November 2010 Archives

The big news today is that the government looks set to launch a "happiness index" to measure the mental wellbeing of the nation and presumably the effect of government policy on it. Measuring wellbeing indicators alongside economic ones to gauge the health of the nation is something to be welcomed. A small amount of good news amid all the cuts.

One issue that will need tackling if one is to improve general wellbeing is loneliness. Brain Blogger reports on the mental and physical effects it can have.

The government might also want to look at the "exams culture" that makes school life a bit of a misery for many children. The Telegraph reports that it is causing psychological difficulties.

What it should promote is more exercise. A meta study reveals a host of mental and physical benefits associated with regular exercise.

Finally, Psychology Today explains how psychotherapy works.

(Pic from: CarbonNYC on flickr)

There have been three interesting pieces of research over the last couple of days which shed some light on happiness.

Firstly, scientists have linked a wandering mind with unhappiness, suggesting living in the moment is the key to happiness. People were happiest when having sex, exercising or in conversation and unhappiest when working, resting or using a home computer. From the Guardian:

The authors write in the journal Science: "A human mind is a wandering mind and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost."

The authors are also apparently confident that a wandering mind caused unhappiness rather than the other way round.

Secondly, yoga produces a chemical in the brain that reduces stress and anxiety, a study has found.

And pleasurable activities, such as eating tasty food, also appear to inhibit anxiety responses in the brain. The researchers point out that even small amounts of food can have the desired effect.

Also, a new mentoring service for combat veterans with mental health problems has been launched.

Finally, regulators have expressed alarm over mental health standards at a hospital in Wolverhampton.

(Pic: lululemon athletica on flickr)

Social work is a tough job and has not been well served by successive governments and the media. However, there does seem to be a tendency among some social workers to only see the negative. Social workers do some great work but there are one or two who really do like a good moan.

Are you one of those moaners? Now you can find out for sure by talking the social work moan-o-meter test placed handily below. Let me know how you get on.

Mental health charity YoungMinds has launched a new website for young people affected by mental health problems. The new site, part of the Very Important Kids project, will allow young people to get advice, share experiences and feed into the charity's campaigning work.

The site features a blogging platform which will allow young people to write about their experiences or news in their area.

Here's a charming little animation by a Kingston University student about things that make people happy. Hopefully it will make you happy watching it.

WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY? from Napatsawan Chirayukool on Vimeo.

I like film festivals and I like things which tackle mental health stigma, so I'm very pleased to pass on the information that a series of films aiming to tackle stigma are to be screened at this year's Leeds International Film Festival.

The films have been developed by Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds International Festival, Arts and Minds and Leeds Metropolitan University.The event will take place on Tuesday 16 November at Leeds Town Hall between 7.00pm-9.30pm.

Today is one of the 365 days of the year that has been arbitrarily linked to a particular cause or activity. No it's not national potato day or Wellington boot Wednesday, it's national stress awareness day. It must be - I mean take a look at that guy on the left, he's clearly stressed isn't he?

Not that I disagree with tackling stress of course. Particularly as PA reports that most people do nothing to counter their own stress. It's worth remembering though, as I mentioned yesterday, that your employer has responsibilities too when it comes to managing workplace stress.

Community Care has also brought together many of its articles on stress and burnout in social work which are worth taking a look at.

On a different note, scientists have found a link between childhood aggression and a difficult birth.

And a new book examines how creative activities can transform a negative mood.

(Pic: Rex Features) 

Feeling stressed at work? Are UK approaches just not working? Then why not check out this video from CBS News in the US in which a psychologist is interviewed about how you know when you've entered the stress "red zone", what to do about it and some common mistakes.

Most of it is pretty familiar, although I hadn't been on the lookout for teeth clenching as a symptom in the past. The clip suggests making sure you do something you enjoy outside of work to try to balance some of the work-related stress.

Of course when talking about stress one should not ignore the working conditions that induce stress in the first place. There is a good piece by Unison's Helga Pile on Community Care's Student Zone which also looks at legal responsibilities and what your employer should do.

(Photo: Migraine Chick on flickr)