You have probably heard of ‘fight or flight’ responses to distressing situations. You may also be familiar with the tendency to ‘freeze’. But there is another response a person can have: ‘fawn’.
Many stressors may be coming from interactions with technology: small but frequent frustrations that quickly dissipate, but when added up trigger digital distress.
About two-thirds of people affected by disasters such as floods return to their usual level of psychological well-being. But some people are at risk of lasting distress.
Prolonged unemployment could result in a major public health crisis as early findings from a study indicate high rates of psychological distress in people who have lost their jobs during COVID-19.
Colleges and universities must do more to combat a “culture of silence” that dissuades many graduate students from seeking help with mental health issues, researchers argue.
People who attempt suicide can access medical care at their clinics but psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers are not part of the primary health care setting.
Researchers have suggested a new theory for why neurotic unhappiness and creativity are often found in the same person. But is the assumption that creative people are more neurotic actually true?
Professor & Head, Dept of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town and Director of the Research Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, South African Medical Research Council