Teenagers need role models. What you do, how you act and behave, as a parent or carer has a massive influence over your teenager’s attitudes, behaviour and choices. You are their most important role models. With the many influences that surround your teen in the digital and real world, it's important to be the best role model you can be for them. They look to you for answers, guidance and protection. By being your best self and being more aware of your own actions and words, you can...

 All women experience the menopause. Yet many women and health professionals still don’t fully understand the signs and symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause or know how to best treat them.  I have a really important and wide-ranging discussion with GP and world-leading menopause specialist, Dr Louise Newson, about how to prepare for, monitor and manage the peri-menopause and menopause.

The way you live your life can actually change your genetic makeup. Rather than having a set genetic blueprint, our genes can switched on or off at different stages of our life. The field of epigenetics is showing that although our genes themselves are fixed, genetic expression is not. It is malleable and and heavily influenced by our environment and lifestyle choices we make.

It is this expression, the switching off and on of genes, that gets ‘read’ by cells in the body. This...

Comedy and mental health don’t seem like natural bedfellows, but there is really good evidence that laughter triggers the release of endorphins  boosting our mood and mental well-being. I talk to comedian and mental health ambassador Juliette Burton about the relationship between comedy and mental health and how she’s using her stand up shows to educate the world about mental health.

We often think that people can only become addicted to drugs and alcohol. But addiction shows up in any behaviour that a person enjoys, finds some relief in, and therefore craves more of in the short term, but suffers negative consequences in the long term, and doesn’t give up this behaviour despite the negative consequences of their actions.

Addiction can be related to any behaviour, not just substances. It could be cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, nicotine, alcohol. But could...

Your brain starts to shrink as early as your 30s. Even if you seem perfectly healthy, you may be losing as much as 0.4% of your brain or about several million brain cells every year. The rate at which your brain gets smaller increases with age and is a major factor in early mental decline.

Brain shrinkage doesn’t happen to all areas of the brain at once. Some areas shrink more and faster than others, and brain shrinkage is likely to get more severe as you get older.

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We’ve long known that swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that strengthens your heart and circulatory system. But it also really benefits your brain and mental health. It helps the brain to release mood-boosting brain chemicals. repair damage to brain cells and grow brain cells.

Your brain is where your thoughts and emotions live, and a healthy brain contributes greatly to good mental health. Swimming can help lower anxiety and depression. It provides extra benefits for...

Childhood evokes images of innocence, joy, optimism and wonder. It is a time of security and safety, where you are unconditionally protected, nurtured and loved. Having stability in knowing you are safe and having a secure attachment with your family allows you to form healthy and safe relationships later in life.

But, sadly, the reality of many young people’s experiences and the effect on the rest of their lives is in stark contrast to this description of childhood. Many young people...

Day to day ups and downs are are a normal part of adolescence, making it difficult to distinguish between normal teenage moodiness and more serious mental health challenges. Your teen might not always be able to articulate what they’re going through, and they might not want to talk about it to you, but starting the conversation with them will help to protect their mental well-being.

Adolescence is time of enormous change for young people. Their bodies are changing, their...

Clothes left in the bathroom, lids left off things, cups of tea made back at the beginning of the year, plates that seem to be growing some sort of fungi and glasses that you thought had been broken months ago. Why don't our teenage children care about being tidy?

The unbelievable untidiness of teens is a real bug bear for many parents, myself included. For many parents, it just doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t you want to clear up after yourself and have a well...