson. He recommends asking yourself questions like, What does feeling bad mean for me? and What emotions and circumstances do I associate with feeling bad? On the flip side, you should also ask, What do I imagine feeling good to be like? and What do I want my future to look like? Once you get clear on the feelings and circumstances you want to move away from—and what you want to move toward—you can start brainstorming small actionable steps you can take to get closer to your goals. When life gets stressful, activities that bring us comfort are often the first to get cut out of our schedules. But it's important to prioritize them—especially during times of high stress or mental health challenges. Lynn-Logue suggests taking time each day to do one thing that you enjoy: 'Engaging in something you love, even briefly, can help boost your mood or bring you back to a state of balance,' he explains. If you're dealing with symptoms of depression, you might not have the motivation to do activities that bring you joy. Or you might find that they just leave you feeling meh. If you're able, try to engage in one of your favorite things anyway—even if it's for a really short amount of time. 'Even though you may not want to do them, these activities are oftentimes the very things that can help you get out of your head and into the present moment,' says Bullen. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to start meditating for two hours every morning. Mindfulness can take a lot of different forms, and it's ultimately about bringing your awareness to the present moment, which can be hugely helpful if you find yourself ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. Both White and Bullen recommend bringing your attention back to your five senses throughout the day as a way to bring yourself back to the present. Another option is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, which Lynn-Logue often uses with his clients. It involves pausing in a moment of stress or anxiety to name five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. It can be tempting to isolate yourself when you're struggling, but social connections are important for our mental health. That's because our nervous systems are wired for connection, White explains. Start with what Hamdani calls micro-social interactions—like saying good morning to your neighbor or texting a friend something funny that made you think of them. These small actions will add up over time and make you feel more connected. Another way to feel a bit more connected is by becoming a regular somewhere, says White. Maybe you start going to the same coffee shop every Sunday morning or taking the same Tuesday evening workout class. By putting yourself in a familiar place regularly, you'll start to feel connected to the people who are also typically there. 'Even if you don't become friends with everyone, the familiarity will help your nervous system feel connected to others,' she says. It's natural to want to feel better ASAP. But putting pressure on yourself to fix your mental health overnight will only make you feel worse. Instead, it's better to go easy on yourself and practice what the experts call self-compassion, says Lynn-Logue. Rather than beating yourself up for not being where you want to be or not doing something perfectly, be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace. Self-compassion is especially important in our current political climate, where it can feel hard to function with the constant onslaught of upsetting news. 'We are being tasked with surviving in a world, within systems, and under circumstances that feel impossible to overcome. That is by design. If you're finding that you're doing everything you can and it somehow still doesn't feel like enough, it is okay to give yourself permission to shift blame to the environment and the conditions that you're being forced to endure,' Jackson says. This article is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any specific questions related to your mental health. You Might Also Like Here's What NOT to Wear to a Wedding Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You'll Ever Try
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
'Misunderstood', The mental health book that is making waves across borders
BANGALORE, KARNATAKA, INDIA, May 22, 2025 / / -- In an unprecedented publishing success, MISUNDERSTOOD – A Guide to Mental Wellness, authored by social reformer and legal crusader Sree Krishna Seelam, has taken the global literary scene by storm, topping the charts across 12 countries, including India, the USA, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the UK, without a single penny spent on marketing. The book is being hailed as a movement, not just a manuscript. Rooted in raw honesty, scientific insight, and heart-wrenching real-life stories, MISUNDERSTOOD is more than a guide; it's a revolution in how society perceives mental health. 'This book was born out of silence, stigma, and pain. But it now speaks loudly for those who couldn't. It's my war cry and my peace offering.' – Sree Krishna Seelam Sree Krishna Seelam, known for donating all royalties from his bestsellers to social causes, leads the www. Foundation, a volunteer-powered non-profit with over 12,000 changemakers worldwide. His latest work was co-created by a remarkable team of therapists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, educators, and hundreds of grassroots volunteers from rural India to international universities, making it a truly people-powered project. A Global Phenomenon with Local Roots The book's record-breaking success, achieved with zero ad budget, reflects not just the need for mental health reform but the collective hunger for empathy, understanding, and truth. Readers from all walks of life have called it 'life-saving,' 'soul-healing,' and 'the first book that finally understood them.' About the Author Sree Krishna Seelam is no ordinary writer. With 21 books across law, mental health, human rights, and social justice, he has turned his pen into a weapon for change. An aspiring lawmaker, an advocate for change, and founder of a pro bono legal service brand called www. Sree is on a mission to make the world a better place, one reader, one reform, and one book at a time. What Makes MISUNDERSTOOD Different? Backed by clinical insight, real-life suicide cases, and survivor stories Features contributions from licensed professionals and trained mental health advocates Every chapter includes practical tools: mental exercises, writing prompts, and daily actions 100% of proceeds support mental health education and suicide prevention campaigns in India Join the Movement With mental health issues rising globally post-pandemic, MISUNDERSTOOD has become a call to action. It's not just a book; it's a blueprint for building a more compassionate, informed world. Readers, professionals, and policymakers alike are invited to read, share, and take part in the mental wellness movement by downloading the book for free from Sree Krishna Seelam Wedidit Foundation email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Facebook Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The £600 scan that could tell you how old your brain is
It has never been easier to understand the health of your own body. Want to find out how many calories you burn each day, or how much deep sleep you get at night? Wear a fitness tracker. Curious about the state of your gut? Send a stool sample off to a health company like Zoe, and you'll receive an inventory of the microbes jiving away in your intestines. Yet despite all of these advances in personal medicine, our brains remain largely unexplored territory. That was until now. A team of British-based scientists and inventors have developed a system that could reveal more about the health of your brain than any other tool, next to the serious MRI scans you might be offered by your doctor. Myndspan, partnered with Aston University's Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, is a company that promises to provide you with an accurate brain 'age' based on a reading of your brain waves and a series of cognitive tests, along with a consultation to explain all of the findings, for a total of £600. Most of the service's users so far have been 'the worried well, who want to understand what's going on in their brains but have no cause for concern when they come in for a scan,' says Caitlin Baltzer, Myndspan's founder and chief executive. Its technology is of most use to those whose concerns for their brain health are immediate, however. Combat veterans, sports people and people diagnosed with PTSD or other serious mental illnesses have used Myndspan too, 'to track the health of their brains over time and understand how close they are to recovery'. Like most of us, I had absolutely no idea what was going on inside my head. I try my best to live healthily, but I do have a family history of dementia, and the earliest signs of cognitive decline can appear in your 20s. Was my brain still ship-shape, or were things already going wrong? I wanted to know, so I booked myself in for an assessment. How it works What you get from a scan at Myndspan is different from what you'd find in a hospital scan. For one, most of us only get to explore what's inside of our heads when there are symptoms of a serious problem such as brain damage or a tumour. For the average person, one of Myndspan's tests is an explorative measure that's meant to help you learn more about its function day-to-day. There are two parts to a 45-minute appointment. First you're asked to do a series of cognitive tests on an iPad, in a room by yourself. These are games measure the 'cognitive output' of your brain as it chugs away, says Baltzer. This also requires you to give up some 'metadata': age, weight, height and sex, so that you can be compared with the some 600 people who have undergone Myndspan's testing before, along with some data from the wider population. The second is the actual scan or MEG (magnetoencephalography). Unlike an MRI scan, which uses magnetic fields to generate an image of your brain, an MEG 'directly measures the electronic activity generated by your brain, by picking up the magnetic fields that this creates,' says Dr Ben Dunkley, Myndspan's chief scientific officer. Also unlike an MRI, MEG machines are silent, you can sit upright in them and there are none of the unpleasant noises you have to deal with inside of an MRI machine. MEG scans have been used for decades for research into how our brains function, and are also used in medical settings across much of the world, though they are less commonly found on the NHS. This data is combined with your cognitive tests to map what's going on inside your brain. The reading took just 10 minutes. Here is what I learnt. How old is my brain? My brain is 26.9 years old. The doctor explains that this is a good outcome compared with my actual age of 24. 'Some people can have discrepancies as big as 20 years,' says Dr Dunkley. 'That could be indicative of very poor lifestyle habits, of brain damage, or of illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder. He explains that the way you treat your body will ultimately shape the health of your brain. And the aim is to have a brain age that's 'as close as possible to your biological age'. The age of your brain isn't static, however. 'It's amazing how plastic your brain is, even into your 50s, 60s and beyond,' Dr Dunkley says. People who find that their brains are much older than they had imagined can bring that number down over time, by exercising, getting enough sleep, and avoiding sugary or processed foods that can cause inflammation. As part of my report, I was given a score out of a hundred for my diet, and out of 27 for my sleep quality, based on a short quiz at the start of my appointment. I get 'just enough sleep' on average each night to be healthy, around seven hours, notes Dr Dunkley, a sign that I should really get more rest. My nutritional index score of 63 showed that I broadly eat about as well as the average person, but that I do have a sweet tooth, and the inflammation this causes can damage your brain's health over time. I resolved to cut down on sugary treats and prioritise a full night's sleep more often. How good is my memory? In the 10 minutes that my brain activity was measured, I showed slightly above-normal gamma wave activity, which is the sort that happens when you're trying to process information and remember things, and slightly sub-normal beta wave activity, which takes place when you're trying to think clearly and solve problems. But none of that was unique enough to move me out of the 'average' category, said Dr Dunkley. That's no bad thing. When it comes to the sort of waves that your brain generates in a resting state like an MEG scan, it's best to be as 'average' as possible. This is an indicator of good health (even if you might be disappointed not to discover that you have extra-nimble thinking skills, as evidenced by above-average connectivity across the whole of your brain). A marked abnormality in one part of your brain here can show that 'someone has experienced brain damage, or that a part of lifestyle is putting their brain health at risk, like playing rugby or another contact sport,' says Dr Dunkley. Someone who has experienced a traumatic event might have more activity in the parts of their brains that process fear or anxiety than the average person. Someone with a concussion or brain damage to a specific part of their head might show less. At times, this is crucial validation for people who've 'had a concussion, and are told that they're fine but don't quite feel normal again,' explains Dr Dunkley. MEG scans can also go where doctors can't: they can reveal to veterans 'which of their symptoms are because of the post-traumatic stress they're enduring, and which are because of an event that might have happened at the same time that caused brain damage too,' Baltzer says. Am I clever? Ever wondered how smart you are compared to other people? In some ways, Myndspan reveals this too. My tests generated a very middling cognitive score of 102 (in a range of 61 to 139). Apparently, I have better-than-average grammatical reasoning skills, but when it comes to my working memory, concentration and visuospatial processing abilities, I'm bang on average again. Dr Dunkley says that your first attempt at these tests will usually generate 'an underestimate of your cognitive function,' as when people come in they're often tired from travel and a bit stressed out by the environment. The previous night I'd slept less well than usual, and was tired after a train journey up from London, both of which 'would have negatively impacted' my results here. But the real usefulness of a Myndspan scan is that you can come back and check your results in six months' time, to measure improvement in your brain health or, alternatively, to catch any cognitive decline. This is where an MEG-test combo differs from an IQ test or an online intelligence quiz. Your scores can go up if you eat well, exercise and get enough sleep, and go down if you're chronically stressed, pulling all-nighters and drinking heavily. All of these contribute to your brain's age and your test performance. 'These scores also account for the effect of practice, so that people can get an accurate picture of their changing brain health when they come in for further scans,' Dr Dunkley explains. A first baseline reading gives you a mark 'from which you can measure any early cognitive decline', he adds. 'If you start at a higher brain age but make healthy lifestyle changes, you can come back in six months, do another scan and see if they're paying off.' One scan alone can give some important clues. While there's no way to know how I might have scored five years ago, even my one 'baseline' scan is reassurance that I'm not experiencing any cognitive decline that could be an early warning sign of dementia. 'From this test, it certainly doesn't look like you have cause for worry,' says Dr Dunkley. For others, however, 'normal' can be the information they need to prove that something has gone wrong. 'We have seen very high-performing people, for example who are high up in the military and should be exceptional across the board, who are told that their brain health is fine because their scores are good, yet they know that something has changed,' Dr Dunkley says. 'Using technology like this could help them to prove a cognitive decline, by evidencing the fact that previously, they scored in the highest percentiles for their cognitive function.' The verdict Yes it's expensive, but information is power. Understanding how well my brain is functioning has made me realise how important a healthy lifestyle is if I want my brain to continue working effectively as I age. If, like me, you have an increased risk of dementia, it could motivate you to change your bad habits. We all have periods of heavy stress, bouts of depression, phases of drinking too much and eating too few vegetables. All of these are reasons why your brain could be elderly before its time. Seeing the cold facts of their impact on your most important organ is hugely enlightening. We all spend plenty of time worrying about how well our heart is pumping, and whether we're overweight. Surely it's time we give our brain the attention it deserves.
