The Link Between OCD & My Eating Disorder

The first thing most people learn about me is my résumé. As a professor with a decent public profile, I’m easy to Google. What most people don’t know is that I’m quite overwhelmed. It’s not the job that does it. It’s the mental health condition I’ve been living with since 1997: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Oh, and there’s also my eating disorder. OCD brings unwanted, cycling thoughts that counter my values and invites compulsive mental/physical behaviours.

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Focused Ultrasound: Can Sound Waves Treat Depression?

I have always been fascinated by research that explores new ways of treating conditions that sit at the intersection of the mind and body. As our understanding of these complex relationships continues...

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Banning Social Media for Under-16s Won't Solve the Problem

As a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, I spend a lot of time teaching students about child development, mental health, and the evidence surrounding digital techn...

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Easier Said Than Done

Lifestyle advice has become almost inseparable from conversations about mental health. Open a newspaper, scroll through social media, or visit a health website, and the message is strikingly consisten...

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OCD: Lived & Research Experience on Attachment and Recovery

Amidst growing discourse surrounding mental health, there is one condition that, I feel, has been left out. That condition is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The condition has been discussed prev...

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We accept pitches for original articles on lived experience and creative short stories.

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Are We Over-Psychologising Public Health Problems?

I’ve always been fascinated by the gap between what people know they should do and what they actually do. Why do some people ignore health advice, while others make lasting changes to improve their we...

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When Reality Feels Far Away

Have you ever found yourself staring out of the window on a train and suddenly realised you had no idea how many stops had passed? Most of us know what it’s like to experience these mild and temporary...

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The Men Minds Project: Young men making time for young men

My name is Nina, and I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice. This year, on the occasion of Men’s Health Week, I wanted to share how co-producing research a...

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The Condition Medicine Misnamed: Why PMOS could rewrite the narrative

I wonder when women’s health will catch up, if ever, maybe not in my lifetime, but the latest break- through for women’s health is the update in naming Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocr...

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More Than A Feeling: How Maternal Stress Shapes Offspring Health

Pregnancy is a remarkable time of profound transformation for both the mother and the fetus. During these nine months, the pregnant person undergoes significant physical changes, including complex shi...

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World Bipolar Disorder Day: Van Gogh, Between Light and Storm

Today, on International Bipolar Disorder Day, we celebrate not only awareness of the condition, but also the birthday and legacy of one of the most brilliant minds in art history: Vincent van Gogh. Pu...

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The Impact of Eating Disorders on Oral Health

The impact of eating disorders on oral health is well documented, yet it remains an overlooked consequence of these complex mental health conditions. Research consistently shows that individuals with ...

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The Opportunities and Challenges of the Ketogenic Diet For Epilepsy

Food and nutrition are rarely thought of as an approach to improve symptoms of neurological disorders, yet for some people with epilepsy, changing what they eat can significantly reduce seizures. Epil...

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The Myth of ADHD Over-diagnosis: What the Evidence Actually Shows

“Everyone has ADHD nowadays”. It’s a phrase that has become almost unavoidable- repeated across social media, echoed by politicians and woven into everyday conversation. However, as a woman in my mid-...

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Are genetics fixed? How our environment can change how our DNA works

There are countless approaches to try to explain why people think and behave in the ways that they do, and like many Inspire the Mind readers, I have always been interested in this question. As a teen...

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The Hidden Impact of Football on Families

For many, football is a celebration. But for some families, match day can bring fear instead of excitement. During major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup or the European Championships, football ...

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Seeing What Isn’t There: Visual Hallucinations In Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily known for its motor symptoms. However, a substantial proportion of people living with Parkinson’s have a wide range of non-motor symptoms,...

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The Mind-Body-Science of Canine Co-regulation

When I was a child, I used to get ill quite often. On those days, while my friends were at school, I stayed at my grandparents’ house, wrapped in blankets, watching TV, feeling miserable in that speci...

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When Words Fall Silent: Psychedelics, Language, and the Self

Most of us have felt “lost for words” – during moments of heartbreak, awe, or pure surprise. But under the influence of psychedelics like psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, this exper...

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The HappyMums Project: Can a smartphone application predict antenatal depression?

As a researcher working at the intersection of digital technologies and women’s health, it is always so empowering to see the latest advancements in FemTech (tech-driven products like apps and wearabl...

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Are We Really Addressing the Patient’s Needs?

When treating patients, we often focus primarily on improving their clinical outcomes, and as such inadvertently overlook their broader care needs. These include their perceived problems across health...

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Why Heartbreak Feels Physical: The Chemistry of a Broken Heart

Heartbreak is a common experience, often understood as a time of emotional crisis which can be resolved with feeling-based healing. Some typical advice you may have heard (or given) is: “the feeling w...

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The Unheard Voice: When Language Barriers Limit Patient Care

I never had to think when I switched between speaking Tamil and English, it was second nature to me. I spoke Tamil at home and English at school, sometimes mixing the two without realising I did. I ha...

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Day After Day — A Short Story

Celine’s day was the same, come rain or shine. It helped that she never really knew what the weather was, but that was beside the point. As soon as she got her heart to stop palpitating after her alar...

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Losing More Than My Home After Leaving Venezuela

I was born on December 3rd, 1993, in Caracas’ busiest hospital. I spent my early years in a high-rise apartment at the top of a mountain in Manzanares, living a quiet, ordinary life. Everything change...

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Overcoming Acne in Adulthood

Severe acne may seem only skin deep, but its effects on mental health can be devastating. I’m Anna, a primary school teacher and writer who has struggled with acne since my late teens. I have been th...

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On Health Anxiety as an Artist

Eight years ago, I went to a friend of mine in distress. I had a lump or a bump or a cough or a premonition. “I am dying,” I told her. I was certain of it. “Or are you just about to put an album out...

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