Gone are the days when visiting your GP used to be a personal experience. Today, many local surgeries operate a tight schedule, often requiring you to ‘check in’ using a computer screen and summoning you into the room with your name flashing on a screen. With surgeries now running like a military operation it’s no read more »

Shared Lives is a scheme that finds suitable foster families for adults who would otherwise face a very different future living out the remainder of their days in institutions. Lorraine and Steve Parker who are based in west Wales have five children – Dani, nine, Jake, six, Roy 65, Randell 74, and Mark 44. Whilst read more »

For seven years scientists have been monitoring 3,500 working men and women as they live their lives. The study, which took place in Finland, was designed to examine whether there was a relationship between living arrangements and anti-depressant usage in working people. Lead scientist Dr Laura Pulkki-Raback, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said: read more »

Manchester-based support group Anxiety UK has introduced a mentor scheme to help people living with anxiety disorder. Described as an intense panic or tight-chested feeling, anxiety disorder can prevent people from leaving the house for years. Sufferers experience a wide range of symptoms including insomnia, extreme weight loss and gain, shaking and obsessive thoughts. In read more »

BBC School drama Waterloo Road has worked with mental health charity Mind to develop a storyline surrounding a character diagnosed with schizophrenia. As part of Mind’s Time to Change campaign with Rethink Mental Illness, the organisation is working with a variety of TV shows to ensure that the storylines are realistically portrayed on screen and read more »

After watching the shocking collapse of 23-year-old Fabrice Muamba at White Hart Lane on Saturday, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that Spurs players have been offered counselling. Bolton Wanderers player Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest in Wanderer’s FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday. He is currently still in intensive care in Bethnal read more »

There are currently around six million unpaid carers in the UK who dedicate every single day of their lives to looking after their ill, vulnerable, or disabled loved-ones. Carers face a huge and life-changing responsibility to support their dependent relative or friend, and they often face this challenge entirely alone. Day-to-day life for a carer read more »

HIV-positive children attending schools across Tanzania must now wear a red ribbon to distinguish them from healthy children. The ribbons, requested by worried parents, are meant as a way of ensuring ill pupils will not have to partake in any school-time activity that might affect their health. This includes tiring duties such as fetching and read more »

Online support network Counselling Directory has revealed that 82% of visitors to the site admitted to staying online for longer than intended, with almost half also admitting to feeling depressed, moody or irritable if they find themselves in a situation where they are unable to access the web. With Internet use becoming increasingly difficult to read more »

According to an annual report compiled by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the number of tenants contacting them for advice about debt problems in 2011 saw a worrying increase. Whilst individuals up and down the country are struggling to get a foot onto the property ladder or are battling to keep up with mortgage read more »