tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/anxiety-790/articlesAnxiety – The Conversation2024-03-26T12:48:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223642024-03-26T12:48:40Z2024-03-26T12:48:40ZNot having job flexibility or security can leave workers feeling depressed, anxious and hopeless<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581106/original/file-20240311-22-aqasrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C20%2C6934%2C4637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Warehouse employees frequently lack control over their own schedules.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/exhausted-warehouse-worker-royalty-free-image/1413866834">Andres Oliveira/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When employees don’t have control over their work schedules, it’s not just morale that suffers – mental health takes a hit too. That’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3439">what my colleagues and I discovered</a> in a study recently published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sph/profile/monica-wang/">public health expert</a>, I know that the way our jobs are designed can affect our well-being. Research has shown that flexibility, security and autonomy in the workplace are strong <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.15">determinants of health</a>.</p>
<p>To understand how powerful they are, my colleagues and I looked at the 2021 <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm">National Health Interview Survey</a>, a major data collection initiative run out of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm">National Center for Health Statistics</a>. We analyzed responses from 18,144 working adults across the U.S., teasing out how job flexibility and security may be linked with mental health.</p>
<p>The respondents were asked how easily they could change their work schedule to do things important to them or their family, whether their work schedule changed on a regular basis, and how far in advance they usually knew their schedules. They also rated their perceived risk of losing their job in the next 12 months.</p>
<p>We found that workers who had more flexible work arrangements were less likely to report feelings of depression, hopelessness and anxiety. Similarly, those with greater job security were at lower risk of mental health challenges. We also found that higher job security was linked with fewer instances of missing work over the past year.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The average full-time worker dedicates <a href="https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=79db7b34-630c-4f49-ad32-4ab9ea48e72b">a third</a> of their lifetime waking hours to work. Given that fact, understanding how job design affects mental health is key to developing policies that bolster well-being.</p>
<p>It’s clear why employers should care: When workers aren’t feeling well mentally, they’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-022-00761-w">less productive</a> and more likely to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/00043764-200104000-00010">miss work</a>. Their <a href="https://www.betterup.com/blog/mental-health-impedes-creativity">creativity</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1304463">collaboration</a> and ability to <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work#">meet job demands</a> also suffer, hurting the entire organization.</p>
<p>The impact of job-related stress extends beyond the workplace, affecting families, communities and health care systems. People grappling with work-related mental health challenges often require <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-14-131">multiple forms of support</a>, such as access to counseling, medication and social services. Not addressing these needs comprehensively can cause <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.3535">serious long-term consequences</a>, including reduced quality of life and increased health care costs.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01284-9">worsened mental health disparities</a> and that individuals in lower-wage positions, front-line workers and people in marginalized communities continue to face <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14136">additional challenges</a>. In this context, understanding exactly how job and work design can affect people’s mental health is all the more important.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>My research team plans to examine how race and gender affect the links between job flexibility, job security and mental health.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0034016">Previous research</a> suggests that women and people of color experience <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0034016">unique workplace stressors</a> that harm their mental well-being. For instance, women continue to face <a href="https://sgff-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sgff_r1eHetbDYb/Women+in+the+Workplace+2023_+Designed+Report.pdf">barriers to career advancement</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/gender-pay-gap-statistics/#">unequal pay</a> and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x">higher burden</a> of unpaid care work.</p>
<p>Similarly, employees of color often experience <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/328394/one-four-black-workers-report-discrimination-work.aspx">discrimination</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/05/research-the-real-time-impact-of-microaggressions">microaggressions</a> and <a href="https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/104761/racial-equity-and-job-quality.pdf">limited opportunities for professional growth</a> at work, all of which can harm <a href="https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/racialequitybrief.pdf">mental health</a>. Understanding gender and racial differences will help researchers and organizations develop targeted interventions and policy recommendations.</p>
<p>Mental health challenges are far from rare: More than 50 million Americans, or nearly <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness">1 in 5 adults</a>, live with mental illness. By creating workplaces that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171241233398">prioritize employee well-being</a> – through flexible work arrangements, supportive policies and access to mental health resources – organizations can help build a healthier society. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222364/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Wang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way jobs are structured affects employee mental health, an analysis of more than 18,000 workers shows.Monica Wang, Associate Professor of Public Health, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239732024-03-04T23:54:16Z2024-03-04T23:54:16ZHow can I stop overthinking everything? A clinical psychologist offers solutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579459/original/file-20240304-18-36ogm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C336%2C2995%2C1661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-indian-businessman-taking-ride-work-242436511">szefei/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a clinical psychologist, I often have clients say they are having trouble with thoughts “on a loop” in their head, which they find difficult to manage. </p>
<p>While rumination and overthinking are often considered the same thing, they are slightly different (though linked). <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/cycle">Rumination</a> is having thoughts on repeat in our minds. This can lead to overthinking – analysing those thoughts without finding solutions or solving the problem. </p>
<p>It’s like a vinyl record playing the same part of the song over and over. With a record, this is usually because of a scratch. Why we overthink is a little more complicated.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-wake-around-3am-and-dwell-on-our-fears-and-shortcomings-169635">Why do we wake around 3am and dwell on our fears and shortcomings?</a>
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<h2>We’re on the lookout for threats</h2>
<p>Our brains are hardwired to look for threats, to make a plan to address those threats and keep us safe. Those perceived threats may be based on past experiences, or may be the “what ifs” we imagine could happen in the future. </p>
<p>Our “what ifs” are usually negative outcomes. These are what we call “<a href="https://ccbhc.org/hot-thoughts-what-are-they-and-how-can-you-handle-them/">hot thoughts</a>” – they bring up a lot of emotion (particularly sadness, worry or anger), which means we can easily get stuck on those thoughts and keep going over them. </p>
<p>However, because they are about things that have either already happened or might happen in the future (but are not happening now), we cannot fix the problem, so we keep going over the same thoughts.</p>
<h2>Who overthinks?</h2>
<p>Most people find themselves in situations at one time or another when they overthink. </p>
<p>Some people are <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/cycle">more likely</a> to ruminate. People who have had prior challenges or experienced trauma may have come to expect threats and look for them more than people who have not had adversities. </p>
<p>Deep thinkers, people who are prone to anxiety or low mood, and those who are sensitive or feel emotions deeply are also more likely to ruminate and overthink. </p>
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<img alt="Woman holds her head, looking stressed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579447/original/file-20240304-22-b9wamx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">We all overthink from time to time, but some people are more prone to rumination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-white-tank-top-NW61v3xF0-0">BĀBI/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>Also, when we are stressed, our emotions tend to be stronger and last longer, and our thoughts can be less accurate, which means we can get stuck on thoughts more than we would usually. </p>
<p>Being run down or physically unwell can also mean our thoughts are <a href="https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/m/mental-health-and-your-body/">harder to tackle</a> and manage. </p>
<h2>Acknowledge your feelings</h2>
<p>When thoughts go on repeat, it is helpful to use both emotion-focused and problem-focused <a href="https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9">strategies</a>. </p>
<p>Being emotion-focused means figuring out how we feel about something and addressing those feelings. For example, we might feel regret, anger or sadness about something that has happened, or worry about something that might happen. </p>
<p>Acknowledging those emotions, using self-care techniques and accessing social support to talk about and manage your feelings will be helpful. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-kind-to-yourself-without-going-to-a-day-spa-223194">How to be kind to yourself (without going to a day spa)</a>
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<p>The second part is being problem-focused. Looking at what you would do differently (if the thoughts are about something from your past) and making a plan for dealing with future possibilities your thoughts are raising. </p>
<p>But it is difficult to plan for all eventualities, so this strategy has limited usefulness.</p>
<p>What is more helpful is to make a plan for one or two of the more likely possibilities and accept there may be things that happen you haven’t thought of. </p>
<h2>Think about why these thoughts are showing up</h2>
<p>Our feelings and experiences are information; it is important to ask what this information is telling you and why these thoughts are showing up now. </p>
<p>For example, university has just started again. Parents of high school leavers might be lying awake at night (which is when rumination and overthinking is common) worrying about their young person. </p>
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<img alt="Man lays awake in bed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579451/original/file-20240304-16-is53tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Think of what the information is telling you.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dramatic-portrait-dark-attractive-depressed-worried-1721465689">TheVisualsYouNeed/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Knowing how you would respond to some more likely possibilities (such as they will need money, they might be lonely or homesick) might be helpful. </p>
<p>But overthinking is also a sign of a new stage in both your lives, and needing to accept less control over your child’s choices and lives, while wanting the best for them. Recognising this means you can also talk about those feelings with others. </p>
<h2>Let the thoughts go</h2>
<p>A useful way to manage rumination or overthinking is “<a href="https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/Options.pdf">change, accept, and let go</a>”. </p>
<p>Challenge and change aspects of your thoughts where you can. For example, the chance that your young person will run out of money and have no food and starve (overthinking tends to lead to your brain coming up with catastrophic outcomes!) is not likely. </p>
<p>You could plan to check in with your child regularly about how they are coping financially and encourage them to access budgeting support from university services. </p>
<p>Your thoughts are just ideas. They are not necessarily true or accurate, but when we overthink and have them on repeat, they can start to feel true because they become familiar. Coming up with a more realistic thought can help stop the loop of the unhelpful thought.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-remember-embarrassing-things-ive-said-or-done-in-the-past-and-feel-ashamed-all-over-again-190535">Why do I remember embarrassing things I've said or done in the past and feel ashamed all over again?</a>
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<p>Accepting your emotions and finding ways to manage those (good self-care, social support, communication with those close to you) will also be helpful. As will accepting that life inevitably involves a lack of complete control over outcomes and possibilities life may throw at us. What we do have control over is our reactions and behaviours.</p>
<p>Remember, you have a 100% success rate of getting through challenges up until this point. You might have wanted to do things differently (and can plan to do that) but nevertheless, you coped and got through. </p>
<p>So, the last part is letting go of the need to know exactly how things will turn out, and believing in your ability (and sometimes others’) to cope.</p>
<h2>What else can you do?</h2>
<p>A stressed out and tired brain will be <a href="https://mentalhealth.org.nz/resources/resource/stress-and-how-to-manage-it">more likely</a> to overthink, leading to more stress and creating a cycle that can affect your wellbeing.</p>
<p>So it’s important to manage your stress levels by eating and sleeping well, moving your body, doing things you enjoy, seeing people you care about, and doing things that fuel your soul and spirit. </p>
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<img alt="Woman running" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579455/original/file-20240304-26-vgg0bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Find ways to manage your stress levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-remember-embarrassing-things-ive-said-or-done-in-the-past-and-feel-ashamed-all-over-again-190535">antoniodiaz/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Distraction – with pleasurable activities and people who bring you joy – can also get your thoughts off repeat. </p>
<p>If you do find overthinking is affecting your life, and your levels of anxiety are rising or your mood is dropping (your sleep, appetite and enjoyment of life and people is being negatively affected), it might be time to talk to someone and get some strategies to manage. </p>
<p>When things become too difficult to manage yourself (or with the help of those close to you), a therapist can provide tools that have been proven to be helpful. Some helpful tools to manage worry and your thoughts can also be found <a href="https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety">here</a>.</p>
<p>When you find yourself overthinking, think about why you are having “hot thoughts”, acknowledge your feelings and do some future-focused problem solving. But also accept life can be unpredictable and focus on having faith in your ability to cope. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-years-resolutions-how-to-get-your-stress-levels-in-check-34539">New year's resolutions: how to get your stress levels in check</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A stressed out and tired brain will be more likely to overthink. Deep thinkers, people who are prone to anxiety or low mood, and those who are feel emotions deeply are also more likely to overthink.Kirsty Ross, Associate Professor and Senior Clinical Psychologist, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2185552024-02-27T19:52:03Z2024-02-27T19:52:03ZThe ghosts of the past: Pop music is haunted by our anxieties about the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578067/original/file-20240226-28-10l8gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3888%2C2572&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wax figures of the Beatles in Madame Tussauds Berlin represent the pop stars in their youth — the two surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, are in their 80s.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2011, pop music scholar Simon Reynolds was already observing pop culture’s fascination with its own past, noting that “we live in a pop age <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-retro-rock-20110710-story.html">gone loco for retro and crazy for commemoration</a>.”</p>
<p>For Reynolds, this obsession with the past has the potential to bring about the end of pop music culture: “Could it be,” he asks, “that the greatest danger to the future of our music culture is … its past?” </p>
<p>The situation has not improved in the years since Reynolds voiced his concerns. Our fixation on the popular music of previous decades threatens our future by stifling originality.</p>
<p>Thanks to recording technology, and now to more recent developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, we find ourselves more and more in a spectral present, thoroughly haunted by the ghosts of pop music’s past.</p>
<h2>Ghostly presence</h2>
<p>This type of hauntedness can provoke anxiety. Hauntology, a theoretical concept originating in the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida, was later <a href="https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/ghosts-my-life">applied to musicology by critic Mark Fisher</a>. Hauntology is concerned with memory, nostalgia and the nature of being. The present is never simply “present,” and the remnants of our cultural past always linger or return.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-haunted-by-ghosts-of-the-past-and-phantoms-of-your-future-welcome-to-the-spooky-realm-of-hauntology-191843">Are you haunted by ghosts of the past and phantoms of your future? Welcome to the spooky realm of hauntology</a>
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<p>A ghost, in literature, folklore and popular culture, is a presence from the past of something or someone that no longer remains. Is a ghost, then, from the past or of the present? As hauntology would insist, a ghost is paradoxically both at the same time.</p>
<p>In November 2023, pop phenomenon the Beatles released a “new” song titled “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beatles-new-song-now-and-then-1234868643/">Now and Then</a>.” It received a rapturous reception from fans and critics alike, and was soon topping the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, becoming the fastest-selling single of 2023.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Beatles’ 2023 track “Now and Then.”</span></figcaption>
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<p>The song features a lead vocal track by the late John Lennon, salvaged from a demo recording he made at home in the late 1970s, just a few years before his murder in 1980. It also includes archival guitar tracks from the late George Harrison.</p>
<p>The two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, contributed new bass, drum, vocal and guitar parts (McCartney even played a slide guitar solo mimicking Harrison’s sound and style), and producer Giles Martin (son of legendary Beatles’ producer George Martin) provided a string arrangement and a tapestry of background vocals lifted from other iconic Beatles songs.</p>
<p>“Now and Then” was also celebrated for the technological sophistication of its production, and specifically for its use of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/2/23943290/now-and-then-the-beatles-new-song-ai">artificial intelligence</a>. Using software that could tell the difference between a human voice and other sounds on a recording, Lennon’s voice was isolated and reanimated, allowing McCartney and Starr to perform alongside their long-deceased bandmate. </p>
<h2>Final masterpiece</h2>
<p>“Now and Then,” in addition to being a “new” Beatles tune, is likely also the group’s last: there are no more old recordings to resurrect, and McCartney and Starr are both octogenarians. </p>
<p>Indeed, according to music critics like <em>The Guardian</em>’s Alexis Petridis, “Now and Then” is an emotionally satisfying “act of closure.” It stands on its own as a genuine addition to the Beatles’ catalogue, wrapping up the band’s career and “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/02/the-beatles-now-and-then-review">never stoops to deploying obviously Beatles-y signifiers</a>.”</p>
<p>Music journalist Jem Aswad, writing in <em>Variety</em>, characterizes “Now and Then” as a “<a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/reviews/the-beatles-new-song-now-and-then-review-1235777477/">bittersweet finale</a>.” While Aswad is mildly critical of the song as an “incomplete sketch,” he insists at the same time that any further criticism is just unwarranted sour grapes, concluding that it is “an unexpected pleasure that marks the completion of the group’s last bit of unfinished business.”</p>
<h2>Haunted, ghostly</h2>
<p>Some critics, however, echoing Reynolds’s concerns, found “Now and Then” decidedly less praiseworthy. Josiah Gogarty’s brutal review, published in <em>UnHerd</em>, argues that the song serves as “a sign of our <a href="https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-beatles-now-and-then-is-a-sign-of-our-cultural-doom-loop/">cultural doom loop</a>,” and likened it to a “séance, calling forth the warbling and the jangling of the dead.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1721188264277692580"}"></div></p>
<p>The recording includes McCartney’s count-in at the beginning and some studio chatter from Starr at the end, as if to reassure listeners that the song is a product of living musicians. </p>
<p>At the same time, the song is eerily placeless or ahistorical, caught somewhere between past and present: a haunted, ghostly thing, evidence of a pop culture that has long ceased to evolve. </p>
<h2>Limiting the future</h2>
<p>The problem is the way songs like “Now and Then” are imbued with nostalgia: they threaten the future and limit the possibility of the emergence of new ideas.</p>
<p>Fisher feared the effect of this sort of nostalgia giving rise to “<a href="https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/ghosts-my-life">a cancelled future</a>.” We can readily imagine such a future, because we already inhabit it: a future of never-ending tours by impossibly decrepit rock bands, countless re-boots of old movies and television shows, the fetishization of all that is vintage. </p>
<p>Even the most stunningly progressive technological developments — such as the AI that made “Now and Then” possible — turns out to serve a regressive purpose, namely to resurrect the Beatles. </p>
<p>A generous take on “Now and Then” would be to view its arrangement and production as capturing and amplifying the meaning of the song lyrics: “Now and then I miss you … I want you to return to me.” These lyrics suggest the presence and absence theorized by hauntology, which is cleverly reflected in the song’s haunted soundscape. </p>
<p>Less generously, “Now and Then,” rather than an act of closure, simply continues an ongoing trend of looking backwards in pop music. It indicates that our insecurities about our future ensure we will remain forever entangled with its ghosts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Carpenter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Artificial intelligence helped produce the Beatles’ 2023 hit “Now and Then.” But despite the sophisticated technology, the song reveals our obsession with the past and our anxieties about the future.Alexander Carpenter, Professor, Musicology, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224732024-02-21T13:22:53Z2024-02-21T13:22:53ZAre our fears of saying ‘no’ overblown?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576255/original/file-20240216-28-feso3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C8%2C5540%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can be unduly hard on ourselves as we grapple with the implications of declining an invitation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-using-cell-phone-behind-translucent-glass-royalty-free-image/1015918742?phrase=typing%2Bno%2Bthank%2Byou%2Binto%2Bphone">Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone has been there. You get invited to something that you absolutely do not want to attend – a holiday party, a family cookout, an expensive trip. But doubts and anxieties creep into your head as you weigh whether to decline.</p>
<p>You might wonder if you’ll upset the person who invited you. Maybe it’ll harm the friendship, or they won’t extend an invite to the next get-together.</p>
<p>Should you just grit your teeth and go? Or are you worrying more than you should about saying “no”? </p>
<h2>An imaginary faux pas</h2>
<p>We explored these questions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000443">in a recently published study</a>.</p>
<p>In a pilot study that we ran ahead of the main studies, we found that 77% of our 51 respondents had accepted an invitation to an event that they didn’t want to attend, fearing blowback if they were to decline. They worried that saying no might upset, anger or sadden the person who invited them. They also worried that they wouldn’t be invited to events down the road and that their own invitations would be rebuffed.</p>
<p>We then ran a series of studies in which we asked some people to imagine declining an invitation, and then report their assumptions about how the person extending the invite would feel. We asked other participants to imagine that someone had declined invitations they had extended themselves. Then we asked them how they felt about the rejection. </p>
<p>We ended up finding quite the mismatch. People tend to assume others will react poorly when an invitation isn’t accepted. But they’re relatively unaffected when someone turns down an invite they’ve extended.</p>
<p>In fact, people extending invites were much more understanding – and less upset, angry or sad – than invitees anticipated. They also said they would be rather unlikely to let a single declined invitation keep them from offering or accepting invitations in the future.</p>
<p>We found that the asymmetry between people extending and receiving invites occurred regardless of whether it involved two friends, a new couple or two people who had been in a relationship for a long time.</p>
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<img alt="One speech bubble with a question mark in it, and another with an ellipses, indicating contemplation or a brief moment of speechlessness." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People are pretty understanding when their invitations are rebuffed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/question-bubble-and-chatting-bubble-royalty-free-image/1448380909?phrase=saying+No&adppopup=true">Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Why does this happen? </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that when someone declines an invitation, they think the person who invited them will focus on the cold, hard rejection. But in reality, the person extending the invite is more likely to focus on the thoughts and deliberations that ran through the head of the person who declined. They’ll tend to assume that the invitee gave due consideration to the prospect of accepting, and this generally leaves them less bothered than might be expected.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while our research examined invitations to fun events – dinners out to restaurants with a visiting celebrity chef and trips to quirky museum exhibits – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000457">other studies</a> have found that the same pattern emerges when someone is asked to do a favor and they decline. </p>
<p>Even with these less enjoyable requests, people overestimate the negative implications of saying no.</p>
<h2>Lay the groundwork for future invites</h2>
<p>There are a few things you can do to make things easier on yourself as you grapple with whether to decline an invitation.</p>
<p>First, imagine that you were the one extending the invitation. Our research shows that people are less likely to overestimate the negative implications of declining an invitation after they envision how they would feel if someone turned down their invite.</p>
<p>Second, if money is a reason you’re considering passing on a dinner or a trip, share that with the person who invited you – as long as you feel comfortable doing so, of course. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1226">Other research</a> has found that people are especially understanding when people cite finances as their reason for declining.</p>
<p>Third, consider the “no but” strategy <a href="https://www.self.com/story/saying-no-to-invitations">that some therapists suggest</a>. Decline the invitation, but offer to do something else with the person who invited you.</p>
<p>With this method, you’re making it clear to the person who invited you that you’re not rejecting them; rather, you’re declining the activity. A bonus with this strategy is that you have the opportunity to suggest doing something that you actually want to do. </p>
<p>Of course, there’s a caveat to all of this: If you decline every invitation sent your way, at some point they’ll probably stop coming.</p>
<p>But assuming you aren’t a habitual naysayer, don’t beat yourself up if you end up declining an invitation every now and then. Chances are that the person who invited you will be less bothered than you think.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nearly 80% of people have accepted invitations to events they didn’t want to attend.Julian Givi, Assistant Professor of Marketing, West Virginia UniversityColleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218572024-02-08T19:17:54Z2024-02-08T19:17:54ZWhy are so many Australians taking antidepressants?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573713/original/file-20240206-26-8fjigm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C16%2C5406%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-woman-taking-tablet-glass-water-1498026977">Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around <a href="https://australia.cochrane.org/news/new-cochrane-review-explores-latest-evidence-approaches-stopping-long-term-antidepressants">one in seven Australians</a> take antidepressants; more than <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/mental-health-prescriptions">3.5 million</a> of us had them dispensed in 2021–22. This is <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2016/204/9/unfulfilled-promise-antidepressant-medications#:%7E:text=Summary,is%20lower%20than%20previously%20thought.">one of the highest</a> antidepressant prescribing rates in the world. </p>
<p>Guidelines mostly recommend antidepressants for <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222">more severe depression</a> and <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg113/resources/generalised-anxiety-disorder-and-panic-disorder-in-adults-management-pdf-35109387756997">anxiety</a> but not as first-line treatment for less severe depression. Less commonly, antidepressants may be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538182/">prescribed for</a> conditions such as chronic pain and migraine.</p>
<p>Yet prescription rates continue to increase. Between 2013 and 2021, the antidepressant prescription rate in Australia <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/PY/pdf/PY23168">steadily increased</a> by 4.5% per year. So why are so many Australians taking antidepressants and why are prescriptions rising? </p>
<p>The evidence suggests they’re over-prescribed. So how did we get here?</p>
<h2>Enter the antidepressant ‘blockbusters’</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-022-00213-z">heavily promoted</a> new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, including Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline) and Lexapro (escitalopram). </p>
<p>These drugs were thought to be less dangerous in overdoses and seemed to have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181155/">fewer side effects</a> than the tricyclic antidepressants they replaced. </p>
<p>Pharmaceutical companies marketed SSRIs energetically and often exaggerated their benefits, including by paying “key opinion leaders” – <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/336/7658/1402">high-status clinicians</a> to promote them. This prompted <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2004/181/7/making-new-choices-about-antidepressants-australia-long-view-1975-2002">substantial growth</a> in the market.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-new-rules-for-defining-who-is-sick-step-1-remove-vested-interests-114621">We need new rules for defining who is sick. Step 1: remove vested interests</a>
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<p>SSRIs earned billions of dollars for their manufacturers when on patent. While now relatively cheap, they still prove <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/antidepressant-drugs-market-to-reach-15-98-bn-by-2023-globally-at-2-1-cagr-says-allied-market-research-873540700.html">lucrative</a> because of high prescribing levels. </p>
<h2>Why are antidepressants prescribed?</h2>
<p>The majority (85%) of antidepressants are prescribed in <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/mental-health-prescriptions">general practice</a>. Some are prescribed for more severe depression and anxiety. But contrary to clinical guidelines, GPs also <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2021/december/antidepressant-prescribing-in-general-practice">prescribe</a> them as a first-line treatment for less severe depression.</p>
<p>GPs also prescribe antidepressants to patients experiencing distress but who don’t have a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504011/#:%7E:text=Among%20antidepressant%20users%2C%2069%25%20never,current%20physical%20problems%20(e.g.%2C%20loss">psychiatric diagnosis</a>. A friend dealing with her husband’s terminal illness, for example, was encouraged to take antidepressants by her long-term GP, even though her caring capacity wasn’t impaired. Another, who cried when informed she had breast cancer, was immediately offered a prescription for antidepressants. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="GP writes a script" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573716/original/file-20240206-30-a4nh4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sometimes patients who don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis receive antidepressants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/doctor-patient-consulting-room-gp-surgery-2367985555">Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>There are several reasons why someone may take antidepressants when they’re not needed. A busy GP might be looking for a convenient solution to a complex and sometimes intractable problem. Other times, patients request a prescription. They may be encouraged by an <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/seratonin-theory-of-depression-under-attack-amid-to-push-to-deprescribe-antidepressants/news-story/f74ca1a6018110e3d680b8d5ce01bc2c">acquaintance’s good experience</a> or looking for other ways to <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/321259/listening-to-prozac-by-peter-d-kramer/">improve their mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Most patients believe antidepressants restore a chemical imbalance that underpins depression. This is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0">not true</a>. Antidepressants are emotional (and sexual) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181155/">numbing agents</a> – sometimes sedating, sometimes energising. Those effects suit some people, for example, if their emotions are too raw or they lack energy. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-chemical-imbalance-theory-of-depression-is-dead-but-that-doesnt-mean-antidepressants-dont-work-187769">The chemical imbalance theory of depression is dead, but that doesn't mean antidepressants don't work</a>
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<p>For others, they come with <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/antidepressants">troubling side effects</a> such as insomnia, restlessness, nausea, weight gain. Around half of users have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007725/">impaired sexual function</a> and for some, this <a href="https://annals-general-psychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12991-023-00447-0">sexual dysfunction persists</a> after stopping antidepressants. </p>
<h2>How long do people take antidepressants?</h2>
<p>Most experts and <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222">guidelines</a> recommend specific prescribing regimes of antidepressants, varying from months to two years. </p>
<p>However, most antidepressants are consumed by two categories of people. Around half of patients who start antidepressants don’t like them and <a href="https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-9-38#:%7E:text=Medication%20possession%20rates&text=Although%20the%20mean%20MPR%20of,group%20difference%20(Table%203).">stop within weeks</a>. Of those who do take them for months, many continue to use them indefinitely, often for many years. <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2021/december/antidepressant-prescribing-in-general-practice">Long-term use</a> (beyond 12 months) is driving much of the increase in antidepressant prescribing.</p>
<p>Some people try to stop taking antidepressants but are prevented from doing so by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221503661930032X">withdrawal symptoms</a>. Withdrawal symptoms – including “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35144325/">brain zaps</a>”, dizziness, restlessness, vertigo and vomiting – can cause significant distress, impaired work function and relationship breakdown. </p>
<p>Across 14 studies that examined antidepressant withdrawal, around 50% of users <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221503661930032X">experienced withdrawal symptoms</a> when coming off antidepressants, which can be mistaken for recurrence of the initial problem. We are conducting a <a href="https://adelaideuniwide.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3QqWrY5TBNUP1YO">survey</a> to better understand the experience in Australia of withdrawing from antidepressants.</p>
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<p>Antidepressants should not be stopped abruptly but gradually tapered off, with smaller and smaller doses. The recent release in Australia of the <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-au/The+Maudsley+Deprescribing+Guidelines%3A+Antidepressants%2C+Benzodiazepines%2C+Gabapentinoids+and+Z+drugs-p-9781119823025">Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines</a> provides guidance for the complex regimes required for the tapering of antidepressants.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antidepressants-can-cause-withdrawal-symptoms-heres-what-you-need-to-know-208224">Antidepressants can cause withdrawal symptoms – here’s what you need to know</a>
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<h2>We need to adjust how we view mental distress</h2>
<p>Overprescribing antidepressants is a symptom of our lack of attention to the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wps.21160">social determinants of mental health</a>. It’s depressing to be poor (especially when your neighbours seem rich), unemployed or in an awful workplace, inadequately housed or fearful of family violence. It’s wrong to locate the problem in the individual when it belongs to society.</p>
<p>Overprescribing is also symptomatic of medicalisation of distress. Most diagnoses of depression and anxiety are <a href="https://karger.com/psp/article-pdf/37/6/259/3489408/000081981.pdf">descriptions masquerading as explanations</a>. For each distressed person who fits the pattern of anxiety or depression, the meaning of their presentation is different. There may be a medical explanation, but most often meaning may be found in the person’s struggle with difficult feelings, their relationships and other life circumstances such as terrible disappointments or grief. </p>
<p>GPs’ overprescribing reflects the pressures they experience from workload, unrealistic expectations of their capacity and misinformation from pharmaceutical companies and key opinion leaders. They need better support, resources and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4822978/">evidence</a> about the limited <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(17)32802-7/fulltext">benefits</a> of antidepressants. </p>
<p>GPs also need to ensure they discuss with their patients the potential adverse effects of antidepressants, and when and how to safely stop them. </p>
<p>But the fundamental problem is social and can only be properly addressed by meaningfully addressing inequality and changing community attitudes to distress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Jureidini receives research funding from MMRF. He is affiliated with Critical Psychiatry Network Australasia.</span></em></p>Australia has among the highest antidepressant prescribing rates in the world.Jon Jureidini, Research Leader, Critical and Ethical Mental Health research group, Robinson Research Institute, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2176542024-02-08T13:40:39Z2024-02-08T13:40:39ZAnger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573800/original/file-20240206-18-uxu2ut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=199%2C0%2C5697%2C3550&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bad feeling can trigger behavior that leads to something better.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/diverse-people-holding-emoticon-royalty-free-image/935941772">Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn’t concentrate for days?</p>
<p>These types of emotions are unpleasant to experience and can even feel overwhelming. People often try to avoid them, suppress them or ignore them. In fact, in psychology experiments, people will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9394-7">pay money to not feel many negative emotions</a>. But recent research is revealing that emotions can be useful, and even negative emotions can bring benefits.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fzHtrJIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">In my</a> <a href="https://emotionsciencelab.com">emotion science lab</a> at Texas A&M University, we study how emotions like anger and boredom affect people, and we explore ways that these feelings can be beneficial. We share the results so people can learn how to use their emotions to build the lives they want.</p>
<p>Our studies and many others have shown that emotions aren’t uniformly good or bad for people. Instead, different emotions can result in better outcomes in particular types of situations. Emotions seem to function like a Swiss army knife – different emotional tools are helpful in specific situations.</p>
<h2>Sadness can help you recover from a failure</h2>
<p>Sadness occurs when people perceive that they’ve lost a goal or a desired outcome, and there’s nothing they can do to improve the situation. It could be getting creamed in a game or failing a class or work project, or it can be losing a relationship with a family member. Once evoked, sadness is associated with what psychologists call a deactivation state of doing little, without much behavior or <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/arousal">physical arousal</a>. Sadness also brings <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12232">thinking that is more detailed and analytical</a>. It makes you stop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412474458">and think</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit of the stopping and thinking that comes with sadness is that it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4_4">helps people recover from failure</a>. When you fail, that typically means the situation you’re in is not conducive to success. Instead of just charging ahead in this type of scenario, sadness prompts people to step back and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016242">evaluate what is happening</a>.</p>
<p>When people are sad, they process information in a deliberative, analytical way and want to avoid risk. This mode comes with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.2.318">more accurate memory</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939108411048">judgment that is less influenced</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.11.005">by irrelevant assumptions or information</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.04.010">better detection of other people lying</a>. These cognitive changes can encourage people to understand past failures and possibly prevent future ones.</p>
<p>Sadness can function differently when there’s the possibility that the failure could be avoided if other people help. In these situations, people tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1994.tb01049.x">cry and can experience</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-018-0526-y">increased physiological arousal</a>, such as quicker heart and breathing rates. Expressing sadness, through tears or verbally, has the benefit of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100114">potentially recruiting other people to help you</a> achieve your goals. This behavior appears to start in infants, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1127506">tears and cries signaling caregivers to help</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman yells into a phone with her hair blowing up and back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573801/original/file-20240206-18-9r5azc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anger can prepare you to blast through any roadblocks holding you back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-is-shouting-into-phone-royalty-free-image/108876267">Betsie Van der Meer/Stone via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Anger prepares you to overcome an obstacle</h2>
<p>Anger occurs when people perceive they’re losing a goal or desired outcome, but that they could improve the situation by removing something that’s in their way. The obstacle could be an injustice committed by another person, or it could be a computer that repeatedly crashes while you’re trying to get work done. Once evoked, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024244">anger is associated with a “readiness for action,”</a> and your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00313-6">thinking focuses on the obstacle</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit of being prepared for action and focused on what’s in your way is that it motivates you to overcome what’s standing between you and your goal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073913512003">When people are angry</a>, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420240104">process information and make judgments rapidly</a>, want to take action, and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.010">physiologically aroused</a>. In experiments, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.017">anger actually increases the force of people’s kicks</a>, which can be helpful in physical encounters. Anger results in better outcomes in situations that involve challenges to goals, including confrontational games, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000350">tricky puzzles</a>, video games with obstacles, and responding quickly on tasks.</p>
<p>Expressing anger, facially or verbally, has the benefit of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000292">prompting other people to clear the way</a>. People are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.57">more likely to concede in negotiations</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.12.015">give in on issues</a> when their adversary looks or says they are angry.</p>
<h2>Anxiety helps you prepare for danger</h2>
<p>Anxiety occurs when people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371105601202">perceive a potential threat</a>. This could be giving a speech to a large audience where failure would put your self-esteem on the line, or it could be a physical threat to yourself or loved ones. Once evoked, anxiety is associated with being prepared to respond to danger, including increased physical arousal and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01701.x">attention to threats and risk</a>.</p>
<p>Being prepared for danger means that if trouble brews, you can respond quickly to prevent or avoid it. When anxious, people detect threats rapidly, have fast reaction times and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01701.x">are on heightened alert</a>. The eye-widening that often comes with fear and anxiety even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2138">gives people a wider field of vision</a> and improves threat detection.</p>
<p>Anxiety prepares the body for action, which improves performance on a number of tasks that involve motivation and attention. It motivates people to prepare for upcoming events, such as devoting time to study for an exam. Anxiety also prompts protective behavior, which can help prevent the potential threat from becoming a reality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bored man at desk leans his head in his hand while looking at a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573803/original/file-20240206-32-tb0hax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boredom may be trying to tell you that your current situation needs a shakeup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/shot-of-a-young-businessman-looking-bored-while-royalty-free-image/1348347595">Jay Yuno/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Boredom can jolt you out of a rut</h2>
<p>There is less research on boredom than many other emotions, so it is not as well understood. Researchers debate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.02.002">what it is</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459">what it does</a>.</p>
<p>Boredom appears to occur when someone’s current situation is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459">not causing any other emotional response</a>. There are three situations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-011-9234-9">where this lack can occur</a>: when emotions fade, such as the happiness of a new car fading to neutral; when people don’t care about anything in their current situation, such as being at a large party where nothing interesting is happening; or when people have no goals. Boredom does not necessarily set in just because nothing is happening – someone with a goal of relaxation might feel quite content sitting quietly with no stimulation.</p>
<p>Psychology researchers think that the benefit of boredom in situations where people are not responding emotionally is that it <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000433">prompts making a change</a>. If nothing in your current situation is worth responding to, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.154">aversive experience of boredom can motivate you</a> to seek new situations or change the way you’re thinking. Boredom has been related to more risk seeking, a desire for novelty, and creative thinking. It seems to function like an emotional stick, nudging people out of their current situation to explore and create.</p>
<h2>Using the toolkit of emotion</h2>
<p>People want to be happy. But research is finding that a satisfying and productive life includes a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000292">mix of positive and negative emotions</a>. Negative emotions, even though they feel bad to experience, can motivate and prepare people for failure, challenges, threats and exploration.</p>
<p>Pleasant or not, your emotions can help guide you toward better outcomes. Maybe understanding how they prepare you to handle various situations will help you feel better about feeling bad.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Lench does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lots of people will do a lot to avoid feeling negative emotions. But researchers are figuring out how these unpleasant feelings actually have benefits.Heather Lench, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2196122024-02-05T05:12:15Z2024-02-05T05:12:15ZMillions of Australians have a chronic illness. So why aren’t employers accommodating them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573331/original/file-20240205-22-173q39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C188%2C5955%2C3799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-woman-working-in-a-factory-with-a-lot-of-boxes-NixrmlDt-6E">Kat von Wood/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/health-conditions-prevalence/2022">More than 20 million Australians</a> have at least one long-term health condition, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/barriers-and-incentives-labour-force-participation-australia/latest-release#data-downloads">63%</a> of whom are in the workforce. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/chronic-conditions/about-chronic-conditions">causes of chronic illness</a> are complex and are often unconnected to a person’s work. But at times, the continued exposure to work stressors can lead to or exacerbate chronic health conditions including <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/musculoskeletal.html">musculoskeletal disorders</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8674745/">heart disease</a>, <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-8-280">anxiety</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18417557/">depression</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://apo.org.au/node/322034">Our research</a> found 73% of people believed their chronic illness was at least partially caused or worsened by their job. Almost one in five people believed work entirely caused or worsened their illness. </p>
<p>These findings accord with data from <a href="https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-stats-2023">Safe Work Australia</a> which indicates health conditions (particularly mental health) account for an increasing proportion of serious workers’ compensation claims.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-impact-of-work-on-well-being-6-factors-that-will-affect-the-future-of-work-and-health-inequalities-215047">The impact of work on well-being: 6 factors that will affect the future of work and health inequalities</a>
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<p>Our research <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/322034">also found</a> people with chronic illness were likely to report various forms of workplace discrimination, including being rejected from a job (63%), being treated unfairly in the workplace (65%) and harassment (52%). </p>
<p>So what are employers getting so wrong? And what are the solutions to improving working conditions for people with chronic illnesses? </p>
<h2>Employers’ responsibilities have grown</h2>
<p>In 2022, <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-whs-regulations">Safe Work Australia</a> updated its work health and safety regulations to include specific guidelines on the management of “psychosocial” hazards in the workplace. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-whs-regulations">psychosocial hazard</a> is anything that can cause psychological and physical harm, including the design or management of work and workplace interactions or behaviours. </p>
<p>Common examples include job demands, low job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, exposure to traumatic events, harassment and bullying. The failure to eliminate or minimise psychosocial hazards can cause work-related stress, resulting in poor health outcomes for workers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Waiter sets table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573334/original/file-20240205-27-wkdls6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Employers have an obligation to manage psychosocial hazards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/man-in-white-top-standing-next-to-table-OB7ol699Iww">Chuttersnap/Unsplash</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Organisations need to improve their engagement and management of chronically ill workers to meet their legal obligations. </p>
<h2>How employers are getting it wrong</h2>
<p>Few organisations have sophisticated approaches to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1472-6963-11-104">managing employees who are chronically ill</a>. And managers often feel <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/02/how-managers-can-support-employees-with-chronic-illnesses">ill-equipped</a> to effectively support chronically ill employees. </p>
<p>Instead, there is a tendency to rely on outmoded human resource and occupational health and safety systems originally designed to accommodate short-term absences and acute illnesses. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-employers-can-help-cancer-survivors-return-to-work-based-on-my-own-experience-128568">Return-to-work</a> policies tend to fall short because they assume a phased and linear return to full working capacity. This is often not the case for people with chronic illness, whose symptoms may be degenerative or fluctuate over time. </p>
<p>Chronically ill workers are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joy-Beatty/publication/256924077_An_Overlooked_Dimension_Of_Diversity_The_Career_Effects_of_Chronic_Illness/links/5b8887b94585151fd13dc5cf/An-Overlooked-Dimension-Of-Diversity-The-Career-Effects-of-Chronic-Illness.pdf">rarely considered</a> in organisational diversity and inclusion policies and procedures. At best, they may be incorporated into umbrella disability policies, which can be problematic as people with chronic illness do not necessarily <a href="https://chronicillnessinclusion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DRUK-CII-survey-report-Nov-2021.pdf">self-identify as “disabled”</a>. </p>
<p>Many chronically ill workers fly under the radar. This is partly because organisations don’t collect this data but it’s also due to the often invisible nature of chronic illness. Someone living with conditions such as long COVID or endometriosis, for example, may present as unimpaired to their colleagues. However, they will often be dealing with complex, fluctuating symptoms that are largely invisible at work. </p>
<p>Workers may also choose <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/08/research-when-leaders-disclose-a-chronic-illness-at-work">not to disclose</a> their illness due to fears of being stigmatised, treated differently, or passed over for promotion. <a href="https://fbe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/4639318/Disclosing_Illness_at_Work_Ghin_Ainsworth.pdf">Our research</a> on leaders living with chronic illness found only 18% fully disclosed their illness to their employer. Almost three-quarters of leaders with chronic illness (73%) deliberately hid their illness at work. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-tell-your-boss-about-your-mental-illness-heres-what-to-weigh-up-200907">Should you tell your boss about your mental illness? Here's what to weigh up</a>
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<h2>What can employers do?</h2>
<p>Here are three ways employers can begin to proactively meet their obligations to workers with chronic illness. </p>
<p><strong>1. Make adjustments</strong> </p>
<p>Workers with chronic illness sometimes experience fluctuations in their condition which can impact their ability to complete tasks or meet deadlines. It may be necessary for managers to consider sensitively discussing a revised work schedule, the delegation of time-sensitive tasks, or discuss implementing reasonable adjustments to improve workflow.</p>
<p>These can be challenging conversations, but engaging with them directly means employers can allocate the resources they need to meet their business objectives, while also reducing employee experiences of overwhelm.</p>
<p><strong>2. Accept reasonable requests</strong></p>
<p>Workers with chronic illness may require reasonable adjustments, such as flexible working, to enable them to perform to the best of their ability. </p>
<p>Take these requests at face value and minimise the administrative hurdles associated with approving such accommodations. Failing to do so is likely to erode trust, entrench feelings of not being supported and increase an employee’s psychological distress. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman puts sticky notes on whiteboard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573332/original/file-20240205-23-ofrizq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Accepting reasonable requests will make employers feel supported.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-placing-sticky-notes-on-wall-Oalh2MojUuk">Jason Goodman/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p><strong>3. Train managers</strong></p>
<p>Managers may sometimes deny a request for a reasonable adjustment based on the belief that this creates a precedent for all team members. Decisions like these can compound feelings of stress, as they may be experienced as a lack of procedural fairness by employees living with chronic illness. </p>
<p>With appropriate training, managers are more likely to recognise that chronically ill workers are generally not seeking “special treatment”, but ways to work more effectively within their changed capacities.</p>
<p>By recognising the value of employees of all abilities, and proactively and systematically addressing the needs of their chronically ill workforce, employers can minimise extended workplace absences and improve the productivity of their workforce. </p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Employers have a duty to address work stressors and make adjustments for workers with long-term illnesses.Peter Ghin, Research fellow, Future Of Work Lab, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of MelbourneSusan Ainsworth, Professor of Management and Marketing, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209252024-01-31T18:28:57Z2024-01-31T18:28:57ZFear of ageing is really a fear of the unknown – and modern society is making things worse<p>For the first time in human history, we have entered an era in which reaching old age is taken for granted. Unlike in ages past, when living to an older age was a luxury afforded mainly to the privileged, globally around <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TO65.FE.ZS?locations=1W">79% of women</a> and <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TO65.MA.ZS?locations=1W">70% of men</a> can expect to reach the age of 65 and beyond.</p>
<p>Despite longer life expectancy, many people in the contemporary west see growing old as undesirable and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/apr/02/ageing-and-the-mortality-alarm-i-started-panicking-about-future-me">even scary</a>. Research shows, however, that anxiety about ageing may in fact be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0164027500225004">fear of the unknown</a>. </p>
<p>Society’s <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/articles/199409/learning-love-growing-old">focus on youthfulness</a> and <a href="https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/ableism-negative-reactions-disability">capability</a> can cause anxiety about becoming weak and unwanted. Adverts for anti-ageing products <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-20th-century-rejuvenation-techniques-gave-rise-to-the-modern-anti-ageing-industry-133569">are everywhere</a>, reinforcing the idea that growing older is inherently unattractive. </p>
<p>Some people fear ageing so much that it becomes a pathological condition <a href="https://mind.help/topic/gerascophobia/">called gerascophobia</a>, leading to irrational thoughts and behaviour, for example, a fixation on health, illness and mortality and a preoccupation with hiding the signs of ageing.</p>
<p>We frequently hear about attempts to reverse ageing, often by the super rich. For example, <a href="https://fortune.com/well/2023/01/26/bryan-johnson-extreme-anti-aging/">Bryan Johnson</a>, a 45-year-old American entrepreneur, is spending millions of dollars a year to obtain the physical age of 18. </p>
<p>While the desire to reverse ageing is not a new phenomenon, advancements in biomedicine have brought it closer. </p>
<p>Work published by genetics professor <a href="https://lifespanbook.com/">David Sinclair</a> at Harvard University in 2019 suggests that it may be possible to challenge the limits of cell reproduction to extend our lifespan, for example. His <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-023-00527-6">information theory of ageing</a> argues that <a href="https://epigeneticsandchromatin.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-8935-6-3">reprogramming DNA</a> can improve damaged and old tissues, and delay or even reverse ageing. However, these new possibilities can also heighten our fear of ageing.</p>
<h2>From the unproductive to undervalued</h2>
<p>People haven’t always dreaded growing older. In many societies, older people used to be widely regarded as wise and important – and in some they still are. </p>
<p>In ancient China, there was a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/605890">culture</a> of respecting and seeking advice from older family members. There is still an ethos of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6363941/">filial piety</a> (showing reverence and care for elders and ancestors) today, even if it’s not as pronounced as it used to be. The same went for <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/abs/old-age-in-the-dark-ages-the-status-of-old-age-during-the-early-middle-ages/3699DC4100DE852BDA1E1B3BBF33DDBC">medieval Europe</a>, where older people’s experiences and wisdom were highly valued. </p>
<p>However, the industrial revolution in the west from the 18th century led to a cultural shift where older people <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1014358415896">became excluded from society</a> and were considered unproductive. People who had surpassed the age to work, alongside those with incurable diseases, were regarded by society as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607860903228762">“evils”</a> in need of assistance.</p>
<p>The treatment of older people has taken a different form since the early 20th century. The introduction of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/30/business/retirement/why-the-world-needs-to-rethink-retirement.html">universal pension systems</a> made ageing a central concern in welfare systems. But as the demands for social and health care have increased, journalists increasingly portray ageing as a <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/latest-news/archive/older-people-feel-a-burden-to-society/">burden</a> on society. </p>
<p>Consequently, growing older is often associated with managing the risk of ill health and alleviating the onus of care from younger relatives. This can result in the <a href="https://utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/utq.90.2.09">institutionalisation</a> of older people in residential facilities that keep them hidden, sequestered from the awareness of younger generations.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0164027500225004">Research</a> analysing the responses of 1,200 US adults from the American Association of Retired Persons’ Images of Ageing survey shows that much of the perceived fear of ageing is closely aligned with the fear of the unknown, rather than the ageing process itself. This fear is only exacerbated by the largely separate lives lived by older and younger generations.</p>
<p>The prevalence of nuclear families and the decline of <a href="https://www.cpc.ac.uk/docs/BP45_UnAffordable_housing_and_the_residential_separation_of_age_groups.pdf">traditional mixed-generational communities</a> have deprived younger people of the opportunity to more fully understand the experiences of older people. Plus, the rapid increase in <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/why-its-more-difficult-for-young-people-to-buy-a-house-now-than-it-was-fifty-years-ago-12537254">house prices</a> means many young people cannot afford to live near their older relatives.</p>
<p>The separation of older people from children and young people has sparked generational conflicts that seemingly continue to <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2017/05/04/britains-generational-divide-has-never-been-wider">grow wider than ever</a>. Older people are frequently portrayed in the media as conservative and privileged, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/12/old-young-gap-britain-generation-dysfunctional-family">making it difficult</a> for younger generations to comprehend why older people act and think the way they do. </p>
<h2>Intergenerational interactions</h2>
<p>Academics suggest that creating <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.996520/full">a system</a> for older and younger generations to interact in everyday settings is vital. </p>
<p>A set of three <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031197/#bjso12146-bib-0004">UK-based studies</a> in 2016 analysed and compared the effects of direct contact, extended contact and interactions between younger (aged 17 to 30) and older people (65 and over). The findings indicated that good quality direct intergenerational contact can improve young people’s attitudes towards older adults (especially when sustained over time). </p>
<p>Intergenerational programmes have been adopted globally, including mixed and <a href="https://www.cohousing.org/multigenerational-cohousing/">intergenerational housing</a>, <a href="https://www.nurseryinbelong.org.uk/intergenerational-choir-hits-high-note-at-belong-chester/">community choirs</a> and <a href="https://www.shareable.net/how-sharing-can-bring-japans-elderly-and-youth-together/">senior volunteers reading to young children in nurseries</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10433-018-00497-4">Studies show</a> that these activities can not only enhance the wellbeing of older people but also help younger people gain an appreciation of ageing as a valuable and fulfilling life stage. </p>
<p>Getting worried about growing older is normal, just as we experience anxieties in other stages of life, such as adolescence and marriage. But here’s the thing – instead of seeing ageing as a looming figure, it is important to realise it is just a part of life.</p>
<p>Once we understand ageing as a regular experience, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/changepower/202106/do-you-have-fogo-taming-the-fear-getting-old">we can let go</a> of these worries and approach the journey through different life stages with a positive attitude and a fortified will to enrich our lives and the lives of those around us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Anxiety about ageing is also often a fear of the future.Chao Fang, Lecturer in Sociology, Deputy Director of the Centre for Ageing and the Life Course, University of LiverpoolAlastair Comery, PhD Candidate, Sociology, Centre for Death and Society, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216842024-01-28T13:55:15Z2024-01-28T13:55:15ZThe contraceptive pill also affects the brain and the regulation of emotions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570657/original/file-20231221-19-oxth15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C988%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Like natural hormones, known as endogenous hormones, the artificial hormones contained in the pill, known as exogenous hormones, can have effects on the brain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.18356/1bd58a10-en">used by more than 150 million women worldwide</a>. Approximately one-third of teenagers in <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/82-003-x/2015010/article/14222-eng.pdf">North America</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2387">Europe</a> use them, making them the most prescribed drug for teenagers.</p>
<p>It is well known that oral contraceptives have the power to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle. What’s less well known is that they can also have an effect on the brain, particularly in the regions that are important for regulating emotions.</p>
<p>As a doctoral student and professor of psychology at UQAM, we were interested in the impact of oral contraceptives on the brain regions involved in emotional processes. We published our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1228504">results in the scientific journal Frontiers in Endocrinology</a>.</p>
<h2>How does the pill work?</h2>
<p>There are several methods of hormonal contraception, but the most common type in North America is the contraceptive pill, more specifically, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101040">combined oral contraceptives</a> (COCs). These are made up of two artificial hormones that simulate one of the types of estrogen (generally ethinyl estradiol) and progesterone.</p>
<p>Like natural hormones, known as endogenous hormones, the artificial hormones contained in the pill, known as exogenous hormones, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101040">have an effect on the brain</a>. They bind to receptors in different areas and signal the brain to reduce the production of endogenous sex hormones. It is this phenomenon that leads to the cessation of menstrual cycles, preventing ovulation.</p>
<p>In other words, while using COCs, users’ bodies and brains are not exposed to the fluctuations in sex hormones typically seen in women with a natural cycle.</p>
<h2>The pill’s effects on the brain: neuroscience to the rescue!</h2>
<p>When they start taking COCs, teenage girls and women are informed of their different side effects, mainly physical (nausea, headaches, weight changes, breast tenderness). However, the fact that sex hormones affect the brain, particularly in areas important for regulating emotions, is not generally discussed.</p>
<p>Studies have associated the use of COCs with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.019">poorer ability to regulate emotions</a> and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2387">higher risk of developing psychopathologies</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, women are more likely than men to suffer from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2011.03.006">anxiety and chronic stress disorders</a>. Given the widespread use of COCs, it is important to gain a better understanding of their effects on the anatomy of the brain regions that are responsible for emotional regulation.</p>
<p>We therefore conducted a study to examine the effects of COCs on the anatomy of brain regions involved in emotional processes. We were interested in the effects associated with their current use, but also in the possibility of lasting effects, i.e. whether COCs could affect brain anatomy even after women stopped taking them.</p>
<p>To do this, we recruited four profiles of healthy individuals: women currently using COCs, women who had used COCs in the past, women who had never used any method of hormonal contraception, and men.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="magnetic resonance imaging" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567191/original/file-20231221-24-r2t5pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to analyze the morphology of certain regions of the brain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using brain imaging, we found that only women currently using COCs had a slightly thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex than men. This part of the brain is known to be essential for regulating emotions such as fear. The scientific literature shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0502441102">the thicker this region is, the better the emotional regulation will be</a>.</p>
<p>COCs could therefore alter emotional regulation in women. Although we have not directly tested the link between brain morphology and mental health, our team is currently investigating other aspects of the brain and mental health, which will allow us to better understand our anatomical findings.</p>
<h2>An effect associated with the dose, but that doesn’t last</h2>
<p>We tried to better understand what could explain the effect using COCs on this region of the brain. We discovered that it was associated with the dose of ethinyl estradiol. In fact, among COC users, only those using a low-dose COC (10-25 micrograms) – not a higher dose (30-35 micrograms) – were associated with a thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex.</p>
<p>It may seem surprising that a lower dose was associated with a cerebral effect…</p>
<p>Given that all COCs reduce concentrations of endogenous sex hormones, we propose that estrogen receptors in this brain region may be insufficiently activated when low levels of endogenous estrogen are combined with a low intake of exogenous estrogen (ethinyl estradiol).</p>
<p>Conversely, higher doses of ethinyl estradiol could help to achieve adequate binding to estrogen receptors in the prefrontal cortex, simulating moderate to high activity similar to that of women with a natural menstrual cycle.</p>
<p>It is important to note that this lower grey matter thickness was specific to current COC use: women who had used COCs in the past showed no thinning compared to men. Our study therefore supports the reversibility of the impact of COCs on cerebral anatomy, in particular on the thickness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.</p>
<p>In other words, the use of COCs could affect brain anatomy, but in a reversible way.</p>
<h2>And now?</h2>
<p>Although our research has no direct clinical orientation, it is helping to advance our understanding of the anatomical effects associated with the use of COCs.</p>
<p>We are not calling for women to stop using their COCs: adopting such discourse would be both too hasty and alarming.</p>
<p>It’s also important to remember that the effects reported in our study appear to be reversible.</p>
<p>Our aim is to promote basic and clinical research, but also to increase scientific interest in women’s health, an area that is still understudied.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221684/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Brouillard is a student member of the Research Centre of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal. She holds a doctoral scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie-France Marin is a regular researcher at the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Addictology at the Université de Montréal. She was supported by a salary grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (2018-2022) and currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Hormonal Modulation of Cognitive and Emotional Functions (2022-2027). The project discussed in the article is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and has received support from pilot project funds from the Research Centre of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and the Quebec Bioimaging Network.</span></em></p>Oral contraceptives modify the menstrual cycle. What’s less well known is that they also reach the brain, particularly the regions important for regulating emotions.Alexandra Brouillard, Doctorante en psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Marie-France Marin, Professor, Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205762024-01-17T17:49:46Z2024-01-17T17:49:46ZMentors, nurture rooms and mindfulness: what schools can do to improve pupils’ mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569277/original/file-20240115-27-c32m3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-young-male-teacher-talking-2155310567">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up#:%7E:text=Key%20Facts,20%20to%2025%20year%20olds">Recent data shows</a> that around 20% of children and young people aged from eight to 25 years have a probable mental disorder. </p>
<p>This is an increase from the 10% recorded in 2017, when the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a823518e5274a2e87dc1b56/Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_provision.pdf">UK government declared</a> the prevalence of mental ill health in children and young people to be “one of the burning injustices of our time”.</p>
<p>Lack of investment in mental health services, coupled with growing demand, has left many children and young people with <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/improving-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-services?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0PLkg4DQgwMVUrZoCR0jgA_cEAAYASAAEgLJAvD_BwE">limited or no support</a>. </p>
<p>The effects are being felt in schools. Ofsted’s 2023 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-202223-education-childrens-services-and-skills/the-annual-report-of-his-majestys-chief-inspector-of-education-childrens-services-and-skills-202223">annual report</a> includes concern about the rising use of part-time timetables in schools – which can be for children struggling with their mental health. Part-time attendance may involve only attending school on specified days or daily attendance but with a reduction in the number of hours pupils spend in school.</p>
<p>Schools are operating with already stretched resources. But they are an obvious route to supporting children’s mental health. Children and young people spend a significant proportion of their time in schools. </p>
<p>With the proper resources to help, schools could offer swift support – especially when many children and young people experience delays in accessing external support, particularly from child and adolescent mental health services. </p>
<p>A key way that schools could support children’s mental health is the introduction of a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing">mental health curriculum</a>. This would aim to develop pupils’ mental health literacy by developing their knowledge of mental health issues and introducing them to strategies to manage their own mental health.</p>
<h2>Dedication to mental health</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9604.12301">own research</a> with colleagues explored the impact of a mental health curriculum delivered by a sports community trust and school partnership, with 570 young people in schools across Cambridge.</p>
<p>The curriculum included sessions on stress, resilience, social media use and self-management strategies. A mental health curriculum was designed and delivered by sports coaches who were employed by the community trust and trained in mental health to students in secondary schools. Footballers from the local football club contributed by sharing their own lived experiences of mental ill-health. </p>
<p>Not only did students’ knowledge of mental health improve, but they also gained knowledge of strategies to help themselves cope with adversity and how to help others with mental ill health. </p>
<p>Another strand of the whole school approach relates to working in partnership with children and young people to improve mental health. We conducted <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPMH-10-2018-0073/full/html">another study</a> in which older students acted as mentors in secondary schools. They designed and delivered weekly physical activity sessions to younger students with social, emotional and mental health needs. </p>
<p>We found that this improved levels of physical activity, which supported children’s mental health. The younger students gained coping skills and the programme also helped with their social skills, by leading to the development of supportive and trusting relationships between mentors and the students they were supporting. </p>
<p>Both studies illustrate that schools can play a role in supporting children and young people’s mental health – but that they require help and funding to do so.</p>
<h2>Space and time</h2>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a800636e5274a2e8ab4dbb5/Supporting_children_with_challenging_behaviour_through_a_nurture_group_approach.pdf">Nurture groups</a> are used in some schools to support children with social, emotional and mental health needs. They can take place in nurture rooms, which tend to be more informal spaces than standard classrooms and provide positive environments for children to develop social and emotional literacy and regulation skills. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="children sitting on floor with teacher" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schools need resources to help them dedicate time to mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multiethnic-group-elementary-school-kids-sitting-2183007907">zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nurture groups focus on helping children with their confidence, self-esteem and communication and with establishing positive relationships with others. These skills are explicitly taught and children have opportunities to practise the skills they learn. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/200652726/1_s2.0_S0190740919309697_main.pdf">research study</a> involving 384 children aged five and six demonstrated improvements in social, emotional and behavioural outcomes, although there was no evidence that nurture groups led to improvements in academic outcomes. </p>
<p>Mindfulness is another practice that can take place in schools. The aim of mindfulness, as a practice, is to focus attention on the present rather than the past or the future, through guided participation. This could include focusing on breathing or a specific part of the body. </p>
<p>People can then use mindfulness by themselves to support their own mental health. Research with 216 secondary school students <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15427609.2013.818488">has demonstrated positive effects</a>, including improvements in emotional regulation and emotional clarity as well as a reduction in perceived stress.</p>
<p>However, it is important to remember that teachers are not mental health therapists. There are professional boundaries that apply to what they can and cannot do. In a 2023 documentary on young people and mental health, presenter Roman Kemp called for the government to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001s1mm">commit funding</a> so that all schools can benefit from the expertise of an education mental health practitioner. </p>
<p>These practitioners are employed by the NHS. They are deployed into schools to provide help for children and young people with mental health needs. Increasing investment in this service would ensure that schools are better resourced and able to address mental health needs. </p>
<p>In addition, increased government funding would also enable all schools to appoint a suitably qualified designated member of staff to lead and manage the mental health provision across the school. This should be a protected role, free from other responsibilities. </p>
<p>Proper investment in mental health services is urgently required so that young people can get the support that they need in a timely manner.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Glazzard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Schools are operating with already stretched resources. But they are an obvious route to supporting children’s mental health.Jonathan Glazzard, Rosalind Hollis Professor of Education for Social Justice, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099622024-01-15T19:18:02Z2024-01-15T19:18:02ZWorking from home since COVID-19? Cabin fever could be the next challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568741/original/file-20240110-25-1xi2zx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C92%2C5590%2C3640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being confined to our homes for long periods without access to different activities can expose teleworkers to cabin fever.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/working-from-home-since-covid-19-cabin-fever-could-be-the-next-challenge" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As Canada opened back up after the COVID-19 lockdowns, many businesses encouraged their workers to head back to the office. Yet, despite restrictions being lifted in Canada and around the world, teleworking as a regular working arrangement has remained <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/leadership/article-while-most-canadians-prefer-working-from-home-survey-highlights/">popular across different industries</a>. </p>
<p>Different polls over the last three years show an increased interest in teleworking among Canadian workers. The polls indicated that many <a href="https://financialpost.com/fp-work/canadians-work-from-home-more">Canadians prefer teleworking</a> and some <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8812305/canadian-workers-remote-jobs-ipsos-poll/">would consider changing careers to maintain their teleworking status</a>. </p>
<p>The popularity of teleworking seems obvious enough. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-3449(02)00082-4">It provides more flexibility</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2006.12.004">reduces the need to commute</a> and can <a href="https://researchbank.swinburne.edu.au/items/3e7c083c-e708-4a31-bf86-a522d65637a1/1/">improve productivity</a>, among other indirect benefits. </p>
<p>However, being confined to our homes for long periods without access to different activities can expose teleworkers to cabin fever, <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cabin-fever#signs">a lack of motivation and anxiety</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with a young child in his lap working on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568743/original/file-20240110-21-p8398h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teleworkers can find contentment in having more daily interactions with their partners, children and immediate family.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefits and downsides of remote work</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9822-5_175">recently published study</a>, we conducted extensive interviews with 14 teleworkers who moved during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that remote working arrangements enabled some people to move away from big cities and economic centres to purchase homes in more affordable areas. In some cases, teleworkers were able to achieve better living standards that were not possible without teleworking. </p>
<p>Another indirect impact of telework was the health benefits associated with higher productivity and less commuting. Most of us have first-hand experience of exhaustion after long commutes in the morning and back from work in the afternoon. That fatigue can often leave us feeling spent. Not needing to commute means we can be more productive and accomplish more with our day.</p>
<p>There are other indirect benefits like having more time to cook meals at home, eating healthier, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canadians-savings-stockpile-is-a-300-billion-quandary-for-the/">having increased financial flexibility</a> and improved overall quality of life.</p>
<p>However, along with all these benefits, there are some downsides that people should consider before signing up for remote work. If you plan to move away from the city to a more affordable area, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2023.2253780">our research shows you will probably become car dependent</a>. </p>
<p>Moving away might also mean leaving friends and family behind. That means you either need to travel farther to visit them, resulting in higher travel costs, or you will not see them as often as you’d like. </p>
<p>That might be fine for some, but others might need a significant degree of social interaction while working from home. Not being able to see family and friends as often can be isolating and detrimental to our well-being.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing exercise clothes sits on a floor using a laptop. Dumbbells are on he floor beside her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568744/original/file-20240110-22-4hv48m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Small actions such as short walks, exercising and social interactions can help reduce cabin fever.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dealing with cabin fever</h2>
<p>Teleworkers might experience reduced social interactions after a while or have reduced physical activity. Being at home for extended periods of time can leave some feeling like they’re experiencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2021.01.010">cabin fever</a>. The symptoms of cabin fever include <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cabin-fever">irritability, feelings of restlessness and loneliness</a>.</p>
<p>Habits and behaviours might change over time after moving away or working fully remotely. Behavioural changes can encompass a broad spectrum, including but not limited to shifts in transportation mode, thermostat setpoints, physical activity and numerous other traits, all of which can significantly impact both the lives of teleworkers and the environment.</p>
<p>Some teleworkers find contentment in having more social interactions with their partners, children and family. Others might need a certain degree of social interaction with their co-workers in the office. And some other individuals might need active social interactions with their friends, family members, and co-workers. </p>
<p>Teleworking without social interaction or physical activity can lead to cabin fever in the long run. Most of us who worked during lockdowns experienced the urge to leave the home even for a short walk. Small actions such as short walks, exercising and social interactions can help reduce cabin fever. Teleworkers should constantly be aware of such impacts of teleworking that can impact their quality of life in the long run. </p>
<p>Whether moving away from the city or staying downtown, working fully remotely can trigger cabin fever if teleworkers develop bad habits and behaviours. To avoid such problems in the long run, remote workers should consider how they can maintain social interactions, physical activity, and other wellness practices. Such activities can provide necessary breaks from the confines of their homes, helping to prevent cabin fever and foster healthy teleworking habits and behaviours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While teleworking can come with many benefits, being alone at home can leave us feeling isolated and unmotivated.Farzam Sepanta, PhD Candidate, Building Engineering, Carleton UniversityLaura Arpan, Professor, Department of Communication, University at BuffaloLiam O'Brien, Professor in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199912024-01-15T17:52:20Z2024-01-15T17:52:20ZWhy you may feel depressed and anxious when you’re ill – and how to cope with it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569256/original/file-20240115-15-sbj0xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C91%2C7551%2C5500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sick-black-man-530798209">kurhan/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Winter illnesses are all around us at the moment – from the common cold, COVID-19 and flu to strep throat and stomach bugs. All have one thing in common: they can make you feel miserable. These illnesses often come with fatigue, lack of appetite and concentration difficulties. Sufferers often just want to be left alone many people even experience sadness and anxiety.</p>
<p>Researchers have uncovered why that is. When your body is under attack by a pathogen, some of your immune cells recognise the pathogen and take action to eliminate the threat. To be successful, they need to rally other immune cells as well as several organs of your body. </p>
<p>To do so, they secrete specific proteins, called cytokines. These are messengers, communicating the presence of a pathogen throughout your body, including to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05161-7">your brain</a>.</p>
<p>Once the cytokine signal reaches your brain, it triggers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014976341730893X">changes in the activity of many brain structures</a>. This leads to the development of fever, but not only that. </p>
<p>These brain changes also lead you to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2297">feel and act differently</a>: you are much less motivated to do things you usually like and would rather be alone and in bed. Ultimately, you feel fatigued and you lack appetite. But you can also be more sensitive to negative stimuli, which can easily make you sad and anxious. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration of a sick person with a blanket on and a thermometer in the mouth, surrounded by four thought bubbles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567852/original/file-20240104-21-7j5303.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The feelings of sickness are triggered by your immune system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Credit: Julie Lasselin; sick person: brgfx/Freepik</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That means that the psychological experience of sickness is not just triggered by your brain or the pathogen itself – it seems to be unleashed by your own immune system.</p>
<h2>Making people sick for one day</h2>
<p>How can we make sure that the feelings of sickness are really triggered by our own immune system, and not the pathogen? Researchers have actually shown that such feelings can be brought about without a true pathogen being present.</p>
<p>My research group, and a few others in the world, purposely activate the natural immune defences of healthy and young volunteers, without using a pathogen. In several of our experiments, we <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-020-00869-2">injected</a> more than 100 study participants with a small dose of lipopolysaccharide, a component of the membrane of the bacteria <em>Escherichia Coli</em>. Because immune cells recognise this component as a pathogenic threat (although no real bacteria are actually present), they get activated and produce cytokines. </p>
<p>As during a real infection, but without the presence of a pathogen, the cytokine signal reaches the brain and triggers behavioural changes together with the feelings of sickness (collectively called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354621001824">“sickness behaviour”</a>).</p>
<p>Interestingly, our participants reported the same symptoms – malaise, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889159119304507">fatigue</a> and <a href="https://karger.com/nim/article/30/1/250/864454/How-Can-Experimental-Endotoxemia-Contribute-to-Our">body pain</a> – without fighting an infection. In the photos below, you can actually see that <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2017.2430">they look less well after the injection</a>.</p>
<p>The participants said they would rather be at home than in our study room, and were no longer interested in performing the various tasks we asked them to do. And although they were not specifically anxious or sad before the injection, several of the participants reported <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889159116300034">feeling anxious</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763418302161">morose</a> afterwards. </p>
<p>Because there were no real bacteria in the blood, and because the liver and immune cells rapidly clear bacterial components from the blood, the production of cytokines lasted only a few hours, typically five to eight hours. And the sickness feelings, including the strong negative emotions that were triggered only a few hours earlier, also <a href="https://karger.com/nim/article/30/1/268/864451/Endotoxin-Induced-Physiological-and-Psychological">subsided within this time frame</a>.</p>
<h2>Why do we feel miserable during infections?</h2>
<p>The question now is: must we feel sick during an infection? And if so, why? Well, even if you are not fully aware of it, fighting a pathogen requires an incredible amount of energy. Both the activity of your immune cells and the increase in body temperature take a heavy toll. The only way your body can cope with these high energy demands is by strongly reducing the activity of organs that are not immediately needed. </p>
<p>Sickness feelings ultimately ensure that your body energy <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/7854_2022_363">is not used</a> for activities that are not essential at the time of an infection – you need to be calm and stay at home. Thus, they help you avoid using your muscles and even your brain – making you skip the gym or extensive studying. And feeling sad and anxious prevents you from wanting to go out and party with your friends.</p>
<p>The feelings of sickness are therefore <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763488800046">likely to be beneficial in the fight against the pathogen</a>. </p>
<p>This is probably the reason why <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/224/9/jeb225847/260576/Sickness-behaviors-across-vertebrate-taxa">all vertebrates</a>, and even invertebrates such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2016.00261/full">bees</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02425.x">ants</a>, behave like we do during infections. </p>
<p>So, it is likely to be difficult to simply think your way out of feeling down when ill. But I hope that this insight will help you take the edge off negative thoughts when confronted with a winter illness. Do not feel guilty or worried about feeling miserable – it’s only natural. </p>
<p>A healthy way to respond might actually to embrace these feelings as a normal response of your body when it needs to fight off pathogens. If you don’t, the chances are you will go on a spiral of guilt, fear and negative emotions that keeps getting worse.</p>
<p>And by the way, if you feel miserable in the days following a vaccination… Don’t worry – it similarly means your immune system is at work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219991/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Lasselin receives funding from the Swedish Research Council (vetenskapsrådet), Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, and the Osher center for Integrative Health at Karolinska Institutet.</span></em></p>Research suggests we should embrace feeling down when ill.Julie Lasselin, Researcher in Psychoneuroimmunology, Stockholm UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200242024-01-10T13:27:53Z2024-01-10T13:27:53ZA beginner’s guide to sound baths − what they are, how to choose a good one and what the research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566936/original/file-20231220-17-ae0awn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C24%2C8155%2C5408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sound therapy, which uses bells and singing bowls for healing, has gained popularity in recent years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sound-bell-healing-and-senior-woman-giving-royalty-free-image/1459154522?phrase=sound+bath&adppopup=true">PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, sound bathing, a therapy in which sound is used for healing, <a href="https://abc7.com/sound-bath-yoga-noho-center-north-hollywood-therapy/14152096/">has been marketed</a> as one of many “<a href="https://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/04/the_history_of_self_care.html">self-care</a>” practices, such as journal-keeping or candle-burning, in support of personal well-being. Sold also as sound “immersions,” or sound “healing” or “therapy,” sound baths are pitched as a safe and effective way to reduce stress and increase inner peace.</p>
<p>Do they, though? If so, how? As a <a href="https://anthropology.sdsu.edu/people/sobo">medical anthropologist</a> who has conducted <a href="https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/healing-vibrations/">research on the sound bath boom</a>, I have some evidence-based insights to offer. </p>
<h2>What is a sound bath?</h2>
<p>Dedicated yogic sound baths are typically intimate, hourlong, small group events hosted in yoga studios or other private settings. Lights dimmed, perhaps with essential oils diffusing, providers surround their typically recumbent clients with sound generated from simple instruments such as tuning forks, gongs and bowls. In my research, sound bath receivers and providers say this leads to a deep sense of peace or harmony.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/tibetan-singing-bowls-are-not-tibetan-sincerely-a-tibetan-person/article_7e4dd7ea-6e40-5584-90d6-b864a9e9d129.html">Some people claim erroneously</a> that what we call sound baths are an ancient practice. There is a long-standing tradition in yoga of using sound to <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Practice-of-Nada-Yoga/Baird-Hersey/9781620551813">focus one’s meditative efforts</a>, perhaps most famously in chanting “Aum.” </p>
<p>But sound baths emerged in their present form largely as an outgrowth of the rise of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2021.1949943">modern yoga</a> – the kind that focuses on postures, or “asanas.” These classes generally include, at the end, a short, meditative, “rest and receive” phase, or “savasana.” A yogic sound bath is, essentially, a sound-enhanced, extended, savasana-only sound immersion session. </p>
<p>The commodification of yogic practices in the West, along with <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9485449/Kendall-Jenner-conducts-relaxing-sound-bath-crystal-singing-bowls-followers-Instagram.html">celebrity endorsements</a>, have resulted in the modern-day sound bath industry. Many yoga studios now offer sound baths regularly: It “draws people in,” explained one owner. </p>
<h2>Early research and health benefits</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman lying down with eyes closed while gongs are played next to her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566942/original/file-20231220-21-1kr11m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sound vibrations can bring about several benefits, if done in the right way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sound-bath-therapy-playing-gong-royalty-free-image/1393950816?phrase=sound+bath&adppopup=true">microgen/iStock via Getty Images plus</a></span>
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<p>There is evidence that shows that yogic sound therapy can bring benefits. Data confirms associations between yoga practice and better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.04.006">physical</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.03.002">mental</a> health.</p>
<p>Regarding sound baths specifically, in a study involving the controlled exposure of 62 people to singing bowls, gongs, cymbals called ting-shas, and other simple instruments, subjects reported decreased <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587216668109">tension, anger and fatigue</a>. A review including several other somewhat smaller studies found that sound immersion can also improve blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32507429/">other clinical indicators</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9050597">Scientific understanding of the mechanics of sound therapy</a> is in its infancy. But preliminary studies have shown that a well-executed sound bath may help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587216668109">reduce anxiety</a> and even improve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102412">blood pressure and heart rate, among other</a> clinical outcomes. </p>
<p>In my research, many participants pointed to science in explaining why sound baths worked so well for them, referencing for instance the nervous system’s capacity to move us into a “<a href="https://www.livescience.com/parasympathetic-nervous-system-rest-and-digest">rest and digest</a>,” or relaxation, state. Many also referenced spiritualized concepts, such as the “chakras,” seven wheel-like energy or spiritual power centers running up the spine, which they believe the vibrations can “unblock.” </p>
<h2>Navigating options</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person in a black outfit and white hat playing sounds on singing bowls while several others lie in meditation poses nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568297/original/file-20240108-20-bcelis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A sound bath healer plays her bowls at a mental wellness training camp for Black men in Inglewood, Calif.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/inglewood-ca-a-sound-bath-healer-plays-her-bowls-at-news-photo/1259086092">Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The sound bath experience varies. For instance, some are held outside. Some providers play lots of different instruments, not just simple percussive ones or singing bowls. Some bring in lots of yogic philosophy; others leave that unspoken. Some infuse sessions with what I call “trauma talk,” inviting clients to focus on inner pain; others remain silent regarding client motivations for participating. </p>
<p>With sound baths so widely available, no regulations, and a <a href="https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780063077089/who-is-wellness-for/">wellness market hungry for profit</a>, how do you choose what kind to attend? Here are some guidelines, based on my study. </p>
<p>To begin, participants said that the ideal sound bath site enables clients to let down their guard. This may mean locking studio doors or providing warm blankets and cushioning so that receivers can comfortably relax into the soundscape offered. </p>
<p>Outdoor sound baths can be nice, but concern about onlookers, noise intrusions and imperfect weather could undermine a sense of sanctuary. The same was true for baths conducted in noisy fitness centers or other locations not built to promote inner peace. </p>
<p>Practitioner style also mattered. Interviewees recommended backing out if a provider makes you uncomfortable, because relaxation will be difficult. They also noted that providers with less experience often play too loudly, make jarring versus gentle transitions and forget to pause. Relatedly, baths with lots of diverse or complex instruments, or songs that tell a story, make maintaining meditation difficult. </p>
<p>Yet another distraction came from providers focused on suffering, stress or trauma. Observations confirmed that too much “trauma talk” might <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2023.101010">prime clients to focus on and even amplify any sense of distress</a>, diverting them from the simple pleasure of an immersion and from <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/george-a-bonanno/the-end-of-trauma/9781541674363/">their own resilience</a>. </p>
<p>Even the best sound bath cannot relieve stress long term if the <a href="https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/healing-vibrations/">causes of that stress remain in place</a>. Nevertheless, in a world where inner peace is hard to find, let alone maintain, an hour spent in meditative repose can be a godsend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa J. Sobo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A medical anthropologist explores claims about the health benefits of sound baths and how to choose the one to attend.Elisa J. Sobo, Professor of Anthropology & Director for Undergraduate Research, College of Arts and Letters, San Diego State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2175252024-01-03T13:11:18Z2024-01-03T13:11:18ZStressed out? Why mindfulness and meditation help us cope with the world<p>In a world fraught with anxiety, stress, and environmental and humanitarian disasters, people are looking for ways to cope. Many have turned to practices originating in ancient eastern philosophies for guidance. Among these is <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/basics/mindfulness">mindfulness</a>, which is linked to <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17906-meditation">meditation</a>. Lucy Draper-Clarke, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Lucy+Draper-Clarke&btnG=">researcher</a> and author of <a href="https://www.lucydraperclarke.com/product-page/the-compassionate-activist-1">The Compassionate Activist</a>, spoke to health & medicine editor Nadine Dreyer about looking inwards and cultivating compassion, awareness and gratitude._</p>
<h2>What does mindfulness actually mean?</h2>
<p>The original translation of the Pali word <em>sati</em> is “remembering”. It was about remembering your ethics, the right way to behave in each moment. </p>
<p>It’s shifted within the modern context and is usually translated as “being conscious and aware of the present moment”.</p>
<p>The word I prefer to use is “awareness”.</p>
<p>A mindfulness practice would be a way to bring you back to the present. You’d use your senses, your breath, or your body as in a yoga practice.</p>
<p>To be mindful is to be present, to be open. You’re not trapped in the past or in the future.</p>
<p>And that helps to calm you down because a lot of depression or depressive thoughts are linked to the past and things that we regret.</p>
<p>A lot of anxiety is linked to the future. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012253/">research</a> on these particular tendencies. If people experience a lot of anxiety, it’s often that their mind is in the future, worrying about what will happen next.</p>
<p>And the same thing for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012253/">depression</a>. The mind goes back into the past and goes into ruminating cycles of things that have happened or that we’ve done wrong, or what we perceive as wrong.</p>
<p>The present moment frees you from those aspects. Your attention is focused on exactly what’s here and now. Within that you can bring a sense of discernment. </p>
<p>My work is also linking it to <a href="https://www.journals.ac.za/sajhe/article/view/2525">compassion</a>. So if the present moment is uncomfortable – experiencing a friend suffering or our own suffering – you bring compassion to that. I find mindfulness and compassion go together.</p>
<h2>How do we include meditation in our daily lives?</h2>
<p>Mindfulness is often achieved through meditation, a practice of sitting still and focusing the mind on the senses or the breath, but we can also remain mindful throughout the day. </p>
<p>I think the word “habit” is a really good one. To make your meditation as familiar a practice as brushing your teeth or having a shower. It’s mental hygiene.</p>
<p>Making it a daily practice, at a particular time of the day, helps people: it’s less negotiable. As soon as we start negotiating with ourselves – should I practise, shouldn’t I practise – we often default to the less healthy habits like scrolling the internet or watching repetitive news stories.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.lucydraperclarke.com/product-page/the-compassionate-activist-1">The Compassionate Activist</a> I distinguish between five categories of contemplative practices: calming, insight, positive qualities, engagement and shadow integration.</p>
<p>The soothing practices are ones that calm us down. For most people a deep abdominal breath can be like a switch that shifts them from chaos to calm. It can really help. Not everyone. If you’ve had asthma, if you’ve had trauma associated with your breath, then that’s not always the best method to use. </p>
<p>Moving practices also help activate and then quieten the body, which in turn calms down the heart and mind. When expressive movement (a form of dance) or <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286745">yoga</a> are carried out with a real conscious awareness of the body, they can be very useful to prepare the mind for meditation. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DyRe361bSQA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Mindfulness and meditation. What’s the difference?</span></figcaption>
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<h2>How important are insight and self-awareness?</h2>
<p>Insight practices help us gain an understanding of our own habits. If you tend to find yourself in a state of depression or anxiety, just bringing your mind back to the present again and again can shift you out of those tendencies. We often don’t believe it’s as simple as that, but it’s amazing how much support we can give ourselves just by coming back to the present moment. Of course, if we have experienced traumatic incidents, then these practices are best done in parallel with psychotherapy.</p>
<p>There are also practices for cultivating positive, pro-social qualities such as curiosity, wonder, compassion, joy and gratitude, which are innate aspects of being human.</p>
<p>The mind has a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-17502-013">negativity bias</a>. The brain likes to learn quickly, so it tends to learn from negative experiences, but we have many wonderful experiences as well.</p>
<p>Training the mind to focus on gestures of care that people show us every day, even if it’s just being let into the traffic, or someone making you a cup of tea, opens the mind to gratitude, appreciation and wonder.</p>
<p>Anger is often a result of fear. We go into fight and flight mode. Hurt is a result of sadness. So we don’t need to demonise any of our difficult emotions. We use them to gather information. What am I feeling in this moment? And what do I need?</p>
<p>We learn to look at our experience rather than being swamped by it.</p>
<h2>What is your advice for people wanting to refocus their lives?</h2>
<p>There’s a lovely saying, that there are <a href="https://www.dharmanet.org/coursesM/Shin/JodoShinshu2.htm">84,000 Dharma doors</a>. Dharma means the truth. So 84,000 different ways to find the truth. Your own truth.</p>
<p>But the reason that number is given is that apparently in the audience where the Buddha spoke, there were 84,000 people. So what it’s saying is: find your own way.</p>
<p>When do I feel content? When do I feel at ease? When do I feel joy? Use those positive emotions as a way to reassure you that you’re on the right track.</p>
<p>Be tuned into your own happiness, your own joy, your own contentment and ease, and let them guide you to the type of practices that are going to bring you the most benefit at different stages in your life.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Draper-Clarke received research funding from the Mind and Life Institute in 2018.</span></em></p>Mindfulness, being in the present moment, is often achieved through meditation, the practice of sitting still and focusing on the breath. Both help relieve feelings of anxiety and depressionLucy Draper-Clarke, Research Associate in Compassion, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200322023-12-18T10:28:05Z2023-12-18T10:28:05ZMatthew Perry died of ‘acute effects of ketamine’ – what you need to know about the drug<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566151/original/file-20231217-18-qrp95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C9%2C3196%2C2123&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Matthew Perry</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/matthew-perry-disney-abc-television-group-101622553">s_bukley/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Millions of people worldwide were left devastated by the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67252752">death this year of 54-year-old Matthew Perry</a>, the Friends star famous for bringing wise-cracking Chandler Bing to life. A global superstar, recently sober with an autobiography on the bestseller lists, it looked like his troubled past was behind him. So the world was especially shocked and saddened to learn of his untimely death by apparent drowning.</p>
<p>This week, <a href="https://me.lacounty.gov/2023/press-releases/cause-and-manner-of-death-determined-for-matthew-langford-perry/">medical officials in Los Angeles</a>, have confirmed that his drowning was more complex than initially suspected. Toxicology reports have indicated that two drugs were in Perry’s system at the time of his death. These were <a href="https://patient.info/medicine/buprenorphine-tablets-for-addiction-treatment-espranor-prefibin-subutex">buprenorphine</a>, a drug used to treat opioid drug addiction, and <a href="https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/ketamine">ketamine</a>, sometimes referred to as special K or horse tranquilliser.</p>
<p>Given Perry’s well-documented addiction issues to opioid painkillers, his use of buprenorphine was not a surprise. But why was he taking ketamine?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9010394/">Ketamine</a> works by acting on receptors in the brain and, since its synthesis in the 1960s, has been used in veterinary medicine and also as a surgical anaesthetic in humans. </p>
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<img alt="Medical person holding ampoules of ketamine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566152/original/file-20231217-27-iahpre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ketamine is used as an anaesthetic in humans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ketamine-dissociative-anesthetic-analgesic-used-anesthesia-2328562769">luchschenF/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Following signs that ketamine might affect user mood, it was investigated for its potential role in treating <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5999402/">depression and anxiety</a>. Today, users can be prescribed ketamine for these conditions, but usually only after other antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications have failed. </p>
<p>The medical officer in LA specified that Perry was being legally prescribed infusions of ketamine to treat depression and anxiety. They did note, however, that given the time since his last dose, it was unlikely that the ketamine in his bloodstream was from his prescribed infusions. No other reason was offered as to why he would have had ketamine in his system so close to the time of his death.</p>
<p>In addition to finding drugs in his body, Perry was also listed as having <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronary-heart-disease/">heart disease</a>. Ketamine can cause an <a href="https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/ketamine#the-risks">increase in blood pressure and heart rate</a>, so it is not surprising to hear from the medical examiner that: “At the high levels of ketamine found in his post-mortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”</p>
<p>Another contributing factor to Perry’s death was listed as drowning. So does ketamine make drowning more likely? </p>
<p>Ketamine can cause users to have issues with <a href="https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/ketamine#the-risks">coordination, and they may feel disorientated</a>. The combination of these effects while in water, can make a person’s reactions slower, putting them at risk of harm, so ketamine certainly could make drowning more likely.</p>
<p>Also, taking ketamine with other substances, like alcohol, can increase the risk of drowsiness. While Perry had a much-publicised issue with alcohol, his toxicology report indicated no alcohol in his system at the time of his death.</p>
<h2>Not the first</h2>
<p>Sadly, Perry is not the first Hollywood star to die by drowning under the influence of drugs. In 2012, global star <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17483997">Whitney Houston died in a bathtub</a> after consuming marijuana, cocaine, and the benzodiazepine known as alprazolam (Xanax).</p>
<p>These stories remind us all of the dangers of substance abuse and the importance of seeking professional help for addiction issues. </p>
<p>Matthew Perry was a vocal advocate for more addiction support services, and since his death the <a href="https://matthewperryfoundation.org/">Matthew Perry Foundation</a> has been set up to help those struggling with the disease of addiction. </p>
<p>Perry said: “When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.” </p>
<p>In the last years of his life, he did just that. But sadly, it seems that it will be in death that he will have the biggest impact on helping others to overcome their demons.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Crilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Perry was being legally prescribed infusions of ketamine.Philip Crilly, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and Digital Public Health, Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188382023-12-14T13:38:10Z2023-12-14T13:38:10ZHope brings happiness, builds grit and gives life meaning. Here’s how to cultivate it<p>What is hope? In its simplest form, hope is about the future. </p>
<p>There are three necessary elements to hope: having a desire or a wish for something that is valuable, and the belief that it is possible to attain this wish, even when it seems uncertain. Then we have to trust that we have the resources, both internally and externally, to attain this important desire, even when we experience setbacks along the way.</p>
<p>For example, I may hope that I will retire in a peaceful coastal town to pursue my hobby of painting (desire) and I believe that it is possible, although I will have to plan carefully (trust in internal resources). I also trust that I will settle in the community and make friends who share my interest in painting (trust in external resources), even though it may be difficult at first. </p>
<p>When we hope, we have a vision of imaginary futures and we anticipate specific outcomes. In doing so, we choose to focus on possible good things that may happen, even when faced by uncertainty. </p>
<p>Hope has several further dimensions. It involves our thoughts, because we assess the future and the likelihood that we will attain what we wish for. In the process we are taking in information and using it to reach our goals. Hope is also about experiencing positive emotions. It can further be a motivational force, propelling us forward. </p>
<p>Hope may have a strong <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">spiritual element</a> – many, if not most, faiths place importance on having trust in a higher power that valuable outcomes may be attained. This trust can maintain hope in difficult times. </p>
<p>Hope also has a social dimension, in the sense that people may share hopes, and have hopes for others. Our sense of hope may further be influenced by our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-021-09967-x">context</a>, and how others define what is possible and desirable in the future. This aspect of hope is important when we consider our expectations of national and international futures. </p>
<p>Overall, hope is a universal human phenomenon, studied from <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">several disciplines</a>, for example, philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology and economics. In recent times, we are increasingly incorporating insights from all these fields to understand the complex phenomenon of hope.</p>
<p>In studying hope, it has been measured in different ways. Most <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">psychological studies</a> have used existing questionnaires in the discipline.</p>
<h2>How hope affects our lives</h2>
<p>How we think and feel about the future has an effect on us in the present. </p>
<p>Overall, hope is beneficial to our well-being. Hope encourages us to persist, even though we may be facing setbacks. Hopeful individuals are more likely to frame difficulties as challenges, rather than threats. This enables them to experience setbacks as less stressful and draining. For example, research indicates that hope is negatively associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X22002287">depression</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X23001094?via%3Dihub">anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>This means that people who hold higher levels of hope will be less likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. Hope has been linked to many other positive outcomes, including higher levels of psychological well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, and meaning in life. </p>
<p>The importance of hope was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X23000040?via%3Dihub">studies</a> found that people who had higher levels of hope were less likely to experience high levels of stress, depression and anxiety. </p>
<p>The research that I am involved in, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4">International Hope Barometer Project</a>, investigated hope, coping, stress, well-being and personal growth among participants from 11 countries during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. </p>
<p>Most reported moderate to high levels of hope, although at the same time they experienced moderate levels of perceived stress, characterised by feelings of unpredictability, being out of control, and overload. Hope and well-being were primarily related to being able to reframe negative events in a positive manner, accepting and actively coping with everyday challenges, and finding relief and comfort in religious faith and practice.</p>
<p>Hope is not only beneficial to us on an individual level, but to society at large. Hopeful people are more likely to engage in proactive behaviours that could benefit the community. In the context of global and local turmoil, collective hope is particularly important in maintaining momentum towards the future. </p>
<h2>Learning to cultivate hope</h2>
<p>Hope can be strengthened and enhanced to some extent. Until now, most research has focused on how hope can be promoted in psychotherapeutic and medical settings. Several hope-focused interventions have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101509">developed</a> in these contexts, with promising results. </p>
<p>On a more general level, programmes to strengthen hope among young people have been developed. One, referred to as <a href="https://www.unil.ch/scpf/en/home/menuinst/the-center.html">Positive Futures</a>, developed in Switzerland, aims to assist youth to recognise and cultivate positive things, experiences and emotions in life and foster self-worth. It further aims to develop desirable long-term future scenarios and promote hope through voluntary and meaningful projects. </p>
<p>On a more practical level, I believe it is possible to nurture hope through attending to the way we appraise difficulties. Can we see them as challenges rather than insurmountable obstacles? We can also consciously draw on our individual and collective resources and actively look for the good things around us, within the chaos we may be experiencing. </p>
<p>Sharing our hopes with people close to us can further strengthen hope through highlighting shared goals and wishes for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tharina Guse receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>People who hold higher levels of hope will be less likely to experience symptoms of depression. Shared hopes are also important for expectations of national and international futures.Tharina Guse, Professor of Psychology and Head of Department of Psychology, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104152023-12-07T22:21:31Z2023-12-07T22:21:31ZHow to stay hopeful in a world seemingly beyond saving<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-to-stay-hopeful-in-a-world-seemingly-beyond-saving" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As world leaders embark upon yet another <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/">COP climate conference</a>, it can be easy to be cynical, afraid or overwhelmed by the sheer scale of <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/">the impacts that climate change is having (and will continue to have), upon our world</a>. </p>
<p>After all, the realities of <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level">rising sea levels</a> and <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/explore/ask-nasa-climate/2956/how-climate-change-may-be-impacting-storms-over-earths-tropical-oceans/">more frequent and severe storms</a> are scary prospects.</p>
<p>However, along with the bad, it is also essential to recognize the good, such as the recent missive from the International Energy Agency indicating that we might still be able to limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius due to <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/the-path-to-limiting-global-warming-to-1-5-c-has-narrowed-but-clean-energy-growth-is-keeping-it-open">record growth in green technologies</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-eco-anxiety-is-a-critical-step-in-achieving-any-climate-action-210327">Reducing eco-anxiety is a critical step in achieving any climate action</a>
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<p>Why should we care about good news in a world so clearly doomed? Do these not distract us from more pressing matters? Simply put, a lack of good news is <a href="https://theconversation.com/eco-anxiety-climate-change-affects-our-mental-health-heres-how-to-cope-202477">bad for our health</a> and causes many to assume all is lost, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy which hinders effective climate action. </p>
<h2>A dark world?</h2>
<p>Journalist David Wallace-Wells <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2019/02/david-wallace-wells-on-climate-change-and-the-uninhabitable-earth">opens his book</a>, <em>The Uninhabitable Earth</em> with the line “It’s worse, much worse than you think.” This sentiment typifies the constant diet of bad news which over the past decades has instilled fear and anxiety within a great proportion of society, especially the young. </p>
<p>It is manifested as eco-anxiety and explains why in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3">recent survey of 10,000 youth</a> and children across the globe, 75 per cent of the respondents thought the future was frightening with over half feeling helpless or powerless. One in four of these respondents are hesitant to have children for fear of bringing a child into a threatening or doomed world.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-climate-anxiety-a-clinical-diagnosis-should-it-be-202232">Is 'climate anxiety' a clinical diagnosis? Should it be?</a>
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<p>If we add to these sentiments research showing that <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/2021/07/trust-public-institutions/">trust in institutions</a> globally has decreased over the past years then the picture seems even bleaker. However, a 2019 Pew poll in the United States suggested that 71 per cent of respondents even have a decline in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/the-state-of-personal-trust/">interpersonal trust</a>.</p>
<p>This reality echoes the symptom of distress that professor of communications George Gerbner coined in the 1970s as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v2i2.8">mean world syndrome</a>.” Such a state views violence and self-centredness as being imbedded in society which, not surprisingly, leads to increased fear and mistrust about the world and the future. This scenario is cause for concern for two important reasons. </p>
<p>First, while some level of fear <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101528">can spur action</a> it can also lead to <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3085">eco-paralysis</a>. Eco-paralysis is the hyper anxiety that can leave people feeling hopeless and without agency, sentiments likely felt above by the 10,000 youth. </p>
<p>Such fear can cause more than apathy, as Gerbner warned long ago. It can also leave individuals feeling, as he says, “<a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/0672d880-b59b-481c-9d38-19abdb4c01f7/content">more dependent, more easily manipulated and controlled, more susceptible to deceptively simple, strong, tough measures and hard-line postures…[who]…may welcome repression if it promises to relieve their insecurities</a>.” </p>
<p>An authoritarian world will not be the answer to our climate crisis, for it is precisely <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/authoritarianism-cant-beat-climate-change/">civil society</a> that spurs healthy change.</p>
<p>The second reason for concern over this bleak representation of the world is that such a depiction is not accurate. Yes, it is true — to continue the example above — that worldwide <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/02/01/the-worlds-most-and-least-democratic-countries-in-2022">democracy has eroded</a> in many instances, which is not conducive to a just transition to a post-fossil-fuel world. But democracy has also shown some remarkable successes with regard to civil liberties and political participation in countries like <a href="https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2022/south-africa-success-story-democracy">South Africa</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/24/indonesia-democracy-suharto-25-years-later/">Indonesia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/democracy-in-africa-success-stories-that-have-defied-the-odds-120601">various other states</a> such as Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Mauritius, and Senegal.</p>
<p>These instances should remind us that our negative perceptions of a “mean world” are not always founded, which can foster hope, something we dearly need. </p>
<h2>Negative preconceptions</h2>
<p>Howard Frumkin, professor emeritus of Washington University School of Public Health, reminds us that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100115">hope is central to human flourishing</a>. Hope, however, is not an easy notion to understand. </p>
<p>Frumkin conceives hope as a perception that we have agency or, more simply, the feeling that we are capable of taking action. Add to this psychological research showing that <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abcd5a">agency can be learned, even emboldened,</a> from watching others, and we can see why environmental thinker David Orr defines hope as “<a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xexocr">a verb with its sleeves rolled up</a>.”</p>
<p>What this tells us is that if we are to address climate change, we will need to hear and witness the myriad stories of individuals and groups who, with agency, are actively pursuing sustainable futures. </p>
<p>Take the work of <a href="https://drawdown.org/publications/drawdown-lift-policy-brief-girls-education-and-family-planning">Project Drawdown</a>, a non-profit organization that uses science-based climate strategies to stop and even reverse climate change. Its findings are noteworthy: chief among the strategies to address climate change is ensuring that girls across the globe receive an education. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/keeping-your-cool-in-a-warming-world-8-steps-to-help-manage-eco-anxiety-212174">Keeping your cool in a warming world: 8 steps to help manage eco-anxiety</a>
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<p>Project Drawdown’s research shows that with more education <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation">girls are more likely to manage their reproductive health, realize higher wages, have fewer incidences of disease and contribute positively to the nutrition of their families</a>. All outcomes which have clear societal, individual and environmental benefits.</p>
<p>Looking at public perceptions of the state of girls’ education around the globe reveals an important phenomenon: people doubt such a goal is feasible. A 2018 study consisting of thousands of surveys across the globe found that when asked <a href="https://www.gapminder.org/factfulness-book/notes/">“In all low-income countries across the world today, how many girls finish primary school?”</a> most people responded only 20 per cent, when in actuality, 60 per cent do. </p>
<p>Simply put, our beliefs on the education of girls are not only negative but perilously wrong and this inability to conceive of the goal being possible presents another barrier to effective action on addressing global problems. From girls’ education to climate change, negative perceptions of futility and impossibility have serious consequences.</p>
<h2>Staying hopeful</h2>
<p>Stating the good news does not mean we deny the bad. The trick in stating the good news is not in ignoring the darker realities of our time, for example, by <a href="https://www.cato.org/commentary/things-are-getting-better-really-they-are#">pitching naïve or ideological optimism</a> which some think tanks or populist leaders would prefer us to embrace. Such thinking only delays action and maintains a business-as-usual approach to climate change. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy produced by University of California San Francisco.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We need, instead, to think <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialectical">dialectically</a>. <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/dialectical-behaviour-therapy">Dialectical thinking</a> has us hold on to seemingly opposite realities simultaneously, such as the truth of still-too-few girls receiving education and that already 60 per cent of girls in low-income countries today are completing primary school <a href="https://www.educategirls.ngo/">with many working to make that number much higher</a>. Or that there can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/plants-are-likely-to-absorb-more-co-in-a-changing-climate-than-we-thought-heres-why-217786">positive climate news in a world on fire</a>.</p>
<p>The hope we need today is dark, to be sure. It acknowledges the tragic realities of our time <em>and</em> also seeks out, learns from, and champions its successes. It is an active hope upheld by the conviction that reality can be paradoxical, both good and bad. </p>
<p>Engaging in the act of hope can help us become less terrified about the future and more assured in our belief that it is possible to build a better, and more just, world. We would all do well to remember this if, or indeed when, our leaders disappoint us at COP28.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210415/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Appolloni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Embracing hope in the good, alongside recognizing the bad, can reduce eco-anxiety, improve mental health and may just be the key to driving strong and meaningful climate action.Simon Appolloni, Assistant Professor, School of the Environment, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2184262023-11-29T00:03:08Z2023-11-29T00:03:08ZWhat are young Australians most worried about? Finding affordable housing, they told us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561724/original/file-20231127-29-kf67ur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5619%2C3743&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-looking-sunrise-321921797">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us were anxious and fearful during the COVID pandemic, but we’ve probably started to feel a lot better since lockdowns have stopped and life looks more like it did previously.</p>
<p>But new data shows that hasn’t been the case for Australia’s young people.</p>
<p>Our wide-ranging survey of youth across the country reveals many young people fear they’ll never be able to own a home and will end up worse-off than their parents.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-youth-voices-was-missing-in-the-covid-19-pandemic-response-214106">Listening to youth voices was missing in the COVID-19 pandemic response</a>
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<h2>Affordable housing is their top concern</h2>
<p>Data from the 2023 <a href="https://doi.org/10.26180/24087186.v2">Australian Youth Barometer</a>, which surveyed 571 young Australians aged 18-24 and interviewed 30 more, highlight young people’s interconnected and confronting attitudes about their futures.</p>
<p>In this third iteration of the annual survey, we expected improvements in young people’s attitudes following the worst of the pandemic.</p>
<p>But the pressures have intensified following increases to costs of living and multiple disruptions to young lives, leading to anxieties about their future.</p>
<p>The clear majority of young people (70%) said affordable housing was their top concern (15% increase since last year), while 51% nominated employment opportunities (up 9%) as the second. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1724947893780406553"}"></div></p>
<p>Concern about affordable housing is unsurprising. The fear is real. </p>
<p>Aside from skyrocketing rents and house prices, many young people face the prospect of having nowhere to live. According to 2021 Census data, almost <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/brief/what-are-real-costs-housing-crisis-australias-young-people">one in four</a> of all people experiencing homelessness (23%) are 12 to 24 years of age. </p>
<p>A 23-year-old woman from the ACT, who’s living in a caravan she doesn’t own, told us housing was her biggest concern:</p>
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<p>I’m very lucky to have it [the caravan]. And if it gets taken away from me, I’m back out on the streets again […] I need to be able to shower, have a place to get ready, eat, all that. That’s really the only concern in life. </p>
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<p>Seeing a pathway to affordable accommodation is all the more challenging given young people’s current circumstances. </p>
<p>Some 90% of those surveyed experienced financial difficulties in the past year, a continuation of last year’s trend. Around one in five (21%) experienced food insecurity.</p>
<p>Surviving <em>now</em> is a concern, let alone affording a roof tomorrow. Just 35% of young people feel confident that they’ll be able to afford a place to live in the next year.</p>
<h2>Feeling unprepared for the future</h2>
<p>Only 52% of young people we surveyed feel their education has prepared them for the future</p>
<p>Three issues arise here. First, some young people are critical of education in their schools and post school institutions. </p>
<p>One 23-year-old woman from South Australia said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The learning system in Australia is absolutely appalling is what I have to say about it. It is so behind, it is so backdated, it has not kept up with the times, their learning ways are just inaccurate, and a waste of everyone’s time […] It wasn’t catered to what would be best for learning in the classroom, it was just, ‘This is what the system is, that’s what we’re doing’.</p>
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<p>Second, there is a growing awareness that in a competitive labour market, greater qualifications might not lead to desirable, secure jobs. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A teenage girl studies in class" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561741/original/file-20231127-28-hfexsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Only around half of the young people surveyed believed education had prepared them for the future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/high-school-student-taking-notes-book-1958383675">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The third is understanding what is required to get that desirable work. Upheavals to the workforce, including technological developments such as automation, have led to questioning what skills, knowledge and experience are required for job futures that are decreasingly knowable. </p>
<p>Other factors such as climate change (the third top issue requiring immediate action) and geopolitical insecurity amplify uncertainty about the future. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-young-people-are-concerned-about-climate-change-but-it-can-drive-them-to-take-action-171300">Yes, young people are concerned about climate change. But it can drive them to take action</a>
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<h2>Challenges to youth mental health</h2>
<p>The challenges outlined above intersect. One 20-year-old woman from Queensland told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m just worried that it’ll be harder for me to get a job from my course or whatever, or that if stuff like cost of living and everything keeps going up, no matter if I get a job, I wouldn’t be able to, like, stay on top of that, as well. </p>
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<p>Only 52% of young Australians think that it is likely or extremely likely that they will achieve financial security in the future.</p>
<p>More young Australians think they will be financially worse off than their parents (from 53% in 2022 to 61% in 2023). Most (97%) felt worried, anxious or pessimistic in the past year (an increase of 14% on last year’s data). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-teach-children-about-climate-change-inspire-hope-and-take-action-to-change-the-future-174036">How to teach children about climate change, inspire hope and take action to change the future</a>
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<p>Just over a quarter (26%) characterised their mental health as poor or very poor (up 8% on last year). Nearly one in four (24%) received mental health care in the past year.</p>
<p>Young people see their health and wellbeing as interconnected to other factors, such as affordable accommodation, jobs and food security. A 24-year-old man from New South Wales said that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Financial independence is kind of a healthy thing. I think that knowing that you could afford your rent, knowing that you can afford food […] knowing that you have a roof over your head is something that I measure for healthiness.</p>
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<h2>Attitudes that are here to stay?</h2>
<p>Conditions for young people typically deteriorate during economic downturns. The question is whether the trends above reflect a tremor or a quake. </p>
<p>We saw during previous recessions how young people were disproportionately and negatively affected compared to older age groups. That tremor is already visible, despite relatively <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/latest-release">good</a> employment figures in recent years (which insufficiently capture the quality, security and desirability of current employment). Even so, youth unemployment rate has increased to 8.7%.</p>
<p>So are these attitudes likely to remain? </p>
<p>A youthquake is typically defined as a marked <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/youthquake">shift</a> in cultural norms brought about by changing values, tastes and attitudes of young people. Such shifts are associated with wider social, economic and political seismic upheavals. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that conditions for the next youthquake might have begun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We thought after the worst of a global pandemic, young people’s outlook for the future might have improved. Our survey shows they’ve actually gotten worse.Lucas Walsh, Professor and Director of the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice, Monash UniversityBlake Cutler, Researcher and PhD Candidate in Education, Monash UniversityThuc Bao Huynh, Research Assistant, Monash UniversityZihong Deng, Research Fellow, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158792023-11-09T19:10:29Z2023-11-09T19:10:29ZOverwhelmed by group chat messages? You’re not alone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558215/original/file-20231108-21-zvban6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C252%2C5540%2C2900&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/man-using-his-smartphone-Lrfw0U_o9I0">Thom Holmes/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many of us, group chats are part of the texture of our social lives. These groups, formed on apps like Messenger or Whatsapp, can be as large as a hundred people or as small as three. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">use them for</a> organising one-off tasks or events, managing recurring coordination between groups like sports clubs or work teams, and keeping in touch with <a href="https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/63509/taipalefarinosi.pdf?sequence=1">family</a> and friends. </p>
<p>In the best cases, group chats can provide important spaces for building and maintaining <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">relationships</a>. They can be places of joy, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13548565231153505">solidarity</a> and <a href="https://theoutline.com/post/2315/long-live-the-group-chat">refuge</a>. </p>
<p>But they can also be burdensome, and create feelings of anxiety and worry. I researched group chat dynamics and these are the three biggest issues I encountered. </p>
<h2>1. You’re overwhelmed by the volume of messages</h2>
<p>The volume of messages and notifications group chats generate can be overwhelming. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">my own research</a>, a participant recalled accidentally leaving her phone at home, and returning to find she’d missed 200 messages in a group chat about buying a birthday gift. </p>
<p>Another explained that their most active group chat kicked off at 8am and didn’t quiet down until 1am. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">survey</a> of people in the United States and United Kingdom suggests this is a common problem, with 40% of the respondents indicating they were overwhelmed with group chat messages and notifications. And then there’s <a href="https://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Eoliveira/doc/MHCI2014_An-in-situ-study-of-mobile-phone-notifications.pdf">notifications</a> from email, social media, calendars, news apps, and so on. </p>
<p>People often manage this by muting group chats. But this can mean missing important information or plans to catch up, or having to dip in and out of the group chat to check for relevant conversations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/say-what-how-to-improve-virtual-catch-ups-book-groups-and-wine-nights-134655">Say what? How to improve virtual catch-ups, book groups and wine nights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>People can also find the chaos of group chat conversations overwhelming. In large groups, multiple conversations can be running at once, making it hard to keep track of what is being discussed or planned. </p>
<p>These problems can make group chats <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">ineffective</a> for the tasks they were set up to complete. Especially in large groups of acquaintances, planning can devolve into a mess of opinions, alternatives and side conversations. </p>
<p>One participant in my research described a group chat about a birthday gift getting sidetracked by two people having their own catch up. </p>
<p>Another recounted a disastrous group chat involving 20 people trying to organise a potluck dinner. Rather than reaching a consensus about who would bring what, the conversation devolved into a debate about whether potlucks were a bad idea, with one person insisting professional catering would better account for dietary requirements.</p>
<h2>2. You don’t want to be there – but can’t leave</h2>
<p>Other, possibly more significant, challenges are the difficult or awkward social dynamics that can arise. The ease of creating groups and adding members means people can be included in groups they wouldn’t have chosen to join. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">one instance</a> of this, a woman was added to a group for organising a shared gift for a colleague. She would have preferred not to contribute to the gift but found it too awkward to leave. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman looks at phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C215%2C4341%2C2687&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557221/original/file-20231102-19-6e1osw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes it can feel like you’re lurking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-leaning-on-white-wooden-table-while-holding-black-android-smartphone-w3jVXGkYZCw">Kev Costello/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Challenging dynamics can also arise when relationships change after a group chat has been established. </p>
<p>One participant told me about a group chat started by four close friends when they began university. A year later, one person had grown distant and become largely silent in the group chat, although the other three still used it to chat and organise catch ups. My participant found this dynamic incredibly awkward and had become cautious about starting group chats as a result. </p>
<p>Other participants described feeling trapped in group chats they would prefer to leave. The blunt “x has left the group” notification made them reluctant to formally quit but ignoring the group was also uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Many of these challenges stem from the rigid membership of group chats (you’re either in or you’re out) which doesn’t always gel with the complexity of our relationships. These challenges may also be exacerbated by unclear or contested social etiquette around group messaging.</p>
<h2>3. You feel excluded</h2>
<p>The most difficult issues arise when processes of social exclusion play out in group chats. </p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/274/5866390">Back channel groups</a> can emerge, where some group members create a new group to privately communicate about what’s happening in the main chat. </p>
<p>In the most dramatic cases, participants described people getting kicked out of groups because of disagreements or because someone felt the group chat had become too large.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-check-is-it-true-only-half-your-friends-actually-like-you-63763">Research Check: is it true only half your friends actually like you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3427228.3427275">Research</a> suggests that being removed from a group is rare and mostly occurs when a relationship has ended. </p>
<p>But guessing whether you’ve been excluded from a group chat can be cause for anxiety, especially because you might not just be missing out on gossip and cat videos but also plans to catch up in person. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person opens Whatsapp on their smartphone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558217/original/file-20231108-25-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being removed from a group is rare, but users still worry about being excluded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/person-holding-black-android-smartphone-ynJaWgrwSlM">Dimitri Karastelev/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what can you do?</h2>
<p>Our relationships with each other can be weird, awkward and messy – group chats reflect this social reality but with an added layer of technological complexity thrown in. </p>
<p>Generally, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/66/5/834/4082414?login=false">research</a> suggests that the group chats people enjoy most are smaller groups with closer friends. </p>
<p>So, until app design improves and we collectively figure out etiquette for awkward group chat moments, your best bets are to: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>use group chats with a handful of people who know each other, or who you’re confident will get along </p></li>
<li><p>find another way of organising that potluck. Use other forms of organisation for more complex events or with larger groups (invitations, Facebook events or one-on-one texts)</p></li>
<li><p>mute those crazy chats if you’re struggling with distraction or aren’t that interested. Muting is common and increasingly expected. If the chat is often used for organising things you don’t want to miss, let someone in the group know so they can keep you posted or make a routine of checking in </p></li>
<li><p>if you’re feeling weird about some group chat social dynamics, raise it with the person in the group you know best. We can make lots of assumptions about what other people’s messaging behaviours mean but the lack of extra social cues mean our assumptions can be off. That person might not be avoiding you – they might just have the chat muted! </p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>The Conversation is commissioning articles by academics across the world who are researching how society is being shaped by our digital interactions with each other. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/social-media-and-society-125586">Read more here</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Mannell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Group chats can be places of joy, solidarity and refuge. But they can also be a huge time-suck, and create feelings of anxiety and worry.Kate Mannell, Research Fellow in Digital Childhoods, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121062023-10-19T19:03:26Z2023-10-19T19:03:26ZInsomnia and mental disorders are linked. But exactly how is still a mystery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546862/original/file-20230907-15-5fhfee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C14%2C4985%2C2979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/psychologist-consulting-mental-problem-solving-brainstorm-2087426509">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is the next in The Conversation’s six-part series on insomnia, which charts the rise of insomnia during industrialisation to sleep apps today. Read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/insomnia-series-144018">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The 2004 movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/">The Machinist</a> gives us a striking depiction, albeit a fictional one, of the psychological effects of chronic insomnia.</p>
<p>When people don’t have enough sleep, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-017-0799-x">their</a> memory and concentration are impaired in the short term. They are also less able to regulate their emotions.</p>
<p>If sleeping difficulties continue, longer-term psychological effects <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13930">can include</a> anxiety, depression, mania and psychosis. Indeed, Christian Bale’s character in The Machinist has increasingly vivid visual hallucinations and paranoid delusions as his insomnia deepens.</p>
<p>The relationship between insomnia and mental disorders is complex. It’s not just a case of “which comes first, the insomnia or the mental disorder?” Insomnia and mental disorders are interrelated in ways we don’t yet fully understand.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-short-history-of-insomnia-and-how-we-became-obsessed-with-sleep-211729">A short history of insomnia and how we became obsessed with sleep</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is insomnia? Is it a mental disorder?</h2>
<p>Insomnia is, by far, the most common disorder of sleep. <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/special-sleep-reports/chronic-insomnia-disorder-in-australia">An estimated 12-15%</a> of Australian adults at any one time meet criteria for insomnia.</p>
<p>People with insomnia have frequent and ongoing difficulties in falling and staying asleep, and/or going back to sleep after early waking. Insomnia not only affects people’s quality of sleep, but how they function the next day.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1678293771539161089"}"></div></p>
<p>Many of the factors that trigger insomnia and help maintain its negative long-term effects are psychological or behavioural. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>psychosocial stressors (such as money, work or family problems)</p></li>
<li><p>attentional bias and worry about sleep (the more we think and worry about sleep, the worse it gets)</p></li>
<li><p>poor sleep habits (such as irregular sleep and wake times).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Insomnia is not a mental disorder in the same way that, say, depression and anxiety are mental disorders. Insomnia is a recognised <a href="https://aasm.org/clinical-resources/international-classification-sleep-disorders/">sleep disorder</a> that nonetheless has close links to a wide variety of mental disorders.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-insomnia-like-for-most-people-who-cant-sleep-youd-never-know-from-the-movies-211823">What's insomnia like for most people who can't sleep? You'd never know from the movies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Many people have both insomnia and a mental disorder</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3956(02)00052-3">Around half</a> of all people diagnosed with insomnia also have an associated mental disorder. The most common ones associated with insomnia are depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance-related disorders.</p>
<p>We don’t (yet) know why we see such high levels of mental disorders in people with insomnia. But there are several leading theories, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-018-0333-3">shared genetic risk</a> for insomnia and a mental disorder. In other words, some people’s genes may predispose them to both conditions</p></li>
<li><p>a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.55">shared neurobiological</a> response. How the brain responds to sleep loss may be connected to how systems in the brain control cognition, emotion and reward. Disturbances of these brain functions are implicated in a range of mental disorders</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00071">inflammation</a> and/or dysfunction of the immune system may underlie both insomnia and mental disorders.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-dangerous-is-insomnia-how-fear-of-what-its-doing-to-your-body-can-wreck-your-sleep-212248">How dangerous is insomnia? How fear of what it's doing to your body can wreck your sleep</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Which comes first?</h2>
<p>Further complicating the picture <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30136-X">is evidence</a> showing insomnia can occur <em>before</em> someone develops a mental disorder, or <em>afterwards</em>. Researchers call this a “bidirectional” relationship.</p>
<p>We can’t say one causes the other. We can only say there is a clear link between them.</p>
<p>This link means diagnosis and treatment of one <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101556">can have implications</a> for diagnosis and treatment of the other. For instance, if you don’t adequately treat insomnia, this can worsen symptoms of someone’s mental disorder, <a href="https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2008.10.4/plfranzen">increasing</a> both the severity and risk of relapse.</p>
<p>A type of talking therapy known as cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2017.03.017">CBTi</a>) aims to change the unhelpful thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours that contribute to insomnia. And, in many cases, successful treatment of insomnia with CBTi <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101597">can also treat</a> someone’s mental disorder (and vice versa).</p>
<p>CBTi is particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101597">effective</a> at treating insomnia plus depression, substance use or post-traumatic stress disorder. But it is less effective at treating insomnia plus psychosis or bipolar disorder.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man having counselling or therapy, with therapist filling in questionnaire on clipboard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546880/original/file-20230907-25-hikaoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fixing the sleep problem can often resolve the mental disorder (and vice versa).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-patient-having-consultation-doctor-psychiatrist-731147215">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Filling the gaps</h2>
<p>There’s much we don’t know about the link between insomnia and mental disorders. Last year an international panel of experts <a href="https://wellcome.org/reports/sleep-circadian-rhythms-and-mental-health-advances-gaps-challenges-and-opportunities">outlined</a> the research needed to plug the knowledge gaps. Recommendations included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>longer-term studies starting in childhood and adolescence that collect data on sleep and mental health using wearable or smartphone technologies. The aim is to provide more objective measurement of insomnia and mental health in these younger age groups, and to intervene early if needed</p></li>
<li><p>more studies involving people from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/466029a">diverse</a> social and cultural backgrounds. Sleep practices are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042005">culturally-determined</a>. So researching diverse populations would provide a more comprehensive picture of insomnia and mental disorders</p></li>
<li><p>a greater recognition of people’s daytime behaviours and environmental exposures, and their contribution to insomnia and poorer mental health. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126626">includes</a>, eating fast food, having disrupted sleep routines (for example, shift work) and using technology excessively.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Results of this research will have profound implications for accurate diagnosis of both insomnia and mental disorders, and their treatment. The aim is to reduce <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/special-sleep-reports/rise-and-try-to-shine-the-social-and-economic-costs-of-sleep-disorders">the burden</a> when these conditions occur together, both for <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-preventive-health-strategy-2021-2030">individuals and society</a> more broadly.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/sleep-categories/mental-health-sleep">Free information</a> about insomnia and mental health is available from the Sleep Health Foundation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Bullock receives funding from Australian Rotary Health and the Barbara Dicker Brain Sciences Foundation. He is a member of the Sleep Health Foundation.</span></em></p>Insomnia and mental disorders are inter-related in a way we’ve yet to fully understand. But treating one can often help the other.Ben Bullock, Senior Lecturer, Psychology, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2097982023-10-05T12:34:44Z2023-10-05T12:34:44ZThe ‘Zoom effect’ and the possible link between videochatting and appearance dissatisfaction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551566/original/file-20231002-28-4ctl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C11%2C7951%2C5288&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unhappiness with your online appearance can lead to negative thinking and poor body image.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-planning-strategy-with-colleagues-in-meeting-royalty-free-image/1428694074?phrase=videoconferencing&adppopup=true">Morsa Images/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of digital connection: In the absence of in-person gatherings, many people instead found themselves face-to-face with their co-workers and loved ones on a screen.</p>
<p>Videoconferencing has provided many benefits and conveniences. However, it isn’t surprising that constantly seeing ourselves on screens might come with some downsides as well.</p>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, studies showed that surgeons were seeing increasing numbers of patients <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamafacial.2018.0486">requesting alterations of their image</a> to match filtered or doctored photos from social media apps. Now, several years into the pandemic, surgeons are seeing a new boom of cosmetic surgical requests related to videoconferencing. In one study of cosmetic procedures during the pandemic, 86% of cosmetic surgeons reported videoconferencing as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2021.01.012">most common reason for cosmetic concerns</a> among their patients. </p>
<p>Despite the fact that many aspects of life have returned to some version of pre-pandemic normal, it’s clear that videoconferencing and social media will be with us for the foreseeable future. So what does that mean when it comes to appearance satisfaction and making peace with the image that’s reflected back at us?</p>
<p>For the past 10 years, I have worked as a specialist in <a href="https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/29092">obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders and anxiety</a>. Since the pandemic, I, too, have seen increasing numbers of therapy clients reporting that they struggle with appearance concerns related to videochatting and <a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-documents-the-harmful-effects-of-social-media-use-on-mental-health-including-body-image-and-development-of-eating-disorders-206170">social media</a>.</p>
<h2>Zooming in on image and appearance dissatisfaction</h2>
<p>Every person has perceptions and thoughts about their appearance. These can be neutral, negative or positive. We all look at <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-the-mirror-changed-humanity-forever">ourselves in the mirror</a> and may have even experienced distress while looking at our reflection. </p>
<p>There are a number of factors that may lead to appearance dissatisfaction.
A preoccupation with thoughts, feelings or images of one’s own appearance is linked to the action of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.05.003">“mirror gazing,”</a> or staring at one’s reflection. Researchers suggest that this type of selective self-focused attention and mirror gazing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/PRS.0000000000008031">can lead to negative fixations</a> on specific attributes or minor flaws, which in turn intensify the preoccupation with these attributes. </p>
<p>Other factors that can contribute to appearance dissatisfaction include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03185-3">low self-esteem</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22151">societal beliefs</a> around appearance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9500-2">peer</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.04.004">parental influences</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2017.11.001">temperament</a> and genetic predispositions to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00864">mental health conditions</a>.</p>
<p>Appearance dissatisfaction and negative evaluations of self are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03185-3">depression, lower self-esteem</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08870441003763246">habitual negative thinking</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912488">increased social anxiety</a>. What’s more, research suggests that these preoccupations can contribute to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(02)80007-7">development of eating disorders</a> and disordered eating behaviors, such as frequently restricting food intake or exercising without refueling.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cp8rAkR_mrs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Some people who are unhappy with their Zoom appearance are turning to anti-anxiety medication and even cosmetic surgery.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The ‘Zoom’ effect</h2>
<p>With the ubiquity of Zoom meetings, FaceTime calls, selfies and the constancy of documenting our lives on social media, access to our own image can often feel inescapable. And for some people, this can magnify feelings of appearance dissatisfaction that may have been more fleeting before the Zoom era.</p>
<p>Since the pandemic, screen time has increased <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101452">for both adults</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.56157">and children</a>. What’s worse, recent research suggests that the video and <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/full/doi/10.1001/jamafacial.2018.0009?ref=dorenato.blog">photo reflections</a> we see of ourselves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamafacial.2018.0009">are distorted</a>.</p>
<p>Videoconferencing, taking selfies and posting on social media are visually based activities where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjab257">appearance is often the primary focus</a>. All of them have in common the fact that a person’s image is either live or shared in an immediate manner. Perhaps not surprisingly, these image-based platforms have been significantly associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001091">appearance dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression and eating disorders</a>. </p>
<p>One study found that those who engaged in more videochatting appearance comparisons, meaning those who looked at others’ appearance during a video call and sized up their own appearance in comparison, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23393">experienced lower appearance satisfaction</a>. This study also found that people who used more photo-editing features on videochat platforms were more likely to compare themselves with others and spend more time <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23722">looking at themselves on video calls</a>.</p>
<p>One thing that is unique to videoconferencing is that it allows people to easily <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110537">compare themselves with others</a> and watch themselves sharing and speaking in real time. A 2023 study found that discomfort with one’s appearance during videoconferencing led to an increased fixation on appearance, which in turn <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.12.007">led to impaired work performance</a>. </p>
<p>Researchers also suggest that appearance dissatisfaction is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0112">associated with virtual-meeting fatigue</a>. The research reports that this could be due to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3820035">negative self-focused attention, cognitive overload</a> and anxiety around being stared at or being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.12.007">negatively evaluated based on appearance</a>.</p>
<p>This last point is notable because of the difficulty videochatters have determining where other users are looking. Using the concept of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00039">the “spotlight effect</a>” − our tendency as humans to overestimate how much others are judging our appearance − this difficulty may lead to more anxiety and individuals believing that others are evaluating their appearance during a video call.</p>
<h2>How to combat appearance dissatisfaction in the digital age</h2>
<p>If you find yourself criticizing your appearance every time you hop onto a videoconference call, it may be time to evaluate your relationship with your appearance and seek out help from a qualified therapist. </p>
<p>Here are some questions to consider to help determine whether your thought patterns or <a href="https://theconversation.com/body-dysmorphic-disorder-is-more-common-than-eating-disorders-like-anorexia-and-bulimia-yet-few-people-are-aware-of-its-dangers-195538">behaviors are problematic</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>How much of my day is spent thinking about my appearance?</p></li>
<li><p>What sort of behaviors am I doing around my appearance?</p></li>
<li><p>Do I feel distressed if I do not perform these behaviors?</p></li>
<li><p>Does this behavior align with my values and how I want to be spending my time?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Another strategy is to be intentional about focusing on what other people are saying in a videoconference instead of peering at your own face. </p>
<p>When it comes to helping others who might be struggling with appearance dissatisfaction, it is important to focus on the person’s innate qualities beyond appearance. People should be conscious of their comments, no matter how well intentioned. Negative comments about appearance have been linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-022-00561-6">worsened self-esteem and mental health</a>. When viewing yourself or your peers on video and social media, try focusing on the person as a whole and not as parts of a body. </p>
<p>Reducing screen time can make a difference as well. Research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000460">reducing social media use by 50%</a> can improve appearance satisfaction in both teens and adults. </p>
<p>When used in moderation, videoconferencing and social media are tools to connect us with others, which ultimately is a key piece in satisfaction and well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Hemendinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With our faces seemingly everywhere − from Zoom meetings to selfies − more people are developing anxieties about how they appear online.Emily Hemendinger, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136432023-10-01T19:16:32Z2023-10-01T19:16:32ZOur mood usually lifts in spring. But after early heatwaves and bushfires, this year may be different<p>When we think of spring, we might imagine rebirth and renewal that comes with the warmer weather and longer days. It’s usually a time to celebrate, flock to <a href="https://floriadeaustralia.com">spring flower festivals</a> and spend more time in nature.</p>
<p>Spending time in nature or doing things outside, such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1757913915589845">exercising</a> or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827321002093">gardening</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494419301185">lifts our mood</a>.</p>
<p>But this year, with an <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1704325785627050136">early start</a> to the bushfire season, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-about-heat-and-fire-this-summer-heres-how-to-prepare-212443">promise of</a> long, hot months ahead, we may see our views about the warmer months start to shift.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1704325785627050136"}"></div></p>
<p>For some people, the coming months are not a celebration. They are something to fear, or feel sad about.</p>
<p>In particular, communities and emergency responders who have experienced bushfires or drought in the past may see rising levels of <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/ielapa.588776016823324">stress and anxiety</a> as they face the months ahead.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/here-comes-the-sun-how-the-weather-affects-our-mood-19183">Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How’s this spring different?</h2>
<p>In recent weeks, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">declared</a> two climate events are now under way: <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-el-nino-and-la-nina-27719">El Niño</a> and a positive <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/iod/">Indian Ocean Dipole</a>. </p>
<p>These events predict warmer, drier conditions through to summer, as well as more intense heatwaves, bushfires and droughts.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1703999811136205005"}"></div></p>
<p>In temperate and subtropical regions, our summers are on average <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/P834-Out-of-Season-WEB.pdf">becoming</a> hotter and longer, and winters are becoming warmer and shorter. Climate change is the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/climate-change-information">primary driver</a> of these shifts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-el-nino-and-la-nina-27719">Explainer: El Niño and La Niña</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happens to our mood as the temperature rises?</h2>
<p>Hotter temperatures and prolonged heat is linked to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40641-019-00121-2">aggression</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00420-010-0534-2">higher rates</a> of emergency hospital admissions due to health conditions, heat-related injuries, and mental health concerns. </p>
<p>After an extreme weather event or disaster, rates of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33227944/">rise</a>. </p>
<p>Many Australians have already experienced the psychological and physical <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00048674221107872">impacts</a> of bushfires, droughts, floods and heatwaves. </p>
<p>For some communities and individuals, experiencing these types of events may mean they are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618520301110">more</a> resilient or prepared for the future. For others, the anticipation of rising heat or other climatic threats may cause <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/1/1">concern</a>. They may also prompt <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00048674221107872">pre-traumatic stress</a> – the stress that comes ahead of expected loss or trauma.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1466521425888620550"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-about-heat-and-fire-this-summer-heres-how-to-prepare-212443">Worried about heat and fire this summer? Here's how to prepare</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Anxiety, anger and sadness</h2>
<p>As climate-related events become more widespread, people may also become increasingly affected by feelings such as anxiety, anger and sadness.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01251-y">Climate anxiety</a> refers to the fear, dread and worry about climate change. Anxiety can be a helpful response as it allows us to prepare and respond to future threats. For instance, climate anxiety <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494422001323">may help prompt</a> pro-environmental behaviour and climate action, such as attending a protest. But this type of anxiety can also become <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618520300773">overwhelming</a>.</p>
<p>The loss of wildlife and nature due to bushfires can leave people feeling <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2461">grief</a> over what’s lost, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278221000018">anger</a> about the lack of action to prevent these losses.</p>
<p>Losses could also be more personal, including damage to health, livelihoods, homes, or even the ability to do enjoyable outdoor activities, such as playing sports or exercising outside.</p>
<p>Another experience, solastalgia, is the “homesickness you have when you are still at home”. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18027145/#:%7E:text=As%20opposed%20to%20nostalgia%2D%2D,connected%20to%20their%20home%20environment.">Researchers suggest</a> solastalgia is a type of distress when someone perceives negative changes and gradual deterioration to their own home environment. These feelings could arise when we notice seasonal and environmental changes to the places we love and call home.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youre-not-the-only-one-feeling-helpless-eco-anxiety-can-reach-far-beyond-bushfire-communities-129453">You're not the only one feeling helpless. Eco-anxiety can reach far beyond bushfire communities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>But there are things you can do</h2>
<p>Heading into the hotter months, strong <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618520301110">community</a> support, cohesion and preparedness may be especially important. There are also things you can do to maintain and manage your mental health and wellbeing. Though more research is needed to understand which strategies work best, health professionals <a href="https://headspace.org.au/assets/Factsheets/headspace_how-to-cope-with-the-stress-of-natural-disasters_Fact-Sheet_FA01_DIGI-1.pdf">suggest</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>connecting with others, especially people you trust and who support your wellbeing </p></li>
<li><p>finding ways to connect with your community either in person (for example, through <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-community-gardening-could-ease-your-climate-concerns-211316">community gardening</a>) or online (for example, via discussion groups)</p></li>
<li><p>being mindful of your physical and psychological safety (for instance, especially during climate-related events) and, if you need it, seeking professional support</p></li>
<li><p>taking a break from distressing media content when needed. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/keeping-your-cool-in-a-warming-world-8-steps-to-help-manage-eco-anxiety-212174">Keeping your cool in a warming world: 8 steps to help manage eco-anxiety</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Understandably, people may continue to be anxious about the seasons to come with the ongoing threat of climate change.</p>
<p>To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you can also respond to and channel your distressing feelings. You can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-02735-6">take part in</a> community-led climate action projects, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494419301185">spend time outdoors</a> and in nature (even for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2018.1557242">short bursts of time</a>). </p>
<p>These actions might help uphold the positive links between wellbeing and nature, no matter the season.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Crandon receives funding from the Child and Youth Mental Health group at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.</span></em></p>We’ve had an early start to the bushfire season and there’s more to come. No wonder spring isn’t always a celebration.Tara Crandon, Psychologist and PhD Candidate, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139542023-10-01T15:12:14Z2023-10-01T15:12:14ZEarly indicators of dementia: 5 behaviour changes to look for after age 50<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551222/original/file-20230929-24-as88uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=146%2C251%2C6514%2C4290&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Behaviour changes like apathy, lack of impulse control or socially inappropriate behaviour may indicate a risk of dementia in people over age 50.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/early-indicators-of-dementia-5-behaviour-changes-to-look-for-after-age-50" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Dementia is often thought of as a memory problem, like when an elderly person asks the same questions or misplaces things. In reality, individuals with dementia will not only experience issues in other areas of cognition like learning, thinking, comprehension and judgement, but they may also experience <a href="https://www.alzint.org/u/World-Alzheimer-Report-2021.pdf">changes in behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>It’s important to understand what dementia is and how it manifests. I didn’t imagine my grandmother’s strange behaviours were an early warning sign of a far more serious condition. </p>
<p>She would become easily agitated if she wasn’t successful at completing tasks such as cooking or baking. She would claim to see a woman around the house even though no woman was really there. She also became distrustful of others and hid things in odd places. </p>
<p>These behaviours persisted for some time before she eventually received a dementia diagnosis.</p>
<h2>Cognitive and behavioural impairment</h2>
<p>When cognitive and behavioural changes interfere with an individual’s functional independence, that person is considered to have dementia. However, when cognitive and behavioural changes don’t interfere with an individual’s independence, yet still negatively affect relationships and workplace performance, they are referred to as <a href="https://alzheimer.ca/sites/default/files/documents/other-dementias_mild-cognitive-impairment.pdf">mild cognitive impairment (MCI)</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00949-7">mild behavioural impairment (MBI)</a>, respectively. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9169943/">MCI and MBI can occur together</a>, but in one-third of people who develop Alzheimer’s dementia, the behavioural symptoms come <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2019.01.215">before cognitive decline</a>. </p>
<p>Spotting these behavioural changes, which emerge in later life (ages 50 and over) and represent a persistent change from longstanding patterns, can be helpful for implementing preventive treatments before more severe symptoms arise. As a medical science PhD candidate, my research focuses on problem behaviours that arise later in life and indicate increased risk for dementia. </p>
<h2>Five behavioural signs to look for</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of five behaviour changes that may indicate risk of dementia" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551071/original/file-20230928-17-jmy46j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spotting behavioural changes can be helpful for implementing preventive treatments before more severe symptoms arise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Daniella Vellone)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233%2FJAD-160979">five primary behaviours</a> we can look for in friends and family who are over the age of 50 that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13024-023-00631-6">might warrant further attention</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Apathy</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2Ftrc2.12370">Apathy</a> is a decline in interest, motivation and drive.</p>
<p>An apathetic person might lose interest in friends, family or activities. They may lack curiosity in topics that normally would have interested them, lose the motivation to act on their obligations or become less spontaneous and active. They may also appear to lack emotions compared to their usual selves and seem like they no longer care about anything.</p>
<h2>2. Affective dysregulation</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.074">Affective dysregulation</a> includes mood or anxiety symptoms. Someone who shows affective dysregulation may develop sadness or mood instability or become more anxious or worried about routine things such as events or visits.</p>
<h2>3. Lack of impulse control</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2Ftrc2.12016">Impulse dyscontrol</a> is the inability to delay gratification and control behaviour or impulses.</p>
<p>Someone who has impulse dyscontrol may become agitated, aggressive, irritable, temperamental, argumentative or easily frustrated. They may become more stubborn or rigid such that they are unwilling to see other views and are insistent on having their way. Sometimes they may develop sexually disinhibited or intrusive behaviours, exhibit repetitive behaviours or compulsions, start gambling or shoplifting, or experience difficulties regulating their consumption of substances like tobacco or alcohol.</p>
<h2>4. Social inappropriateness</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1041610217001260">Social inappropriateness</a> includes difficulties adhering to societal norms in interactions with others.</p>
<p>Someone who is socially inappropriate may lose the social judgement they previously had about what to say or how to behave. They may become less concerned about how their words or actions affect others, discuss private matters openly, talk to strangers as if familiar, say rude things or lack empathy in interactions with others.</p>
<h2>5. Abnormal perceptions or thoughts</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00043-x">Abnormal perception or thought content</a> refers to strongly held beliefs and sensory experiences.</p>
<p>Someone with abnormal perceptions or thoughts may become suspicious of other people’s intentions or think that others are planning to harm them or steal their belongings. They may also describe hearing voices or talk to imaginary people and/or act like they are seeing things that aren’t there.</p>
<p>Before considering any of these behaviours as a sign of a more serious problem, it’s important to rule out other potential causes of behavioural change such as drugs or medications, other medical conditions or infections, interpersonal conflict or stress, or a recurrence of psychiatric symptoms associated with a previous psychiatric diagnosis. If in doubt, it may be time for a doctor’s visit. </p>
<h2>The impact of dementia</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man with his arms around an older man" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551224/original/file-20230929-21-dz5kln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some types of behaviour changes warrant further attention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Many of us know someone who has either experienced dementia or cared for someone with dementia. This isn’t surprising, given that dementia is predicted to affect <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/nearly-one-million-canadians-will-live-with-dementia-by-2030-alzheimer-society-predicts-1.6056849#:">one million Canadians by 2030</a>.</p>
<p>While people between the ages of 20 and 40 may think that they have decades before dementia affects them, it’s important to realize that dementia isn’t an individual journey. In 2020, care partners — including family members, friends or neighbours — spent <a href="https://alzheimer.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Landmark-Study-1-Path-Forward-Alzheimer-Society-of-Canada-2022-wb.pdf">26 hours per week</a> assisting older Canadians living with dementia. This is equivalent to 235,000 full-time jobs or $7.3 billion annually. </p>
<p>These numbers are expected to triple by 2050, so it’s important to look for ways to offset these predicted trajectories by preventing or delaying the progression of dementia.</p>
<h2>Identifying those at risk</h2>
<p>While there is currently no cure for dementia, there has been progress towards <a href="https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/dementia-treatment-options-developments">developing effective treatments</a>, which <a href="https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/do-i-have-dementia/how-get-tested-dementia-tips-individuals-families-friends/10">may work better earlier in the disease course</a>. </p>
<p>More research is needed to understand dementia symptoms over time; for example, the online <a href="https://www.can-protect.ca/">CAN-PROTECT study</a> assesses many contributors to brain aging. </p>
<p>Identifying those at risk for dementia by recognizing later-life changes in cognition, function as well as behaviour is a step towards not only preventing consequences of those changes, but also potentially preventing the disease or its progression.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniella Vellone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dementia does not manifest solely as a memory problem. People with dementia can also experience issues with learning, comprehension and judgement, but they may also experience changes in behaviour.Daniella Vellone, Medical Science and Imaging PhD Candidate, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072592023-09-27T14:07:16Z2023-09-27T14:07:16ZThreats of failure motivate some students – but it’s not a technique to use on the whole class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550307/original/file-20230926-17-xaszft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5360%2C3562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-listening-male-teacher-classroom-769521343">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers. </p>
<p>Part of the work of teachers is to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02643944.2018.1453858">encourage their students</a> to pay attention and fully engage in lessons so that they achieve the best grades possible. They might emphasise to them how important <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">GCSEs are for their future</a>. For example, teachers might point out how good grades can lead to access to college courses, apprenticeships, and the workplace. </p>
<p>And in dwelling on the importance of GCSEs, teachers may <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01443410.2012.659845">also use messages</a> that focus on the possible negative effects of failure. These include things like: “If you do not work hard, you will fail your GCSEs and you will not get into college.”</p>
<p>We <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">researched</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">how students interpret</a> these motivational strategies from their teachers and found that while <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443410.2012.659845">warnings of failure</a> are likely to encourage some pupils to work hard, it’s not a message that should be delivered to the whole class. </p>
<h2>Fear appeals</h2>
<p>Messages from teachers that focus on failure are known as “fear appeals”: they can create a strong fear of failure in students. Teachers use fear appeals more often when they believe that students will interpret the message <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-018-9448-8">as threatening</a> and when they believe their class are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X16304735?casa_token=gfqdJaJc1pIAAAAA:9UlZXHp5wWIuBjy5hZPt2zp7V1i_hGY6M0xacOCRqkZNS8aSGyvQBa_6iTAefumZkSoIKAo7M-c">less engaged</a>. The intention may be to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">shock students into engaging</a> in their studies.</p>
<p>Fear can be a powerful motivator. When a student believes that doing well in a test is important, and is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">optimistic about doing well</a>, a fear appeal – such as: “If you fail your GCSE, you will find it difficult to get a good job” – can be a good thing. It can <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">motivate students to work hard</a>. </p>
<p>We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a challenge. One GCSE student we worked with (in research that is yet to be published) said: “I don’t feel panicked about it at all and I feel quite confident in maths … it gives me motivation to work harder and like learn the topics more and thoroughly.”</p>
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<img alt="Stressed teenage girl doing homework" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fear appeals can encourage some students – but reduce motivation in others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-biracial-teen-girl-student-doing-2210250729">Viorel Kurnosov/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But other students, who also see exam results as very important, may <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">lack confidence</a> that they will do well. For these students, fear appeals can trigger feelings of <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/2044-8279.002005">anxiety</a> and hopelessness. They can <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjep.12334">lose motivation</a>, procrastinate and worry. Ultimately, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">their achievement is lower</a>. </p>
<p>We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a threat. As a <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/000709909X426130">GCSE student said</a>: “Every time a teacher tells me exams are near or if you fail you risk not getting a good job I get so scared and sometimes I get so scared and stressed I feel like crying.”</p>
<p>Other students simply disregard fear appeals. They <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">may not care</a> about their exams, perhaps because they have already disengaged from their studies – or are so supremely confident they have no doubt they will succeed.</p>
<h2>Mixed messages</h2>
<p>This suggests that using the same message to encourage a whole class or year group could be counterproductive. For students who feel confident in their abilities, fear appeals could be the right type of motivational message. </p>
<p>But as it is difficult for teachers to <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1348/000709910X504500?casa_token=ZGc60lQaCzkAAAAA%3AhUm-ZNOGcOwYOXHTYroPjBkpWLe6MYK-qAjnCWFx2yPiKm_4C6eVJCygGndt18iqbJeE-tIqbfKP6A">accurately judge</a> their students’ private self-perceptions, it would be risky to advise the use of fear appeals on this basis. Students’ levels of belief in their competence also <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8624.00421">vary over time</a>, and so fear appeals could be appropriate at one time but not another.</p>
<p>One option, of course, would be to switch a fear appeal to a more positive message, such as: “If you work hard, you will get the grades you need for college.” But our research shows that students respond to messages like this in a <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12117">similar way to fear appeals</a>. Success-focused messages are still pressuring messages. </p>
<p>A more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220973.2018.1448745">useful approach</a> could be to increase the chance that students interpret messages like this as a challenge rather than a threat. One <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09571730701315832">way to do this</a> is to give students a greater feeling of control over their learning and exams. This can be done, for example, by helping students reflect on the ways they learn the content needed for the exam. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09571730701315832">Teacher feedback</a> on the strategies that students use in class can increase their sense of control and their understanding that they can improve their learning techniques.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Messages from teachers like ‘if you do not work hard, you will fail your GCSEs and you will not get into college’ are known as fear appeals.Laura Nicholson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityDavid Putwain, Professor in Education, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118022023-09-26T14:03:09Z2023-09-26T14:03:09ZTyson Fury’s Netflix series highlights the mental health challenges faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities<p>The Netflix documentary series, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81615144">At Home With The Furys</a>, provides a fascinating look at the day to day life of Tyson Fury, family man and heavyweight boxing world champion. </p>
<p>A particular source of pride for Tyson is his heritage as a member of the Traveller community, his boxing moniker being “The Gypsy King”. Yet despite the glitz and glamour that comes with being a millionaire celebrity, Fury has had his internal, as well as external, battles to fight. These include a long history of anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. </p>
<p>Mental health issues within Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities have long been described as being at <a href="https://www.lenus.ie/handle/10147/111897">crisis point</a> due to a combination of complex factors that are not fully understood because of a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/irish-journal-of-psychological-medicine/article/rapid-review-of-irishtraveller-mental-health-and-suicide-a-psychosocial-and-anthropological-%20perspective/D15DCA7BC128965514E1476C065756E9">lack of research</a>. Indeed, GRT communities are among the most socially and economically <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/bulletins/gypsiesandtravellerslivedexperienceseducationandemploymentenglandandwales/2022">disadvantaged</a> groups in the UK and Republic of Ireland. </p>
<p>It is a situation which impacts housing, education, employment, and crucially, mental health and access to healthcare. But we don’t know enough about what the causes are or how to stop them from happening.</p>
<p>My team and I conducted <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355046420_Mental_Health_Support_Needs_Within_Gypsy_Roma_and_Traveller_Communities_A_Qualitative_Study_PDF_Proof">a study</a> on the mental health support needs of people from GRT communities. We interviewed nine people from across the UK about their mental health and their experiences with getting support: four women, four men and one non-binary individual. </p>
<p>Three main themes emerged from our interviews:</p>
<p><strong>1. Longing for acceptance</strong></p>
<p>This related to a feeling of being ostracised from wider society. One participant said: “We face a lot of racism and discrimination in our daily lives which affects our mental health. And also that even with medical professionals, there is internal racism and discrimination.” </p>
<p><strong>2. Increased vulnerability</strong></p>
<p>This theme related to the impact of economic deprivation, lack of educational prospects and future goals, as well as adverse life experiences. </p>
<p>Focusing on education, one person told us: “There’s a lot of people who think ‘it’s too late you know, my dad never went to school, his dad never went to school, I went for a bit and then I got bullied and then I didn’t go. So what am I going to do?’ There’s lots of people that feel proper stuck.” </p>
<p>The combination of economic deprivation and lack of educational prospects makes members of GRT communities more vulnerable to mental ill health. </p>
<p><strong>3. Barriers to seeking help</strong></p>
<p>The barriers to seeking help for poor mental health highlighted by our interviews were perhaps the most telling sign of a crisis in this community. We identified issues in terms of awareness of mental health support services, especially the challenges of knowing what support is available while travelling. </p>
<p>The unsuitability of services was another issue. One participant described the difficulties of even accessing emergency help: “An ambulance won’t actually come to the [Traveller] site until they have a police escort, and you are suicidal, and they treat you as if you’re a criminal and you might actually attack them.”</p>
<p>Stigmas surrounding mental health issues also cropped up. “My mother and my brother are very, very uncomfortable with me discussing my issues and they basically, they don’t acknowledge it and they don’t want to talk about it,” one person told us. </p>
<p>Participants described their lack of trust in support services too. One person said: “It’s a real driven, fear-based thing why a lot of the time we don’t access those things. It’s like a discrimination thing that’s gone down and a fear of like actual services coming and taking your kids. If you reach out with your mental health, that mental health issue may be used as a reason for taking away your children or involving social services.” </p>
<p>All of these factors negatively impacted the mental health of members of the GRT communities and prevented engagement with relevant support services. </p>
<p>Our research illustrates the importance of providing services to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people with the cultural understanding, knowledge and resources to support them. A starting point for such an initiative would be an in-depth investigation of the psychological, social, environmental and institutional factors that make this community vulnerable and disadvantaged in their mental health care. </p>
<p>Building trust within these communities is also vital to improving their engagement with services. Dedicated outreach teams, alongside easier access to mainstream services, may be an effective method for achieving this. </p>
<p>The courage shown by Tyson Fury in discussing his mental health battles sets an example for other Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people to show that it is not a sign of weakness to experience mental ill health, and that support is beneficial and available for anyone in need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Tyson wishes to thank Rebecca Thompson for her invaluable contribution to this research, particularly in terms of interviewing members of the GRT community. He would also like to thank Bridie Stone for her assistance in writing the journal article.</span></em></p>Tyson Fury has a history of mental ill health, something which is reflected in his series, At Home With The Furys on Netflix.Philip Tyson, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.