The Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Low Mood: Why Winters Are So Miserable

There’s a reason why winters in the UK are so miserable, beyond the fact that there is more rain, more biting coldness, shorter days and greyer skies. One factor contributing to miserable winters is a vitamin D deficiency. This isn’t some ploy to boost sales in vitamin D supplements – it has been suggested in…

View Post

LSD Offers Anxiety Relief for Dying Patients: The First Study on the Drug in 40 Years

There is huge progress going on in the field of psychedelic research. The first study with the psychedelic drug, LSD, has just taken place – after a 40-year halt in research opportunities. In 1968 LSD was banned in the US, leading to a suspension of the busy, vast and promising LSD studies that were going on…

View Post

Antidepressants and Suicidal Thoughts: A Tragically Ironic Connection

You wouldn’t think that an antidepressant, a medication which is supposed to alleviate depression, would cause someone to want to end their life. However, since antidepressants have been on the market, we have seen a marked increase in self-harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and completed suicides associated with their use. This mostly applies to SSRIs…

View Post

Body Image Issues: An Examination of Anorexia, Bodybuilding, and Cosmetic Surgery

In modern society, we are constantly bombarded by media images portraying a certain standard of ‘beauty’. We idolise models, celebrities and actors who look all seem to look a certain way – thin women and muscular men. This archetype of beauty can become so ingrained within a culture – and therefore within people’s minds –…

View Post

The Negative Effects of Facebook: Addiction, Social Isolation, and Depression

Facebook is great for communication, networking and planning events. It is a social media platform that was designed to connect people and clearly, it achieves this in a number of ways. However, Facebook’s utility and popularity often mask its more psychologically damaging aspects, of which there seems to be three: addiction, social isolation and depression.…

View Post