High misdiagnosis rates between bipolar and major depressive disorder cause real harm to patients and services. This new neuroimaging study tested whether brain connectivity and machine learning could do a better job of telling the two apart, with interesting but limited results.
[read the full story...]
What if perinatal mental health started in the gut? New research from Finland suggests certain bacteria may be associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and after birth, raising questions about inflammation, causality, and the future of microbiome-based screening and treatment.
[read the full story...]
What if therapy focused not on thoughts or voices, but on the vivid images that often accompany them? The iMAPS-2 trial tested a novel imagery-focused therapy for psychosis, showing it’s safe, acceptable, and ready for a full-scale trial.
[read the full story...]
People with severe mental illness are more than twice as likely to die from respiratory disease than those without. This new systematic review highlights the scale of the problem and why action on public health and social inequality is just as vital as stop-smoking advice.
[read the full story...]
A new study claims hobbies reduce substance misuse in adolescents, but are we mistaking correlation for causation? Before we start fiddling with interventions, this blog explores the risks of jumping to conclusions.
[read the full story...]
Guidelines say metformin can help prevent weight gain from antipsychotics like olanzapine, but this large UK study shows it’s rarely prescribed. What’s stopping us?
[read the full story...]
Climate change is reshaping not just the planet but our emotional lives. Could solastalgia (“solace” (comfort) and “nostalgia” (homesickness)) be a key pathway linking environmental loss to mental distress? This new scoping review of global studies investigates.
[read the full story...]
Brief Admission allows people with BPD to self-refer for short respite stays, offering a person-centred alternative to emergency hospitalisation. This 4-year longitudinal study from Sweden reveals who uses it, how it works, and how services could adapt.
[read the full story...]
Men are around 3 times more likely to die by suicide than women, and new evidence suggests relationship breakdowns could be a key risk factor. A major 2025 meta-analysis explores the complex links between separation, divorce, and suicidality in men.
[read the full story...]
Vaping is helping millions quit smoking, but concerns about teen uptake remain. A new blog explores whether the ‘gateway hypothesis’ stands up to scrutiny in the latest umbrella review of vaping harms in young people.
[read the full story...]
