Minding Your Mind

What is the best way to parent a child in their first few years? Clear boundaries, with consequences for transgressions? Or smother them with love and teddy bears, and let them do what they want? Should parents be less protective, or more? Should a parent’s life revolve around their kids, or should the kids fit into their parents’ world?

If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.com . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Shame has been used for centuries by groups and societies to express disapproval to those who behave outside the bounds of what is considered acceptable. Banishment, the stocks, the law, the media and Twitter have all been used to shame. Does shaming work? How damaging is being shamed to your mental health?

If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.com . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Is empathy a superpower that allows us to understand others and that binds social groups together, or can understanding the pain others feel paralyse us and affect our own mental health? Do some have no empathy?

If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.com . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Desire happens when we want something; an apple, ice-cream, love, sex. Should we follow our desires? Can desire overwhelm our rational mind, and lead us to make dumb choices? What is the right mix between following our desires and controlling them?

If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au  Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au. Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Cognitive dissonance occurs when we hold two competing ideas, like ‘I like  eating meat’ and ‘eating meat is cruel and bad for the planet’, or ‘I believe in fairness and equality’ and ‘Many don’t have enough to eat and we subscribe to three streaming services,’ or ‘My family must be okay!’ and  ‘I can’t control everything that happens to them.’ How does cognitive dissonance affect our mental health? How do we deal with it?

If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au  Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au. Thanks to Future Generation Global

Of all the factors that can affect our mental health, one of the most ignored and least understood is the changing of the seasons. During Spring and Autumn, our mental health can be affected by the changing amount of daylight hours. Why does this happen? What can we do about it?

If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au  Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au  . Thanks to Future Generation Global

We think we are rational beings, but every day we are affected by cognitive biases. There are common thinking errors we all make all the time. What are they? How can being aware of them help us make better decisions?

If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

When does someone with a mental illness need to go to hospital? How does it happen, especially if the person doesn’t want to go? What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary hospitalisation? What happens to someone who is in hospital for a mental illness?

If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and headspace.org.au . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Can your mind help you control pain? Is there a difference between physical and emotional pain? How similar is the pain of getting dumped by your partner to the pain of putting your hand on a hotplate?

If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au . Thanks to Future Generation Global.

Should we regret our mistakes, or just move on? What purpose does feeling guilty serve? When are regret and guilt useful? Can we get stuck on regretting the past and feeling guilty in a way that damages our mental health?

If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at [email protected] . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover.

To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at www.headtohealth.gov.au , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lifeline at www.lifeline.org.au or on 13 11 14 and www.headspace.org.au . Thanks to Future Generation Global.