Student health doc blog

It has been said that the letters Ph.D. really stand for Permanent Head Damage rather than Doctor of Philosophy. Sadly it’s not uncommon for doctoral candidates to experience mental health related difficulties during their studies. Some of this can be down to the nature of the degree. Candidates have to spend a lot of time […]

Movember is all about bringing back the moustache or ‘Mo’ for the month of November. It’s about having a bit of fun and putting a spotlight on men’s health, which doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It is for awareness of men’s health in general, but in  particular; prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. […]

The Succeed Foundation has a simple mission to free the world from eating disorders. Through fundraising and investment in innovative research, and the promotion of ground-breaking evidence-based treatments and preventions, the charity aims to tackle eating disorders in measureable ways. Every individual with an eating disorder is unique. They will not all respond to the […]

Two people in a room; one talking and the other just nodding and listening?  Films have a lot to answer for, and for me that image conveys nothing of the aliveness of the relationship that counselling offers. For instance, when was the last time that a friend or someone in your family really listened to your […]

This weeks blog is a quiz! Time to stop the stigma surrounding mental ill health. See how much you know in the attached short quiz, via the link below. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to see the Myth/ Fact quiz. Then spread the word. It’s OK to talk about mental health! http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/downloads […]

This blog is a personal viewpoint from the service’s eating disorders specialist… Will Devlin, clinical psychologist and specialist in eating disorders for the University of Bristol, looks almost sheepish as he describes his mixed feelings about the great sporting achievements we watched with pride just a few months ago: “…Don’t get me wrong,” he says, […]

Antidepressants; friend or foe  Two (unrelated) students asked me to write this blog. Independently they mentioned at the end of their consultations that there was a lack of positive stories about using antidepressant medication, and that other students might like to hear about some success stories such as theirs. They felt that these ‘good news’ […]

Look around you. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing,  1 in 6 of the people around you will be struggling with a mental health problem at this time. 1 in 4 will have a problem at some time in their lives. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s your flatmate or friend, partner or another student […]