A "grossly intoxicated" man who took a samurai sword to his mother's throat when she refused to hand over his car keys has been ordered to undergo alcohol counselling.

Goals schmoals. If I see another " New year, new yoooooooooooooou!!!" article I shall surely scream, strangled by the cliche. And yet, therein lies the rub. Cliches become cliches for a reason, do they not? No smoke without fire and all that jazz.

Children's tantrums, hoarding and skin picking - psychiatrists will soon be looking at these and more in a new light when their official what's what of mental disorders gets a makeover in May.

The Mana Recovery Trust has spent the past 16 years helping people with mental health disabilities to develop the skills to work and live in the community.

It seems every magazine I look at this month is full of helpful "How to plan a stress-free Christmas in 27 easy steps!" articles.

Time spent away from electronic gadgets can stimulate creative abilities study finds.

"You would be fantastic at that!" I heard one woman say to another in a cafe last weekend. "You think well on your feet, you are super-organised and you have fantastic presentation skills; it could be the perfect job."

It affects women as well as men, and it starts young. Joanna Moorhead on a secret that's ruining more and more lives.

There is an anecdote about boiling a frog that I kind of like. It’s from the 1800s when experiments of this type were much in vogue.

A man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia tried to kill his brother-in-law days after being released from a mental health unit at Auckland Hospital.

Top yachtsman Dean Barker says hearing of men he knew battling prostate cancer and wanting to see his young children grow up was what pushed him to the doctor.

I bought a new kettle this week. A fancy glass one with four pre-set temperatures. I know, I know, we are living life on the edge here at Thompson Towers.

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board has been criticised for serious failings in the care it provided a mental health patient who later committed suicide.

While in Britain last month I stayed with my good friend Sarah and her husband Nick from university days. It was so good to see them, we talked long into the night reminiscing, and howling with laughter about our long-gone student days.