Therapies

Exercise seems to help alleviate depression, but not for everybody

I hear it often: A friend swears that her running practice staves off bouts of low spirits. Another says going to the gym before work keeps him mentally steady. Perhaps you’ve heard similar stories; perhaps you [...]

Could daydreaming be the path to greater creativity and mental health?

When we were growing up, my brother, sister and I regularly played a game we had invented called the “Swiss Machine”, which involved us spinning around for approximately 30 seconds while saying “Swiss! Swiss! Swiss!” and [...]

How mindfulness meditation works — and changes the brain’s architecture

It’s touted to relieve pain, lower stress and anxiety, and bolster cognitive performance, but does the practice of mindfulness physically change the brain — and if so, how do we know? Key points: Meditation practices that [...]

‘If it wasn’t for pole I don’t think I’d be here’: Mother explains how pole dancing saved her life after her daughter’s suicide

When Jenny Green watched her daughter, Jacalyn Williams, pole dancing, she never imagined it would one day be her up on stage. But, all that changed less than two years ago, when Jacalyn took her own [...]

‘It was a feeling of defeat’: the real signs of workplace burnout

When Melbourne veterinarian Dr Nicola* told her boss she was struggling in the face of an unrelenting caseload, she said her concerns weren’t taken seriously. Dr Nicola said overtime was frequent and expected. The constant pressure [...]

This is what happens to your body when you hate your job

A toxic job can make you sick in a multitude of ways. Everyone has bad days at work, but there are signs that employees need to watch out for before a bad week at the office [...]

Trauma teddies an antidote for family anxiety while waiting in hospital ward

Sitting in a hospital waiting room for hours on end can be emotional and draining, but a Queensland woman has found a unique way to make the most of her time during her husband’s cancer treatment. [...]

Could throwing yourself into a new activity bring inner happiness?

Life is busy. For most people, finding yet another activity to add to an already frantic schedule doesn’t sound very joyful. But this is what led Hungarian-American Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to coin the term “flow” to describe [...]

When it comes to mental health forget the wellness trends and just keep moving to feel your best

Ten years ago, the wellness industry was far removed from the $4.2 trillion market it is today. Frame was one of the first fitness studios of its kind to open in London, offering fitness classes for [...]

Surf therapy offering hope, healing and a different approach to mental health treatment

The way Layne Beachley describes being in the ocean makes it sound like an almost religious experience. “Diving in the ocean, I feel this sense of being cleansed from my head all the way down to [...]