According to DrugScope, there has been a rise in the number of young people taking the Class C drug ketamine. Ketamine was made illegal three years ago, however an investigation uncovered evidence that people were experimenting with larger amounts of it as the price fell. The drug has a strong following on the dance scene read more »

According to an article on the BBC News Website, the practice of forcing psychiatric patients to take medication is not backed by evidence and very few investigations have been done into the use of coerced medication, despite it being widespread. Alison Cobb, a spokeswoman for Mind said “The threat of coerced medication can discourage people read more »

According to The National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome (NAPS), the UK charity for people with PMT, there’s been a rise in the number of young women being told they’ve got depression when their symptoms are actually linked to their periods and don’t last all month. Those being misdiagnosed as clinically depressed may be prescribed anti-depressants read more »

According to a recent article in the Guardian, there’s proof that GlaxoSmithKline’s bestselling antidepressant (Seroxat) could make depressed children feel suicidal. Apparently documents recorded that not only did Seroxat make some children feel suicidal, but it worked no better than a placebo. The documents detailing this research were actually handed over to officials of the read more »

According to an article in the Guardian, the Government has released details of its £170m plan to train 3,600 more psychological therapists in response to the study questioning the use of anti-depressants. According to the Department of Health, about 900,000 more people will be treated for depression and anxiety under the plan, and an estimated read more »

According to findings from a review of clinical trials, anti-depressants “worked no better than a dummy pill for mildly depressed patients and for most people suffering severe depression”. Researchers looked at four commonly-prescribed anti-depressants in the UK including fluoxetine (Prozac), venlafaxine (Efexor) and paroxetine (Seroxat). Professor Kirsch (from the Department of Psychology at the University read more »

According to recent news a commons committee has expressed that GPs have been over prescribing and not following up the length of time people should be on certain drugs such as tranquilizers. More and more of the British public are taking drugs and turning into a ‘pill-popping nation’ with a tablet for every problem. In read more »

There is new hope for Alzheimer sufferers today – an article on the BBC has revealed that trials are being carried out in mid Wales to find out if daffodils can be farmed there. What has this got to do with Alzheimer’s? The trials should conclude whether or not the daffodils farmed there produce a read more »

The recent court case involving Danielle Wails denying the murder of her baby son, but pleading guilty to infanticide, has once again put postnatal depression and other mental health illnesses into the spot light. According to an article on the BBC there are a number of ways women’s mental health can be affected by childbirth. read more »

We are all encouraged, by medical experts and charities, to be more aware of cancer – there are now even celebrity-backed advertising campaigns and clothes in high street stores such as Topman to encourage us all to regularly “check ourselves”. The more we know about the warning signs the better right? It makes sense that read more »