Latest from Mental Health

How a smoking doctor finally quit

"I took some contrary pleasure from being a doctor who smoked," writes Max Pemberton. "Looking back, I realise I was in denial."

What is magical thinking and do we grow out of it?

Have you ever wondered why children so easily accept that once every year, a terribly generous man travels by magic reindeer to all children across the world?

Why a hug is healthy

If you're struggling to get your beloved under the mistletoe this year, then help is at hand.

Is Barbie bad for body image?

Just because Barbie has impossible proportions, does that mean playing with her will distort young girls' body image?

How fruit cuts depression risk

Eating at least two pieces of fruit a day can lower your risk of depression, a study suggests.

Zachary Steel and Grant Devilly: Don't hurry to counsel Sydney siege survivors

As Australia reels from the Sydney siege and its unhappy end, many will be wondering what can be done for the hostages stuck for hours with the gunman in the Lindt cafe.

Top 10 health stories of 2014

We've rounded up the top ten health stories that you, our readers, clicked, shared and talked about this year.

If physical illness was treated like mental illness

If we treated people with diabetes the way we treat those with depression, there would be an outcry, says the new president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Ho ho help me get out of here!

Christmas crackers around the dinner table and Champagne corks popping are sounds of festivity and fun for most people.

Learning to swim as an adult

Ewan McDonald’s father taught kids to swim. Except for one child who was scared of the water.

Unlikely alliance builds in bid to halt execution of mentally ill killer

This week, the state of Texas intends to execute Scott Panetti, who in 1992 shot dead his mother-in-law and father-in-law in front of his estranged wife and their 3-year-old daughter.

Louise Thompson: Imaginary friends vs imaginary enemies

Mass killer no longer teaching

Mass killer Stephen Anderson who in 1997 gunned down 10 people, killing six of them, including his 60-year-old father is no longer tutoring at an art school.

Fears over bowler's mental state

As family, friends and cricket legends gathered at a Sydney hospital to say goodbye to Phillip Hughes, the 25-year-old's sister, Megan, sat with devastated cricketer Sean Abbott to offer him support.

'Wonderful, but terrible things'

'We neurosurgeons do wonderful, but terrible things' The memoirs of a London brain surgeon are a surprise contender for a literary award, writes Victoria Lambert.

'I am a paedophile...'

Eddie has struggled with his sexual fascination for children but has now spoken out as radical new theories on how to prevent child abuse are aired.

The common disease nobody's heard of

Sarah Rainey talks to a sufferer of 'the most common disease nobody has heard of' - a form of dementia.

Jill Goldson: Surviving silly season stress

The long holidays are only weeks away. But how much relaxing we do will tend to depend for many on gender and psychology, writes Jill Goldson.