childrens health

For so many of our global society, we are experiencing something quite unique. An unseen and invisible disease on a scale almost inconceivable. Many will quite naturally experience emotional and psychological turbulence at the disruption of established patterns and routines which so readily provides us with a (false) sense of control and order.

[bctt tweet=”We are all participants in what will likely become referred to as an extraordinary chapter of history. #COVID-19 #COVID19″ username=”BobBrotchie”] [Read more…]

Over the years, many parents have approached me asking for advice, or asking me to meet with their young one as they are concerned about their mental health. So, this is a very welcome piece from Shamir Patel who is a registered pharmacist with extensive experience in running independent high street pharmacies across the north west of England. Shamir also established Chemist 4 U way back in 2001, which is now one of the largest digital pharmacies in the UK.

Mental health is a prevalent problem in society. We recently carried out a study into antidepressants, from which we found that as many as 28% of the population identify as having a mental health condition. That’s huge.

The State of Mental Health in the UK

The disorders suffered by respondents included body dysmorphia, SAD, bipolar and many more besides, but the two main conditions identified were depression and anxiety. 68% of UK based respondents, with mental health conditions, suffered from depression and a further 59% also said they had anxiety. While all this was entirely shocking and arguably devastating to see, perhaps the most surprising element of our study was what was uncovered when researching into the ages of those struggling with their mental health. [Read more…]

Our children being ‘picky eaters’ can be one of the most frustrating parts of the parenting experience. I have personal experience of this and guest author, Caroline Kastner, offers some helpful tips to manage this behaviour.  [Read more…]

Studying, wherever or whatever the educational environment, is nothing new yet the pressures today have arguably never been so intense. [Read more…]

When parents divorce, as has seemingly become ‘the norm’ in today’s society, we all know our children will feel the fallout too. As I write this article, it is from a number of angles; as a former child of parents who divorced, as a parent who divorced, and as a therapist helping members of families whose domestic unit has been, or is, ‘deconstructing’. [Read more…]

Reviewing some of the demographics for couples and individuals who presented for relationship advice, and for their individual emotional and mental health conditions; research shows that in the UK, in 2012 there were a recorded two million single parents, up four hundred thousand from 1996. [Read more…]

Congratulations! How proud are you? Your wonderful offspring are about to start college or uni; or recommence term and you could not be more pleased. All those years of cajoling them to do their homework and gain great grades have finally paid off!

So, that’s ‘you’ as parents sorted then! How are the kids – the students feeling? [Read more…]