We all worry about our health from time to time, at least to some degree, but some people worry excessively about catastrophic consequences of seemingly benign symptoms.

People do odd - inexplicable, even - things with their money. Sometimes it's because of mental health problems - diagnosed or otherwise, writes Diana Clement.

Stroke victims could make a quicker journey on the road to recovery if they take up a musical instrument, researchers claim.

Gambling products are only harmful when people consume too much of them. Gambling is like alcohol: occasional use is generally safe, this expert explains.

An ageing population has contributed to the rise in the number of disabled people in New Zealand, which last year rose to over one million - almost a quarter of the population.

Mental health nurses are speaking out against brutal violence inflicted by their patients, including being punched, kicked, burnt and stabbed and choked.

For many of us, the thought of being alone can trigger an anxious response - even from when we do not normally feel anxiety, writes Jill Goldson.

It is well known that stress can cause a stomach ache, but the relationship works both ways, says a pediatrician.

There may be a perception that cannabis is benign, writes Dr Dale Bramley. But staff running mental health, addiction and emergency services can tell you beyond doubt that it's otherwise.

Before you declare your allegiance to the caffeinated culture, here's a quick update about the drug our society chooses to celebrate.

Sloth, torpor, idleness. Forget the negative connotations, for it turns out they might actuallybe good for us. Kate Bussmann managed to put down her iPad and allowed her mind to wander for the purposes of research.

Here are 6 top maintenance rules governing how we can be better and kinder friends to our friends.

An American artist has exposed her most private moments in a series of self-portraits that portray her eating behind closed doors.

Smoking cannabis before the age of 15 could lead to insomnia later in life, a new study has found.

Several current international rugby and league players have reached out to Shontayne Hape for advice following his shocking revelation of his concussion-enforced retirement.

An international search has begun for a researcher to delve into child and teenage mental health after Cure Kids received a multi-million-dollar private donation.

With the news that researchers believe they have discovered a compound that could revolutionise the treatments of addiction, Greg Dixon asks why only some people become addicts and why society seems to view some addictions as ‘worse’ than others.

A study has found that women are more likely to have a baby after they discover friends from high school have become mothers.

People who display high levels of "cynical distrust" are three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

New Zealand is among the 20 happiest countries in the world, with a new index ranking us alongside Canada, Australia and the UAE.

Mental health problems including anorexia and recurrent depression are as deadly as smoking, research suggests.

A survey has found Google now beats talking to friends for young Kiwis wanting to know about sex, drugs, alcohol, depression, stress or their health.

A luxury homeware line that Charlotte Dawson was working on before she took her life has been launched in Australia with proceeds to go to her favourite charities.

here are clearly a lot of arachnophobes. But do they know why they fear spiders? Can they do something to control those fears?

Modern living has made us become "supremely arrogant" in the way we ignore the importance of sleep, leading scientists warn.

Researchers in Germany have developed a way of enabling sleepers to control their dreams by applying electric current to the brain which prompts lucid dreams, involving a state of heightened awareness.

An author has examined the inquest files of 11,000 Kiwis between 1900 and 2000 and found a common link between those who have died by their own hands.