Latest from Mental Health

Execs sweat for mental health funds

One in six New Zealand adults will be affected by mental health issues and it is the third-leading cause of health loss in this country. Not since the Christchurch earthquakes has a cause stirred the collective conscience of so many Kiwis, nor inspired so

Mind trick that turns cheap vino into fine wine

Wine tastes better if it is thought to be expensive due to a physical change in the brain, according to a study.

WINZ shooting trial delayed

A man accused of killing two women at Ashburton’s Work and Income office last year has had his trial delayed.

Mum the only cure for Uptown Funk hitmaker

Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Ronson relied on his mother when he suffered crippling panic attacks because the sound of her voice would help calm him down.

Kiwis happier than Aussies

New Zealanders are happier than their rivals from across the ditch, according to a new report released today.

Why do we remember dramatic events so vividly?

Why would people who were not immediately or directly affected by big events have such a long-lasting sense of knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news? These recollections are called flashbulb memories.

Intolerance killed trans Scrabble champ

A transgender woman who was a former national Scrabble champion took her own life last year after receiving abuse for being different, an inquest heard yesterday.

Meditation 'as good as drugs'

Meditation is as good as anti-depressants for tackling depression, a major study has suggested.

Should professions like pilots have less medical privacy?

Since it was revealed that the co-pilot who purposefully crashed Germanwings Flight 9525, killing 150 people had been treated for psychiatric illness, a debate has ensued over whether privacy laws regarding medical records should be less strict.

Painting can help fight early dementia signs

Painting, drawing and sculpting in old age lowers the risk of developing the first signs of dementia by 73 per cent, an American study has shown.

Worried about Alzheimer's? Read this

"Even more epidemic than Alzheimer's itself is the fear of Alzheimer's." So in an attempt to offer some perspective, experts tell you what to look out for.

Escaped patients surrender

Two men who escaped from from a Hamilton mental health care facility have surrendered to authorities, police say.

Escapees have histories of violence

The public are being warned to stay away from two men with a history of violence who have escaped from a Waikato mental health facility.

How reading helped heal my anorexia

Lavish descriptions of food saved Laura Freeman from anorexia. But, even at Easter, she still denies herself one treat.

Half of workers unhappy in job

If you're miserable in the workplace, take solace in the fact that you've got a lot of company.

Why the net isn't making you smarter

As we look things up on the Web, we become convinced that the information remains in our brains - and we behave as if it does - says a new study.

Fran O'Sullivan: Questionable 'medical' practices not confined to overseas horror stories

The "Zombie Ward" - is what the locked mental health facility where women prisoners were treated with the now-infamous "deep sleep therapy" was called, Fran O'Sullivan writes.

We laughed before we talked

Why do we laugh? The obvious answer is that something is funny. But if we look closer at when and how laughter occurs in ordinary social situations, we see that it's not so simple.